KIX EMAP Webinar 26: Advancing ECCE in Asia and the Pacific - A Call to Action

Date: 12 November 2025
Time: 9:00-11:00 (Geneva / CET) / 15:00-17:00 (Bangkok / ICT)
Location: Online, via Zoom
Languages: English, with simultaneous Arabic and Russian interpretation

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KIX EMAP Webinar 26, co-organised by the KIX EMAP Hub, the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok and Office for UN Regional Coordination for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCO Bangkok) and the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) will advance regional dialogue on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

Anchored in UNESCO’s leadership role following the Tashkent Declaration and its mandate to track global and regional ECCE progress, the webinar will spotlight the recently published Asia-Pacific ECCE Regional Factsheet and its call to action. It will provide governments, experts, and partners with an opportunity to share experiences, highlight promising practices, and discuss concrete actions to accelerate ECCE progress in the region.

The webinar will address the state of ECCE in Asia and the Pacific. Centring the factsheet’s call to action, the webinar will provide a space for reactions and reflections on the factsheet’s main messages and unpack what needs to be done to advance ECCE in the region. It will also provide a space for discussing what resources are available and which promising practices exist across the varied national contexts.

The webinar will consist of a presentation of the Asia-Pacific ECCE Regional Factsheet, followed by two roundtable discussions. The first roundtable will bring together representatives from Ministries of Education to reflect on the findings of the factsheet. Discussions will focus on how the messages relate to their national contexts, the key challenges identified, and the actions required to advance ECCE at the country level. The second roundtable will focus on resources and evidence available to support Ministries of Education in strengthening ECCE. Institutions and experts will present tools, evidence, and approaches that can inform policy and practice in the region.

Agenda

Speakers

José Luís Canêlhas, Hub Director, KIX EMAP Hub

José Luís Canêlhas is the Director of the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange Europe, Middle East and North Africa (KIX EMAP) Hub, an Initiative of the Global Partnership for Education, administered globally by the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa. Before joining NORRAG, he worked in international development and education policy, planning, and M&E roles. José Luis holds an MA in Education Planning and Economics from the University College London Institute of Education.

Catherine Wilczek, Associate Programme Officer, UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok

Catherine Wilczek supports the Asia-Pacific programme on Inclusive Education at the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok, with a focus on children with disabilities and other marginalized or vulnerable groups, as well as Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). She leads and coordinates the joint work of the Disability-Inclusive Education in Asia-Pacific Working Group, advancing efforts to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all children across the region. Her work involves designing, implementing, and monitoring projects that strengthen education systems to better address the diverse learning needs of children, particularly those at risk of exclusion. Catherine holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in International Business from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia.

Siva Prasad Behera, Programme Coordinator, ARNEC

Siva P. Behera is currently the Programme Coordinator at the Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC), overlooking ARNEC’s advocacy priorities of building a multi-sectoral approach to ECD and strengthening Social and Emotional Learning in ECCD. Over his 15 years of career in teaching, research, and development programs across India and South Asia, he has successfully established models, demonstration sites, and partnerships as a programme planner, implementer, campaigner, and researcher. He comes with a comprehensive background on programme design, strategic partnerships, and government relationship. Prior to joining ARNEC, Siva had worked with two prominent international development agencies – ChildFund and ActionAid. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, and a Master’s degree and Ph.D in Social Work from Utkal University.

Lola Berdieva, Director of the Department for Coordination of Preschool Education, Ministry of Preschool and School Education, Uzbekistan

Lola Berdieva has extensive experience in the field of education, she has played a pivotal role in shaping and implementing policies to enhance the quality and accessibility of preschool education. Ms. Berdieva has been actively involved in collaborating with international organizations, including UNICEF, to promote early childhood development and improve educational frameworks. Her work with UNICEF has focused on capacity-building initiatives, resource development, and the implementation of innovative programs to support preschool education.

Additionally, Lola Berdieva has contributed significantly to the development and refinement of all regulatory legal acts in the preschool education sphere. Her expertise and leadership have been instrumental in aligning national policies with global best practices, ensuring a robust foundation for early childhood education in the country. Through her dedication and strategic vision, Ms. Berdieva continues to drive impactful reforms in the preschool education sector, fostering a brighter future for young learners.

