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Highlights from our 2024 Annual Meeting hosted by ARNEC in Penang, Malaysia!

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Early childhood matters

During the first years of a child’s life, more than one million neural pathways are formed every second. Early and rapid brain development sets down the foundations for a lifetime of healthy development and achievement.
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The best time to act

From poverty alleviation to gender equality, from violence prevention to climate change, early childhood provides the best window of opportunity to act. Evidence and experience tell us that prevention is better than response, what’s good for young children tends to be good for society, and that investing early produces enduring, long-term returns.
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Discover why early childhood is the best time to act.

With thanks from our partners at Grand Challenges Canada – Saving Brains.

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Networks are our connective tissue

Networks connect the multiple sectors, organisations and people involved in early childhood so that they can coordinate their work, learn from each other, influence policy agendas, and drive improvements across the sector. Networks orchestrate impact that is exponentially greater than the sum of their parts.
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Collaborative funding drives greater impact

This fund exists to strengthen early childhood networks. A pooled fund has many advantages over bilateral funding: it enables peer-learning, reduces overhead costs, increases funding leverage and synergy, lowers risk, and most significantly, it drives greater impact than could be achieved alone.
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Working at scale through impactful networks

The ECRN Fund currently supports and uplifts the work of four regional early childhood networks, spanning over 100 countries:
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Our partner foundations

The ECRN Fund is a collaborative fund hosted by the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, supported by Oak Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, Porticus, The Human Safety Net, the Van Leer Foundation and The Two Lilies Fund.
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Hosted by

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If you would like to learn more about the ECRN Fund, please get in touch via contact@ecdnetworksfund.org