ARNEC Highlights Local Government Role in Advancing Child Well-being, Opens Asia-Pacific Conference in Manila

PHILIPPINES – More than 480 participants from 30 countries gathered for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Early Childhood Development (ECD), organized by the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) in collaboration with the ECCD Council of the Philippines as host. 

The annual conference, held from 1–3 July 2025 in Manila, focuses on improving inclusive and equitable ECD services while underscoring the importance of effective local governance. 

In the Asia-Pacific region—home to more than 60 percent of the world’s children the lack of access to high-quality ECD services continues to trap many children in cycles of inequality. 

Many children are deprived of nurturing care environments essential for their development due to various barriers, including disability, gender, geographic location, ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic status. 

As global funding for early childhood development declines, the impact is most strongly felt at the local level where services are delivered and where children live, learn, and grow. 

The conference features a series of presentations and panel discussions addressing issues such as disability inclusion, gender equality, cultural and linguistic inclusivity, poverty, urban–rural geographical gaps, and crisis-responsive ECD systems. 

Key speakers at the conference include Dr. Vibha Krishnamurthy, Founder and Executive Director of the Ummeed Child Development Center; Professor Alan Stein, Emeritus Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Oxford; and Professor Vina Adriany, Director of the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Early Childhood Care Education and Parenting (SEAMEO CECCEP). 

During the event, UNESCO launched the Global Early Childhood and Care Education report, while the Van Leer Foundation introduced the Good Start Challenge, a €2.6 million global grant program that will fund initiatives to improve the well-being of parents with young children. 

Children’s charity TheirWorld also announced the launch of the Act for Early campaign, urging governments and international donors to commit at least USD 1 billion in new funding for childcare and preschool education. 

This year’s conference is co-hosted by Plan International, Save the Children, Tanoto Foundation, the Early Childhood Regional Networks Fund (ECRNF), UNICEF, and UNESCO, with support from the Philippine Normal University and REX Education.