Udara Dikkumbura, Additional Secretary – Co-Curricular and Primary Education Development, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka

Ms. Udara Thambapanni Dikkumbura is an Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education & Vocational Education in Sri Lanka. A member of the Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service with over 20 years of experience, she currently heads the Co-curricular & Primary Education Development division and the IT & Digital Education division within general education. Her academic credentials include an M.Sc. in IT Management from the University of Staffordshire (UK), a Master of Teacher Education (MTE) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from the Open University of Sri Lanka, and a B.Sc. in Public Management from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura.

PRAK KOSAL, Deputy Secretary General of NC-ECCD and Director of Early Childhood Education Department, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), Cambodia

His Excellency Dr. PRAK KOSAL has been working for MoEYS for 32 years including 20 years of experience working in Early Childhood Care and Development. During his services in ECCD, he has been leading and coordinating technical tasks of public preschool, community preschool, day care, home-based education/parental education, and private preschool, ECE curriculum and coordinating in national committee for ECCD, policy formulation and implementation multi-sectoral processes. He has played vital roles leading and coordinating with relevant technical coordination task teams from different line ministries/institutions, development partners and civil society to cooperatively carry out roles and responsibilities for effective support on ECCD.

As for his educational background, he holds PhD in Education Science, double master’s degrees, one in Educational and Financial Planning, and another in Public Laws. During his 32 years of services, he has received extensive professional development programs from well-known institutions around the globe; for example Participated in Early Childhood Development – Asia – in collaboration with Hiroshima University supported by JICA, Advanced International Diploma on Child Rights, Classroom and School Management in Lund University, Sweden supported by Sida; Advanced Diploma in Early Childhood Development in Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan supported by UNICEF; Training the Trainer Course in Home Based Care for Young Children in Singapore supported by SCP; the specialized training course on Quantitative Methods for Monitoring and Evaluating the Quality of Education by the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) in Paris.

Neelima Chopra, Programme and Partnership Specialist – ECD and Climate Change, ARNEC

Dr. Neelima Chopra is currently a Program and Partnership Specialist with the Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC). With more than 18 years of expertise in the field, Dr. Chopra spearheads the implementation of ARNEC’s programmatic and thematic priorities, notably focusing on ECD and Climate Change. Her past experience includes working at the HCL Foundation, the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Research at the Jamia Millia University, and UNESCO MGIEP. Dr. Chopra earned her PhD in Early Childhood Education from Jamia Millia Islamia and an MSc in Child Development from the University of Delhi. She is also a prolific author, with her publications spanning critical topics such as social and emotional learning, emergent literacy, and quality early childhood education.

Marina Dreux Frotté, Education Policy, Evaluation and Learning Lead, KIX EMAP

Marina Dreux Frotté is an expert in comparative policy analysis, with a focus on education financing, equity and inclusion, and curriculum reform. She also has extensive experience designing and managing Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems. Marina holds a dual role at NORRAG, the Global Education Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute. As the Education Policy, Evaluation, and Learning Lead for the GPE KIX Europe, Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and Pacific (EMAP) Hub, she monitors education policy developments and coordinates the production of policy analyses. Marina also oversees MEL activities for the project, supporting the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Hub’s activities. In addition, she serves as a Research Associate for the “Innovative Financing to Leave No One Behind” project, where she leads and supervises research and manages relationships with partners and funders. Before joining NORRAG, Marina worked with UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education, Terre des Hommes Switzerland, and various education initiatives in Brazil and Peru. She holds an MA in Development Studies from the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Joy Nafungo, Senior Program Specialist, International Development Research Centre

Joy Nafungo is a Senior Program Specialist with the GPE Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) program at International Development Research Centre. She has over 10 years’ experience working in various education and early childhood education initiatives in the development and research sectors. She currently manages and provides technical leadership to several KIX projects in East, West and Southern Africa.

