The Decade for Childhood 2012-2022

Embracing the human future.
Exploring childhood today, creating new opportunities for childhood tomorrow.
The Decade for Childhood: An Invitation To Join Forces

The understanding of child development grew tremendously during the 20th century. Today, however, we feel a growing unease about the state of childhood. Too often, nations have been unable to translate new knowledge into actions that promote children's health and well-being. Rapid cultural and technological changes combine with age-old problems of poverty, neglect, and abuse to thwart the healthy development of huge numbers of children.

Current conditions pose a threat to childhood, and the need to address them is urgent. The Decade for Childhood is a multi-year initiative to explore what is eroding in childhood and to create new opportunities for childhood's future—our human future.

During the Decade, we will seek to answer questions such as these:

• What is our view of the human being and how does that affect our view of childhood?
• Have changes in child-rearing practices and societal expectations of children served children well or contributed to a decline in their overall well-being?
• What supports children—and ultimately all of us—in creating strong relationships, a healthy environment, and opportunities for lifelong growth and learning; and how do we make these a normal part of every child's life?

The Decade for Childhood provides a platform for examining questions like these and for experiencing the cross-fertilization that comes from exchanging ideas and experiences, and working together across many sectors and in many nations. It offers individuals and organizations a deepened understanding of how the issues they are addressing fit into the larger picture of childhood today. Through communication and collaboration, new partnerships—at local, regional, national, and international levels—can help extend our work, especially when enriched by insights across multiple sectors, including education, health, ecology, recreation, sociology, and psychology.

We invite you to join us in making 2012-2022 the Decade for Childhood. Specific plans and strategies will evolve over time in communication with you. A Global Summit on Childhood will be held in Washington, D.C., March 28-31, 2012, organized by the Association for Childhood Education International in conjunction with the Decade for Childhood initiative. It will bring together individuals and organizations from many sectors to examine the challenges facing childhood today and consider ways to address them.

The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) and the Alliance for Childhood have joined together to create this initiative. There are many others who share our concerns and want to take action. We invite you to join with us in this partnership to help all children realize their full potential and to offer a promise for childhood's future. Please click here for an invitation to join.

Every child in every nation deserves a childhood full of hope, joy, freedom, and promise for the future.

At the Decade Launch event on March 30, 2012, in Washington, D.C., Lea Pulkkinen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, delivered the presentation
"Ten Pillars of a Good Childhood:  A Finnish Perspective." 
Read the text of that presentation here.

For more information about the Decade for Childhood, click here