The Bernard van Leer Foundation Annual Report 2012

"Over the years, the Foundation has realised the importance of more holistic thinking, rooting interventions in local circumstances and becoming active in such areas as health and social protection as well as early learning." - Lisa Jordan

This report details the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) grantmaking activities on early childhood development (ECD) and financial situation for the year 2012. It discusses ways the BvLF implements its goals in the countries where it works: "defining our strategy and refining it through information gathering, consultations, baseline research, and testing...", identifying long-term partners, optimising programmes, and consolidating for a phaseout so the country partners can continue their work.

The foundation toolbox includes:

• "Policy influence
• Capacity building
• Research
• Demonstration services
• System change and infrastructure
• Behaviour change"

The document maps locations of programmes globally. It discusses the results in 2012 of the Foundation's work toward  the three BvLF goals:

1. Bringing quality early learning programmes to scale
2. Reducing violence in young children’s lives
3. Improving young children’s physical environments

Examples include:

• The Odisha, India government has begun to support mother tongue-based education as a result of BvLF advocacy and demonstration of mother tongue-based education in ECD.
• Following advocating for more of the Peruvian national budget being invested in ECD, BVLF worked with Peruvian partners to create Creciendo Juntos (Growing Together). (See Related Summaries below.)
• Brazilian FavelaNews, a radio station that is reporting on things other than violence that are going on within the favelas, brings to light those who are not gaining fame and control through violence but are recognised for more positive actions.
• With Peruvian partner INFANT, BvLF mobilised a demonstration in support of a ban on physical and humiliating punishment of children.
• With the support of five international experts and facilitated by the firm of analysts De Argumenten Fabriek (The Arguments Factory), the Foundation created an information map summarising the latest research on how the quality of living conditions directly influences young children.
• BvLF's Peruvian partner INFANT-Nagayama organised a series of events in the Belén communities with the aim of recruiting older children into an effort to keep the younger ones safe from drowning. Peru’s police force helped out with swimming and water safety lessons, free of charge.
• Two BvLF publications highlighted living conditions: Early Childhood Matters on living conditions and Early Childhood in Focus on healthy environments. (See Related Summaries below.)

Partners are listed for each country with the overall goal of their grant. The Executive Summary in Spanish is included within the report.