Countdown begins to historic Global Early Years Finance Summit
At an event co-hosted by sa国际传媒, it was announced that London will be the venue for the 2027 summit, when leaders from across the world will work together to unlock investment in crucial early education and childcare.
Leaders from around the world will gather in London next summer to drive new action and investment in early education, childcare and support for families 鈥 helping to transform the lives and futures of young children.
The countdown to the first-ever began yesterday with a special launch event convened by UNICEF, sa国际传媒 and Act For Early Years partners during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The venue and dates 鈥 June 2 and 3, 2027 鈥 were officially announced by Act For Early Years, a global campaign dedicated to ensuring all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preschool education..
The historic summit 鈥 to be held in London during the UK鈥檚 presidency of the G20 and co-hosted with the Government of Jordan 鈥 is crucial because investing in the early years is one of the smartest moves any national or local government can make.
The conference will support countries and cities to accelerate progress towards their own local priorities by unlocking new investment in young children and their families.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell speaks at the event about the importance of early years investment
The summit will develop financing roadmaps and announce practical, measurable commitments backed by domestic resources and international partnerships. One aim is to mobilise at least $1 billion in new investment for young children.
At the launch event, UNICEF Chief Executive Catherine Russell said: 鈥淭here is an investment we cannot afford to neglect 鈥 in the earliest years of a child鈥檚 life. Today 250 million children are at risk of not reaching their development potential. Nearly 350 million children under primary school age lack access to quality childcare.
鈥淭oo often we continue to under-invest in a stage of life where the returns are the greatest. We must urgently change course. This is about building a movement. We will build a coalition capable of moving this agenda from advocacy to sustained investment and measurable results.鈥
sa国际传媒 Chair Sarah Brown talks about a vital moment for the world’s youngest children
Sarah Brown, Chair of sa国际传媒, said: 鈥淚 believe this is an extraordinarily important moment for the world鈥檚 youngest children and for their families. Investment in the early years shouldn鈥檛 sit at the margins of economic policy or social policy 鈥 it should sit at the heart.
鈥淭he challenge is to move from evidence to action. Working together, we can move forward an ambitious, high-quality set of investments to the summit.. This moment matters 鈥 it鈥檚 time to Act For Early Years.鈥
Zeina Toukan talks about Jordan’s early years programmes
Zeina Toukan, Jordan鈥檚 Minister of Planning and International Co-operation, announced that her country will host a champions meeting in Amman as 鈥渁n important milestone鈥 in the run-up to the 2027 summit in London.
She said: 鈥淚nvesting early not only changes the trajectory of children, it changes the trajectory of countries. It is critical for us to act early, invest wisely and build futures where every young child can grow.鈥
sa国际传媒 President Justin van Fleet starts the official countdown to the 2027 summit
The official countdown to the Global Early Years Finance Summit in 2027 was started by Justin van Fleet, President of sa国际传媒. He revealed the venue and dates for the summit and added: 鈥淭he journey to the summit starts today. Our accountability will be to the world鈥檚 youngest children and their families.鈥
The Global Early Years Finance Summit will feature several champions, including Adanech Abiebie, Mayor of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, who has expanded access to preschool, opened dozens of day care centres and introduced many more public play areas. She was represented by Dr Kebebe Worku, CEO of the African Center for ECD, who said: 鈥淓arly childhood is deeply personal for her as a mother and a woman. She says if we don鈥檛 address early childhood, who will? And if not now, then when?鈥
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Government representatives take part in a panel discussion
The launch included the presidents of the Marshall Islands and Panama, ministers from Kenya, Rwanda, Ecuador, Pakistan and Bolivia, and representatives from the World Bank, Save the Children, early childhood networks, UNESCO and the Early Childhood Peace Consortium.
