Award-winners from Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil exemplify quality services that improve the lives of infants
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Kinnevik Executive Chairman Cristina Stenbeck, ALAS Foundation President Alejandro Santo Domingo, and Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno today presented prizes to the winners of the ALAS-IDB awards for excellence in early childhood development.
“We want more children to have the best possible start,” Rodham Clinton said. “The IDB has taken on an important role in leading this effort, investing in childhood development in Latin America and the Caribbean. And we’re seeing a lot of positive changes.”
Rodham Clinton, who last year launched an initiative to engage more U.S. parents and teachers in nurturing infants, added: “It’s a great pleasure for me to be partnering with the IDB and ALAS to do everything we can to just light up the brains of all our little kids, from as far north to as far south as we can, in this hemisphere that we share together.”
“The way we raise our children during their first few years of life will determine the fate of all our communities, whether they are in Chicago, Los Angeles, Tegucigalpa or Santiago,” said Moreno. “There’s no silver bullet for inequality. But I am convinced that the best thing we can do to create a level playing field in our societies is to invest in early childhood development.”
Education specialists, policymakers, and practitioners gathered at the IDB headquarters in Washington, DC for a day-long seminar. The event ended with an award ceremony to recognize the outstanding achievements of preschool teachers, authors of children’s books, childcare centers and innovators who strive to improve the lives of the region’s youngest citizens, often in challenging circumstances.
The awards were established in 2012 by the IDB and the ALAS Foundation of the performing artist Shakira, a globally acclaimed champion of early childhood development.
Award Winners
Best Educator: Dr. Maria Belen Camacho of Ecuador won the award for her work with children with disabilities.“Every child has potential and it is our duty as educators to find a way to make it shine," she said. Yvonne Medina of Guatemala and Gina Sisalema of Ecuador received honorable mentions.
Best Publication: Colombian author and illustrator Joanna Loeber for her story “El Grandulón Tristón,” designed to help children cope with feelings of sadness and depression. Two books that serve as tools for parents and educators to broach the topic of sexual abuse with young children received honorable mentions: “Uncomfortable Secrets,” written by Paulina Ponce and illustrated by Stephanie D. Halfen, and “My Body is Precious,” by Starla Bradley and Kim Simplis Barrow of Belize, illustrated by Joseph Charles Lindbergh.
Best Center: The Valle del Cauca Institute for Deaf and Blind Children of Colombia, which has provided comprehensive education and health services to children with visual and hearing impairments for over 70 years. The institute serves more than 200 children and their families annually in the city of Cali.Honorable mentions went to Ecuador’s Institute for Research, Education and Advancement and Mexico’s Chuun Koopo Comprehensive Early Childhood Center.
Best Innovation: Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation of Brazil, which provides quality early childhood care to children in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Latin America, has inspired governments and NGOs to embrace its goals. Colombia’s Atención a la Niñez Foundation and Peru’s Warmayllu, a multicultural curriculum, were also recognized for their innovative approaches.
The winners were selected from over 700 nominees.
Inter-American Development Bank
The IDB is the leading source of long-term financing and expertise for sustainable economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its Education Division conducts research, provides technical assistance and finances projects to improve the infrastructure, curriculum and policies of education systems throughout the region. The Bank works in partnership with Latin American and Caribbean countries so that all students in the region may have access to quality education.