Early Childhood Development: Forging New Connections With International Expertise

The Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation’s Early Childhood Development program has continued its popular parenting talks at Manarat Al Saadiyat in 2016. In February, Dr. Heidi Alaskary, Amna Al Yahal and Birgit Ertl spoke on Language Learning Basics: Supporting Your Child in Learning Multiple Languages – a highly relevant topic in the UAE given its culturally and linguistically diverse population.

In March 2016, Dr. Luba Feigenberg, Managing Director of Making Caring Common Project at Harvard University, and Dr. Justin Thomas, Associate Professor Psychology Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, presented the first of a two-part series on the ethical and moral development of children with a presentation on Raising Children Who Care About Others and Their Communities.

The second part of the series, Bullying Prevention Begins in Early Childhood, took place in May 2016, and featured Dr. Ron Slaby and Dr. Kim Storey, co-authors of the Eyes on Bullying in Early Childhood Toolkit. With a recent study by the Abu Dhabi Education Council finding that more than two in five children in the Emirate’s schools report having being bullied, ridiculed or verbally abused more than once, the talk was a timely investigation into the roots of mean and aggressive behavior and provided helpful advice on teaching children to treat others with kindness and respect.

Importantly, the Foundation has continued facilitating engagement between its visiting experts and local educational institutions. For example, Dr. Alaskary met with students and faculty from the Emirates College of Advanced Education (ECAE) to discuss the latest research on language acquisition in the early years, and Dr. Feigenberg met with students and faculty from United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) to discuss strategies for raising ethical and caring children. The Foundation’s visiting speakers also participated in interactive sessions with students and faculty at the Global TIES for Children conference, co-sponsored by NYU Abu Dhabi and UNICEF. Finally, Drs Slaby and Storey visited Al Ain Women’s College of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HTC) and Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, speaking on the subject of bullying and early childhood in May 2016.

Finally, on 25 May 2016, a recognition ceremony was held for the second cohort of the Shamsa bint Mohamed Al Nahyan Fellowship in Early Childhood Development, during which the Fellows presented on their projects.