Center for Business Champions Training Institute Attendees Learn to Build Effective & Lasting Business-ECD Partnerships
The inaugural “Building Business Champions” Training Institute kicked off at the beginning of May with 30 participants representing 20 countries.
Participants are part of an online cohort that meets once a week for five weeks to grow their knowledge and skills in building partnerships between the early childhood development (ECD) and business sectors.
Business-Child Development Partnerships Matter
The business community plays a pivotal role in building a more sustainable world and can be an invaluable partner in ensuring that working parents have the support they need and children have a good foundation for success and wellbeing in school, work, and life.
The Center for Business Champions (CBC) at Childhood Education International was developed to support ECD and business leaders in building effective and lasting partnerships that benefit children and build thriving economies and societies.
“We are excited to offer practical advice and skills, as well as opportunities for participants to learn from each other, to help local leaders build their own networks of business champions,” said Dr. Sara Watson, Director of the CBC. “The Institute is based on twenty years of experience successfully building bridges between the business and children’s sectors to support the current and future workforce.”
Experience-Based Guidance, Examples, and Strategies
The comprehensive training institute curriculum prepares participants to design and develop a country-based network of business champions from outside the child development sector.
The training institute is facilitated by Dr. Sara Watson; Yvette Murphy, Senior Advisor for Global Education; and Sarah Bracken, Senior Project Associate, with contributions from Diane Whitehead, President and CEO. Guest speakers from non-governmental organizations, foundations, and business organizations join sessions to share their insights and recommendations.
“The institute participants are excited about gaining practical, experience-based guidance on how to approach local business leaders to share why investment in early childhood is important and discuss ways they can work together to support children and families and benefit their companies, communities, and economies. This is a wonderful and motivated group of leaders,” said Yvette Murphy.
During the training institute, participants have multiple ways to engage and receive direct responses to their context-specific questions. They benefit from the expertise that the CBC brings and that of guest speakers who have direct and dynamic experience working with businesses who support children, parents, and families around the world, including in El Salvador, Kenya, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Future Opportunities
The CBC offers training, tools, and strategic guidance to help ECD leaders and businesses build effective and lasting partnerships. To express your interest in future training institute cohorts, please click here.
The CBC also offers custom consulting and advisory services to support ECD leaders and corporate workshops and advisory services to support business leaders in developing partnerships.
We express our appreciation to ISSA and ARNEC for their collaboration on the first training institute and to sponsors Dorene Hurt, Brandi King, and Diane Whitehead for their support.