The first days and years of a child’s life are a crucial time – the skills, competencies and habits gained in these early years affect children well into adulthood and are the fundamental building blocks for living a full, productive life.
In preparation for this challenge, the Amplify Team gathered experts and stakeholders from around the world to discuss the gaps and opportunities in early childhood development. We also met with parents, caregivers and local experts in Tanzania and Ethiopia. That field reseach confirmed the crucial role that parents and other primary caregivers play in their children’s development, and highlighted the numerous barriers that inhibit many parents' ability to support their children’s physical, cognitive and social development.
Interested to know more? Learn more about the importance of our challenge question and how to get involved.
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS CHALLENGE?
Amplify challenges are a global conversation. In the Research phase, we connected communities in Tanzania and India without regular internet access to the OpenIDEO community using radio, TV and mobile phones. Read about how it works.
THE AMPLIFY PROGRAM
The Amplify Program is a five-year joint initiative between OpenIDEO and IDEO.org aimed at making international aid more collaborative and human-centered. A select number of ideas with application in DFID's 28 priority countries will receive funding or design support in accordance with this criteria. Amplify challenges are made possible with funding from the UK Department for International Development.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
This challenge is a global conversation and we trust that everyone will approach it with empathy and respect. In general we have found that keeping comments optimistic, solution-focused and sensitive to different cultural contexts helps to create an environment where everyone's opinions are welcome. Keeping this in mind throughout the design process will help us to collaborate and design better, together.
OPENIDEO CROSS-POLLINATOR
