Over the next three days (12-14 March), the LINKS team will engage in various meetings and events to learn more about the current issues and challenges facing young children and their carers in Palestine and to agree priorities to shape a programme of research.
Accompanied by colleagues from Early Years – The Organisation for Young Children in Northern Ireland, the LINKS team will meet with a number of national Palestinian Government Ministers and officials, the Mayor and other leaders from the Nablus Municipality and a range of early childhood stakeholders.
The team will also contribute to a high-level symposium and visit a number of preschool settings in Nablus and Ramallah.
Alongside agreeing to include Palestine as a partner country of the LINKS network, the aim of this visit will be to agree a programme of research that will support the development and evaluation of early childhood development (ECD) programmes in Palestine that will address the particular needs of young children and their carers who have been adversely affected by the ongoing conflict in the region.
Pictured above is the LINKS Team meeting with the Director and staff of the Palestinian Child Institute on Tuesday morning (12 March) to discuss the plans for the forthcoming three days. A news item on the visit that featured on An-Najah NBC television earlier today, broadcast across Palestine, can be viewed online. The item begins at 13:09 and is in Arabic.
"We are very much looking forward to working with colleagues at The Palestinian Child Institute and to help make a positive contribution, not just to sustainable development and economic growth, but to help build social cohesion and peace. Being part of the wider LINKS network, the Institute will also bring significant insights and expertise to share with other partners."
Professor Paul Connolly, Director of LINKS