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Highlights from our Annual Meeting in Stellenbosch, South Africa

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.

Our work

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.

Discover why early childhood is the best time to act.

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

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.

Discover more about the catalytic advantage of networks

Read the report

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.

Discover more about the benefits of collaborative funding

Our work

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:

Arab Network for Early Childhood (ANECD)

Established in 2014 and hosted by the Arab Resource Collective (ARC), the Arab Network for Early Childhood (ANECD) is a participatory and collaborative network of local, regional, and international organizations, governments, experts, and academics in Arab countries.

Africa Early Childhood Network (AfECN)

The African Early Childhood Network (AfECN) is a registered non-profit, established in 2015 to serve as a platform to champion excellence and collaboration in protecting children's rights, influence policy and practice, strengthen partnerships, and share experiences and knowledge in ECD on the African continent.

Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC)

Established in February 2008, the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) builds strong partnerships across sectors and different disciplines, organisations, and institutions in the Asia-Pacific region to advance the agenda on and investment in early childhood.

International Step by Step Association (ISSA)

Established in 1999, the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) facilitates learning and collaboration across sectors, disciplines and borders in Europe and Central Asia, to advocate for and support competent Early Childhood Systems.

Discover more about the four regional networks

Our work

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, and The Two Lillies Fund.

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Discover more about the benefits of being part of this fund

About us

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