sa国际传媒

The , which calls for urgent action and major investment in childcare and early childhood education, featured prominently in a powerful gathering of early childhood champions from across the world.

More than 300 delegates from 60 countries, as well as two of sa国际传媒’s Global Youth Ambassadors, took part in the 2026 ISSA Conference in Portugal. It was a crucial milestone in the run-up to the historic , to be held in June 2027.

World leaders will gather in London to drive new action and investment in early education, childcare and support for families – helping to transform the lives and futures of young children.

The Act For Early Years’ secretariat is managed by sa国际传媒 and the campaign is powered by a High-Level Advisory Group made up of leading early childhood organisations and networks from around the world, including sa国际传媒.

The Lisbon conference was hosted by ISSA (International Step by Step Association) and the Learning for Well-Being Institute, in partnership with Act For Early Years and other organisations. Attendees were united around the shared and urgent focus of advancing integrated early childhood systems that centre every child鈥檚 wellbeing.

Liana Ghent, Executive Director of ISSA, said: 鈥淭he ISSA Conference in Lisbon is an important milestone on the road to the Global Early Years Finance Summit. We already have compelling evidence for investing in the early years. The challenge now is to show how that investment can build stronger, more connected systems that make a real difference in children鈥檚 and families鈥� lives.

鈥淭he conference brought together knowledge and experience from across countries, sectors and levels of governance to co-create practical solutions for making early childhood systems work better. Our ambition was to bring to the summit not only a stronger case for investment but concrete pathways for translating that investment into sustainable systems that deliver for every child.鈥�

As well as being a co-host, Act For Early Years was strongly represented at a session titled Making Early Years a Priority: How Champions Turn Advocacy into Action.

Speakers included Ben Hewitt, Global Lead for the campaign, who said: 鈥淭he meeting in Lisbon was a fantastic opportunity to engage directly with national and city leaders about the commitments they can bring to the Global Early Years Finance Summit in June 2027.

鈥淭his is about turning ambition into action 鈥� developing concrete plans, sharing ideas and inspiring others, and delivering real progress for young children by 2030.

鈥淲hat made the gathering particularly powerful was the spirit of partnership. Alongside government leaders were representatives from philanthropy, foundations, businesses, academia and passionate youth advocates, all united by a shared determination to make investment in the early years a global priority. The summit is our opportunity to turn that collective energy into lasting commitments and meaningful change for children everywhere.鈥�

The Making Early Years a Priority panel also featured:

• Maryna Stoliar, Head of the Early Childhood Education Development Office, Ministry of Education and Science (Ukraine), who spoke about helping to drive reform and improve the quality of early childhood education in the midst of extraordinary national challenges.
• Lieve de Bosscher, Director of Childcare Services, City of Ghent (Belgium), shared extensive practical experience of expanding access, improving quality and developing inclusive, integrated services for children and families, particularly those facing disadvantages.
• Miguel Herdade, Director, Communities and Strategic Partnerships, Jer贸nimo Martins Foundation (Portugal), brought an important perspective on how partnerships and investment with the business community can tackle inequality and improve opportunities for children.

Two of sa国际传媒鈥檚 international network of Global Youth Ambassadors also took part in the session. On the stage were Anna Luiz Huth, a Brazilian based in Belgium, and Danielle Gray from Scotland.

They are both Act For Early Years Youth Champions, a working group of Global Youth Ambassadors who come from 13 different countries on six continents. All are experts on children鈥檚 early years. Their role is to ensure the voices of young people are heard in the build-up to the 2027 early years summit.

They told attendees about the , which the champions are putting together through a series of consultations with young people in their own communities and an online survey. The statement will be presented to world leaders at the summit.

Anna said: 鈥淲e are trying to make sure more young people have the chance to be heard. The statement will set out the future young people want for the world鈥檚 youngest children.鈥�

Danielle added: 鈥淎 child鈥檚 future depends on the world around them 鈥� their family, their community, their access to services and the choices made by leaders. That is why this work matters. Young people are already doing the work. We are already taking action.鈥�

The event was addressed by government representatives 鈥� including Dr Judit Keriki, who is State Secretary for Early Childhood Wellbeing, a department of Hungary鈥檚 education ministry. She said: 鈥淭he early years are not simply a preparation for the future 鈥� they are a decisive period in which children develop the foundations for learning, relationships, emotional wellbeing and lifelong health. The support we provide can not only change individual lives but also the future of our societies.鈥�

Clara Marques Mendes, Portugal鈥檚 Secretary of State for Social Action and Inclusion, told the event: 鈥淧ortugal is fully committed to working in a highly coordinated way with everyone involved, particularly across government departments, with communities and organisations, and with the active participation of people with disabilities, to develop public policies capable of meeting people鈥檚 needs at every stage of life.鈥