Early Childhood Program Farewell: Celebrating Collaborations and Inspiring the Future

At the end of 2020, the Open Society Foundations will be winding down the Early Childhood Program. Between 1994 and 2020, the program launched ambitious initiatives and advocacy, aimed at reshaping practices and institutions and scaling up civil society to advance the rights of young children.

Inspired by research linking early development to the nurturing of open societies, George Soros steered the Open Society Foundations to make a “big bet” $100 million, 20-year investment in the flagship Step by Step Program. Step by Step transformed early education systems across 30 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and in Argentina, Haiti, and Mongolia. As a result, the Open Society Foundations became one of the first converts to the field of early childhood and our investments over the past 25 years have helped to shape it.

The Early Childhood Program’s work evolved into two distinct streams: the first focused on improving equity and social inclusion for populations challenging discrimination and prejudice. The second aimed at building the civil society structures and capacity of the emerging early childhood field to do this. Open Society led the establishment of a new civil society sector in Europe and Eurasia, and inspired establishment of similar regional networks in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—and globally.

The Open Society Early Childhood Program’s final publication, Early Childhood and Open Society: Creating Equitable and Inclusive Societies, will be discussed during the event.