Organisation Mondiale pour l’Éducation Préscolaire
World Organisation for Early Childhood Education
Organización Mundial para la Educación Preescolar

Declaration of the Asia Pacific Regional Conference of OMEP in Kyoto, Japan, 2019
Quality of ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care)
During the OMEP Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Kyoto, Japan in September 5- 7, 2019,
all participants representing the Asia Pacific Region and the world, agreed that we must
uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to ensure every child has a right toaccess and participate in programs and services of Early Childhood Education and Care ofgood quality without discrimination.
Recent studies show that high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) isessential for young children’s life-long well-being. However, we recognize that there are still
struggles and challenges in the region and the world; too many children are living underconditions of poverty, discrimination, exclusion, and exploitation. Therefore, providing highquality ECEC is indispensable for our region in pursuit of equity and social justice, which
supports Education for Sustainable Development, and to protect the rights of every child. The
regional community is accountable and must immediately take action to improve the quality ofECEC to meet the needs in the best interests of every child throughout the region. Failure toact is unethical and a violation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as theRights of the Child.
Therefore, the members of OMEP Asia Pacific Region are committed to participating,collaborating, evaluating, monitoring, and enforcing the regional and global commitments
made to ECEC. At the same time, OMEP Asia Pacific Region calls on our local, national, andglobal leaders to take immediate action for providing high-quality ECEC to
1. Work to reach the SDG, 4.2, which states that, by 2030, all girls and boys have access toquality childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready forprimary education

2. Guarantee that every child has a right to live, to be nurtured, to be protected, and toparticipate as she/he gains access to educational programs and systems being guaranteedby the Convention on the Rights of the Child
3. Provide young children with safe places and time to play and learn; ensure their freedomof expression and their voices to be heard
4. Respect teachers and caregivers’ cultural, economic and well-being status. And support,protect and provide sufficient time and opportunity to engage in professional development
to deepen their knowledge, skills, attitudes and capacity to provide high-quality ECEC
5. Recognize the essential contribution parents, caregivers, and families make to ensure thatchildren attain their rights to play and learn
6. Increase financial investment in ECEC to improve quality and expand access of programs
and services for young children
7. Practice ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) to ensure all children and adults
work together to promote a culture of peace and democratic society
We ask all our governments to protect and restore every child’s right to live and develop to
their full potential, and leave no one behind.
OMEP is an international, non-governmental and non-profit organization concerned with all aspects of earlychildhood education and care. OMEP was founded in 1948 and has consultative status with UN, UNESCOand UNICEF. OMEP has 72 national committees in all regions of the world, www.worldomep.org

From the OMEP APR Assembly in Kyoto, Japan, September 7, 2019