Monterrey, Nuevo León, October 24, 2018.- In cooperation with the Center on the Developing Child of Harvard University and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the four-day seminar “Design of Innovative Public Policies to Transform the Future of Mexico” was held, aimed at making our country one of the best places in the region, to be a child.
With a renewed look at leadership in public policies, innovation and the solution of challenges, the seminar brings together more than 40 public sector leaders committed to positive transformation that revolves around childhood. The School of Government and Public Transformation of Tecnológico de Monterrey, FEMSA Foundation, The LEGO Foundation and the Accelerator of Innovation for Early Childhood also joined this purpose.
“Putting early childhood on the public agenda is everybodys job. With this initiative we seek to achieve more intersectoral collaboration in the design and implementation of public policies, based on evidence that supports families. Opening these dialogue spaces will allow us to create innovative solutions to reach more children in this very formative stage”, said Eva Fernández, Manager of Social Investment in Early Childhood of FEMSA Foundation.
Through this cycle of conferences and workshops, participants will obtain analysis and design tools that revolve around the challenges of early childhood in Mexico, based on successful experiences in other countries such as Brazil.
“The best investment a country can make is to invest in early childhood. Numerous studies have shown the high returns that investing in the first years of life have for a country. We must ensure that children have caring and sensitive care that prioritizes playing in order for them to have a better development and be prepared for the challenges of todays world”, said Astrid Viveros, Director of LEGO Foundation in Mexico.
Among the outstanding international specialists, the seminar will be attended by Dr. Charles Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School; Ricardo Bucio, Executive Secretary of the National System for the Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents (SIPINNA in Spanish); and Dr. Pat Levitt, Vice President and Director at The Saban Reserach Institute; among others.
“This program is very important because it will strengthen the relationships between the different actors that collaborate in early childhood development, since many of the merits that are made in the matter are disjointed, so having a space where they can not only obtain knowledge, but also linkage is very important in order to promote public policies that may have an impact in this area. Also, not only the government participates in different levels, but civil society organisms and foundations are also involved, since the synergy achieved between all these actors will allow a greater impact”, said Pablo de la Peña, Director of Monterrey’s School of Government of Tec de Monterrey.
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About FEMSA Foundation
FEMSA Foundation is an organization that aims to generate positive impacts on people and communities through social investment projects for sustainability. FEMSA Foundation focuses on two areas of action: 1) the conservation and sustainable use of water and 2) the improvement of health through nutritional education and the promotion of early childhood development. For more information, visit www.fundacionfemsa.org or follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FundacionFEMSA/
About LEGO Foundation
The LEGO Foundation aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow; a mission that the LEGO Group also shares. The LEGO Foundation is dedicated to building a future where learning through play allows children to learn in a creative, involved, and lifelong way. Its mission is to redefine the game and reimagine learning. In collaboration with opinion leaders, educators and caregivers, The LEGO Foundation aims to equip, inspire and activate game promoters.
About Tecnológico de Monterrey
Tecnológico de Monterrey (http://www.tec.mx) is a private non-profit university with presence in 26 cities in Mexico that was founded in 1943, with the vision to train leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit, a human sense and who are internationally competitive. TEC de Monterrey has an enrollment of more than 60 thousand students of professional and postgraduate level and more than 7 thousand 400 professors; it also has more than 27 thousand high school students and 2,500 teachers at that level. The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits the institution. According to the 2019 QS World University Rankings, it ranks in the position 178, and in its employers’ opinion indicator, it is placed as number 1 in Mexico and as 62nd in the world. In the 2018 QS University Rankings: Latin America, it ranks the fifth position. According to the 2018 Times Higher Education Latin America University Rankings, in this same region it is ranked number 1 in Mexico and 5th in Latin America; and it is the only Latin American university in Princeton Review’s 2018 Top Schools for Entrepreneurship, ranking 14th place in entrepreneurship undergraduate programs. In addition, for the second consecutive year, the institution is placed as number 1 in the Education Sector within the “MERCO Empresas” Ranking, which measures corporate reputation.