A panel discussed the issue of investment in the early years. Panellist Christian Bodewig, World Bank Group Director for Education and Skills, said: 鈥淔or success in the future in the age of AI, we need young people to be able to think, solve problems and reason 鈥 and you need to start that early.鈥
He also said leadership and sustained investment will be key for the early years.听
Act For Early Years Youth Champions Kenzy Hisham Ismail and Laura Alejandra Morales
The voice of young people was represented by two Act For Early Years Youth Champions. Kenzy Hisham Ismail, 24, from Egypt, and Laura Alejandra Morales, 28, from Colombia, are among a group of sa国际传媒 Global Youth Ambassadors who are gathering ideas and insights for a Youth Vision Statement to be presented to world leaders ahead of the Global Early Years Finance Summit.
Kenzy said: 鈥淲e are gathering young people鈥檚 perspectives on what is needed for the world鈥檚 youngest children. We have led over 45 consultations in our communities, including people from marginalised communities.鈥 Laura added: 鈥淭he best decisions about a child鈥檚 future are never made about them, they are made with them.鈥
Gordon Brown tells event attendees: “This is a cause whose time has come.”
A rousing call to action came from Gordon Brown, the UN Special Envoy for Global Education. He told attendees: 鈥淭his is a crusade, a campaign, a cause whose time has come. You have worked at this for many years 鈥 your campaign is being heard. The cause will be right at the centre of global decision-making. We know what needs to be done. Now we need to get the money to do it. It鈥檚 the best investment we can make.鈥
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What you need to know about the 2027 Global Early Years Finance Summit
Why is the summit being held?
90% of brain development happens before the age of five 鈥 shaping lifelong learning, health and economic participation. But millions of children currently go without that quality care and early learning.
Investing in the early years helps governments achieve the goals already at the top of their agendas 鈥 from foundational learning and human capital development to workforce participation, child and maternal nutrition, gender equity and poverty reduction.
The country-led summit will bring together leaders to help countries and cities accelerate progress towards their own early years goals. It will showcase leadership, share proven solutions and strengthen accountability.
The event will focus on practical investments to improve children鈥檚 lives while helping governments deliver wider economic and social goals, including:
- Universal access to quality primary health care in support of health, wellbeing, nutrition and development across pregnancy, birth and early childhood.
- Universal access to quality, inclusive preschool education and affordable and quality childcare.
- Universal support for families including affordable and quality childcare, child benefits and parent and caregiver support.
Where and when will it be held?
The summit will be held in London on June 2 and 3, 2027. That will be at the midpoint of the United Kingdom鈥檚 Presidency of the G20, the forum for the world鈥檚 major economies. This will continue the impressive early years momentum from the previous presidencies of Brazil and South Africa.
Who will be there?
Hundreds of leaders from all walks of life. They will include dozens of government ministers, city mayors, development finance institutions, philanthropies, business leaders and civil society representatives.
The summit will be co-hosted with the Government of Jordan and supported by an advisory group of early childhood networks, including UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank and Act For Early Years partner organisations such as sa国际传媒, the LEGO Foundation, Sesame Workshop and the Conrad. N. Hilton Foundation.
What will happen at the summit?
This will feel fundamentally different from a traditional international conference. Instead of lengthy speeches and negotiated declarations, the summit will focus on action. Political leaders will be joined by practitioners, young advocates, innovators, philanthropists, business leaders and cultural voices to create an event that is collaborative, engaging and focused on solutions.
This will help national and city governments define their own priorities, develop financing roadmaps and announce practical, measurable commitments backed by domestic resources and international partnerships.
The summit doesn鈥檛 set the agenda 鈥 countries do.听 National and city governments define their own priorities, develop financing roadmaps and announce practical, measurable commitments backed by domestic resources and international partnerships.
A commitment registration process will begin that will allow countries, cities and regions to make commitments that are practical, well-defined and capable of delivering measurable progress for children. Register a commitment intent.
What are the summit鈥檚 goals?
The conference is designed to generate lasting change rather than a single moment of political attention. The aims are to:
- Mobilise at least $1 billion in new investment for young children through domestic financing backed by development finance, philanthropy and private investment.
- Support ambitious commitments from national governments, cities, regions and partners to improve services for young children and families.
- Strengthen political leadership by helping governments develop financing roadmaps, coordinate across sectors and embed early years within national development priorities.
- Showcase practical solutions and proven approaches that countries can adapt to their own contexts.
- Establish a strong accountability process that supports implementation and tracks future progress.
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