Vilasack Viraphanh, Program Director, Plan International in Lao PDR

Mr. Vilasack Viraphanh is currently working with Plan International as a Program Director and a National Steering Committee Member of GPE KIX in Lao PDR. Mr. Vilasack graduated from the University of Technology Sydney in Australia in 1996, and from Hiroshima University of Japan in 2006, majoring in education and management.

Throughout his career, Mr. Vilasack worked and held many positions in different organizations, from the government as a teacher, lecturer, INGOs, and UNs agencies such as Program Coordinator with UNDP, and Program Director with Save the Children International. He has extensive experience in the fields of education development, especially early childhood and basic education in rural remote areas for more than 20 years. He has been one of the key implementers of the LEARN and LEARN Plus teams, and also the author of blog post published on the GPE KIX website: Bridging Research and Policy: Institutionalizing an Early Childhood Education Innovation in Lao PDR.

Visal Moosa, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Islamic University of Maldives

Dr. Visal Moosa holds a PhD in Education from Universiti Brunei Darussalam and a Master’s degree in educational management and leadership from Universiti Malaya. He is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at the Islamic University of Maldives. Prior to this, he was an assistant professor at the Centre for Research and Publication at the IUM. Dr Visal has served in various positions in the education sector including leading teacher, principal and educational development officer at the Ministry of Education. Dr. Visal is a consultant in quantitative data analysis. He is also an active figure in research and publication and has contributed to a number of WOS/SCOPUS indexed journal articles.

Rika Yorozu, Education Programme Specialist, UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok

Rika Yorozu is a Programme Specialist for Inclusive and Equitable Learning at the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok. Before joining UNESCO Bangkok, she worked in the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, Hamburg; the Higher Education Section at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris; and the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU), Tokyo. She has provided support to developing and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa in education strategy and development of lifelong learning policies, especially in addressing inclusive participation in adult learning and education and making youth and adult literacy programmes gender responsive. Her special interests are community learning and women’s leadership development in education. Yorozu holds an EdD from the University of Glasgow.

Joel Lasam, Knowledge Management and Learning Advisor, ARNEC

Joel Lasam joined the Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) in 2019 as Knowledge Management and Learning Advisor. In this current role, Joel brings more than two decades of experience in development policy, governance and development, policy research and analysis, and programme management. He started his career in the central planning ministry of the Philippines as a development specialist for governance. After 14 years in government, he assumed the post of Governance Adviser, managing public sector reform programs with assistance from the Australian Aid and several other donor agencies. On his off days, Joel teaches research and development theories to undergraduate students in the Philippines. He has a graduate degree in public policy and administration from the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.

Marina Patrier, Deputy Director and Chief of the Education Section, UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok

Marina Patrier has been working for UNESCO for the past 20 years. She started her career at UNESCO Headquarters in the education sector, and then held the position of Chief of Education in different national and regional offices, in Afghanistan, Palestine, Eastern Africa and Jordan, and played the role of Deputy in these three National Offices. Her experience covers both recovery and development programmes and focuses on strengthening institutional capacities, partnerships and coordination to promote the right to education for all. Ms Patrier is a French national. She holds a Master Degree in History from the University of Rennes and the University of Barcelona, a Master from Science Po Toulouse, and a Master in International Cooperation and Development from the University Pantheon-Sorbonne.

Evelyn Santiago, Executive Director, ARNEC

Evelyn Santiago is the current Executive Director of ARNEC. Evelyn has more than 25 years of professional experience in development work encompassing child development, investment programming, strategic planning, project planning and design, programme management, grants development, and partnership building. Prior to joining ARNEC, she worked with ChildFund International, the German Technical Cooperation (now called GIZ), and with the Central Economic Planning Ministry of the Philippine Government. Evelyn has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science-Economics from the University of the Philippines and a Master of Arts degree in Economics of Development from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague.

Eligibility

Anyone is eligible to participate. The webinar is particularly aimed at policy makers, education stakeholders, officials, teachers and academic researchers. To access the webinar, you need to register in advance. Please spread the news about this event to your colleagues and networks, and on social media: @KIXEMAP, @NORRAG, @UNESCO and @ARNECnet.

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