An organization that has been making the same case for more than 70 years and still feels urgent has a subtly striking quality. The World Organization for Early Childhood Education, or OMEP in French, was established in 1948 in Prague when representatives from seventeen nations convened under UNESCO’s supervision to discuss a topic that most postwar governments were not particularly interested in: the education and care of very young children. After seven decades, the organization has special consultative status with the UN and operates in more than 70 countries. Not much has changed in the argument. The political will to take action is still lacking.
Understanding OMEP’s structure is important because it clarifies how an NGO maintains this level of pressure over an extended period of time. The organization is based on a network of National Committees, each of which has its roots in the social and educational context of its own nation. Above them, five Regional Vice Presidencies assist with cross-linguistic and geographical coordination. Because it is a federated model, educators, researchers, activists, and parents from more than 70 countries are theoretically represented by the voice that emerges from OMEP at a UN meeting in New York. That’s a big assertion. Furthermore, scale is important in multilateral advocacy.
The relationship with the UN is genuine and not symbolic. OMEP is one of the few NGOs that can formally interact with UN bodies because it has ECOSOC’s Special Consultative Status. For many years, OMEP served as the chair of the NGOs Committee on Migration, a position that brought child welfare and one of the most contentious political issues of the previous ten years together. This kind of institutional positioning seems to be the result of decades of consistent, serious engagement rather than sporadic involvement.
The range of issues that OMEP now covers makes it more difficult to reject its argument. Although early childhood education is still viewed as a social good, this is no longer the case. It is related to labor rights, gender equity, citizenship, migration, and sustainability. The International Labour Organization and OMEP have collaborated to create standards for early childhood workers’ decent work. It takes part in the Global Citizenship Education program and UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development initiative. These are not incidental issues. These are some of the most important discussions of our time, and OMEP has made early childhood the cornerstone of all of them.
OMEP assisted in initiating a hydrology technician training program in Africa, which began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, and Madagascar before spreading to six additional nations. This kind of initiative may seem out of the ordinary for an early education organization, but keep in mind that women’s development, water access, and climate vulnerability are all closely related to how and whether children thrive in their early years. The reasoning is sound.
The creation of regional statements, position papers, and world declarations provides a documented foundation for OMEP’s advocacy. Press releases are not what these are. These are pedagogical and political arguments that are derived from member consensus and intended for use in discussions with governments. An OMEP position paper has the support of a global network when it is presented to an education minister.
The extent to which OMEP’s work directly contributes to legislative change is still unknown. It is infamously difficult to gauge influence in multilateral policy. However, there is a sense that perseverance itself is a tactic when one observes this organization in action, regularly attending UNESCO assemblies, meetings of Education Ministers, and UN events. Governments come and go. Committees are reorganized. Carefully constructed over seven decades, the case for early childhood education is still being made. It’s also more difficult than ever to ignore.
