Nearly 60 years ago Lady Allen of Hurtwood, with colleagues from Sweden, France, Denmark and Norway, conceived the idea of creating a world organisation for early childhood.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNICEF) Assembly in Paris warmly supported the plan so representatives from 19 countries spanning five continents were invited to a world conference in Prague in 1948. OMEP, the Organization Mondiale pour l'Education Prescolaire, which is known in English as the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education, was founded at that conference.
The new organisation was recognised as a principal mechanism to bring people from all over the world together to share information and initiate action for the benefit of young children everywhere. Since then, OMEP world assemblies have been held in different cities across all continents every three years.
World conference
This year an OMEP world conference took place in the Caribbean for the first time. The executive committee, which is made up of the five regional vice-presidents, the world president and the world treasurer, met with the organisation's national presidents from 25 countries in Havana, Cuba, on 11 and 12 July to discuss problems in supporting needy young children on five continents.
Over the following three days, OMEP and the Centre for Latin American Pre-school Education (CELEP) organised a seminar on 'The educative process in the early years: its relevance and quality'.
Each day, lectures and discussion panels addressed key points from both regional and national perspectives. Eighty-eight contributors presented academic papers on basic philosophy, policies, training methods, implementation and evaluation, stimulating discussion in the three official languages of Spanish, French and English.
Delegates were given an opportunity to assess the theoretical and methodological basis of education for children aged up to six in Cuba and then to see it in practice, although hurricane Dennis caused havoc in Cuba just days before the conference began.
Groups of delegates visited daycare centres and pre-school classes in both urban and rural settings. All children aged under six in Cuba receive education and health care, with 99.5 per cent of five-year-olds having some form of nursery provision.
Some 30 per cent of children attend centres and classes, while 70 per cent are in 'educate your child' schemes, which focus on family and community participation. UNICEF and CELEP have co-operated in an evaluation of this flexible system, which is evolving gradually. It draws on the skills of field workers, parents, grandparents and the local community as a whole, and has clear implications for many countries.
A world assembly and conference will be hosted in Troms, Norway, from 7-11 August 2006. The focus will be on provision for children aged up to three.
Members of OMEP UK, led by Dr Cathy Nutbrown from Sheffield University, are planning a presentation on schemas.
Pressure group
As a non-governmental pressure group, OMEP exists to promote the best possible conditions for the well-being, development and happiness of young children in their families, institutions and communities.
With its direct links to UNESCO, UNICEF, the Council of Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social Council, OMEP is grounded in the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Thousands of people across the globe with an interest in the early years subscribe to OMEP, which is represented in more than 70 different countries. This enables members to extend their horizons and deepen their understanding of young children's development and learning through contact with carers and educators around the world.
OMEP UK belongs to the European region, whose annual meeting was held in Brno, in the Czech Republic, in April. The theme reflected OMEP's global project on children from birth to three years of age and addressed the European Union's targets on access to childcare.
Representatives shared examples of good practice in member countries, discussed research findings and training techniques, and visited local childcare centres and kindergartens.
Members from across Europe, including Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia, appreciated the chance to compare and analyse current developments. Considerable differences in the extent and quality of provision were found, with the Scandinavian countries providing extensive support to children, families and communities, others making maximum use of additional training, and a few countries facing considerable challenges while coping with political and economic change.
Members of the UK delegation were able to refer to Birth to Three Matters, and the literature review that informs the pack, and to highlight the fact that there is now access to free nursery education for all three-year-olds whose parents want it in this country.
Conference papers were distributed, and a synopsis on a CD-Rom will be available soon. Any member is entitled to attend meetings, including the next European regional meeting in Lisbon in May next year.
UK contribution
The UK has supported OMEP strongly for many years. Audrey Curtis, formerly a senior lecturer in Child Development at the University of London's Institute of Education, became world president in 2000 after years of unstinting effort both nationally and regionally.
Officers at all levels worked on a voluntary basis until recently, when the DfES made a small grant to cover the costs of administration and the honorary president's travel expenses.
The current UK president is Dorothy Selleck, a former HM inspector and senior lecturer in early childhood development. She is supported by Maureen O'Hagan, external quality assurance manager for the Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education, who is vice-president. Members of the national executive committee include people with experience in policy, research, management and practice in a range of disciplines.
In addition to regular newsletters and updates on developments in the UK, members receive two international journals each year. These contain research papers and information on developments worldwide. The annual meeting is the occasion for a seminar on a topic of current interest: anyone is welcome to join members at the University of Chester on 19 November to hear about developments in Scotland in relation to children aged up to three.
OMEP UK tries to keep the cost of the conferences it organises low so students and groups of staff can afford to attend. It also works with other organisations with similar aims and is represented on the Early Childhood Forum, the Primary Umbrella Group, the Children's Play Council, Action for Prisoners' Families and various trusts.
A well-established Children's Fund welcomes applications for help from needy groups, mainly in developing countries, and the OMEP's global network means it is usually possible to find local members who can take an interest in projects and ensure that donations are used as intended.
Nationally, OMEP is conscious of the needs of marginalised children, particularly those from abroad. Given its founding principles and international remit, it aims to focus increasingly on children from families who have come to the UK to seek asylum.
It also wants to strengthen links with Scotland and Northern Ireland, where there are gaps in representation. The executive committee recognises that it is important to provide a UK-wide forum in which diverging developments in early years policy can be debated.
OMEP stimulates reflection on individual attitudes and introduces alternative perspectives and ways of conceptualising early years care and education.
It is interesting to note that the National Professional Qualification for Integrated Centre Leadership recently moved to incorporate international exchanges into its programme for senior managers in children's centres.
This recognises the value of considering the impact of cultural differences and their influence on ways of working.
In addition to providing refreshing insights into new possibilities, first-hand experience in other countries helps us to reflect anew on our own assumptions, some of which may be unrecognised, as well as our explicit values and the way in which these may influence practice.
One of OMEP's many strengths is the way in which it combines personal and professional networks. It is small enough for everyone to feel that they can make a valuable contribution and brings communities around the world closer together through contacts between individuals who share a commitment to the welfare of young children and their families.
Further information
* You can contact OMEP by e-mail at OMEPUK@yahoo.com and get international information from www.OMEP-ONG.net