Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Office of Development and Martyrs Families Affairs at the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA), the WED Innovation Lab activities kicked off today in Abu Dhabi.

The initiative is a milestone activity that reflects Abu Dhabi’s Early Childhood Development Strategy for 2035, bringing together global experts and partners to shape positive outcomes for the lives of young children in the emirate.

Chaired by Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, the World Early Childhood Development (WED) Movement tackles pressing futuristic challenges faced by Abu Dhabi and the world’s young children through human-centric and innovative outputs.

The event, running over 5 days from today to January 26th, will immerse more than 30 leading local, regional and international cross-sectorial experts who will join forces together to problem define, ideate and prototype outcomes across the three interactive themes of WED: Intentional Parenting, Culture and Identity and Sustainable and Family-friendly Cities.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed stressed on the outstanding support from the UAE’s wise leadership for ECA, enabling the Authority to pursue its vision, priorities and aspirations of the Early Childhood Development 2035 Strategy. He welcomed all participants, calling WED, and the upcoming Forum later this year, a flagship initiative.

The WED initiative is dedicated to galvanise partnerships and collaborations in the pursuit of new innovative approaches and solutions for the well-being of our young children here in Abu Dhabi that can be rolled out globally.

“International collaboration within the early childhood development sector is pivotal for our success. We are committed to mobilising strategic global partnerships, fostering scientific and research cooperation grounded in the highest international standards and best practices. This commitment empowers us to craft innovative methodologies and solutions meticulously tailored to align with the nuances of our society, culture, and the strategic development goals of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, poised for seamless scaling across the UAE and on the global stage," Sheikh Theyab added.

Speaking at launch of the Innovation Lab, Sana Suhail, Director-General of ECA, expressed the UAE’s commitment to actively contribute to shaping a future where the potential of every child is enshrined as a right, nurtured and protected. She said, “The World Early Childhood Development Movement’s Innovation Lab is an initiative devoted to creating meaningful change by placing early childhood at the forefront of the global agenda. The essence of the Lab lies in the heartfelt collaborative efforts among experts in their fields from different nations, a compelling testament that some challenges are best faced together. This week, we can collectively paint a picture of collaborative innovation in which we craft outcomes to enrich our youth’s lives, provide robust education systems, build resilient communities, create sustainable cities, and cultivate environments that keep families and communities closely connected. We recognise that our shared responsibility transcends borders, and that through the work of the Innovation Lab, we are embarking on a journey of seeking authentic outcomes that resonate and create a new legacy.”

She added, “WED is a movement for positive change, and powerful movements like this are capable of uniting bold ideas with effective action. WED experts are here at the Innovation Lab to brainstorm practical ideas and, crucially, to test and implement these ideas in the coming months. This initiative contributes to creating sustainable positive change, empowering all young children to have the best opportunities to grow and develop, in an environment that is safe and family-friendly and capable of understanding and meeting their needs. The ECA is proud to be championing early childhood development on a global stage and engaging other countries in these important discussions.”

The Innovation Lab proposes to open minds and hearts to the issues at hand while researching and developing solutions that can be applied in real world scenarios. Immersive and interactive, the Lab will see experts and advisers from global philanthropic organisations, government, NGOs, stakeholders and the private sector working with each other in orientation and trust-building, sensing techniques, visioning and creative prototyping, aimed not only at defining the problem, but also refining the process of ideating solutions and outputs, and kicking off the prototyping phase.

Aiming to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s ECD ecosystem, a collective of global and local experts, disruptive innovators from various sectors are participating in the Innovation Lab.

Enabling the experts to have a clear understanding on the ECA ecosystem in the UAE, field visits to local nurseries, schools, play areas, healthcare centres, and cultural sites and activities will be organized to encourage WED experts to actively observe and meaningfully engage with children and their caregivers to have better insights on the cultural, socio-economical and urban design challenges affecting the three themes of WED.

The five-day event is being hosted at Abu Dhabi’s iconic Yas Acres Golf and Country Club where participants will present their final ideation prototype pitches on the last of the Innovation Lab on January 26th to a high-profile judging panel led by WED Chair Reem Al Hashimy, and including Sana Suhail, Director-General of ECA, Badr Al Olama, Acting Director-General of Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), Rabih Abouchakra, Executive Director, Office of Developmental Affairs at the Presidential Court and Shaista Asif, Co-founder and CEO of PureHealth, who will prioritise the most viable outputs for piloting and implementation that will take place from May to September ahead of the WED Forum in October 2024.

The immersive innovation lab will be an engaging and interactive journey based on THNK's innovation flow with leading experts and partners.

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