This week, I looked into the UNESCO website to get a look at who they are and what they do.  I literally knew nothing about this organization, so I felt that I needed to start at the very beginning.  I didn't even know what the acronym stood for.  I learned this week that UNESCO is the United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture.  The headquarters for this organization is located in Paris and there are fifty field offices around the world.  In the USA, there is an office in New York. 
     UNESCO does many different things for many different sectors involving education, science, and culture.  However, this organization also addresses early childhood care and education specifically.  UNESCO advocates for early childhood programs and works to ensure a holistic program that addresses development, health, nutrition, security, and learning.  It's goal is to work to see that all young children have the ability to develop to their fullest potential. 
     UNESCO works to gain access and equity in early childhood programs by expanding and improving early childhood programs especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations of children.  UNESCO works worldwide to first help the countries recognize the importance of early childhood education, and then to mobilize the resources to provide early childhood education.  UNESCO's stance is that all countries should view early childhood education as part of a basic education.  The greatest difficulty is not convincing countries of this, but in mobilizing the resources to provide it.
     We often see the way that early childhood education works in our country, but seldom think of how it is provided in other countries.  The UNESCO site helps one to get a worldwide picture of early childhood education.  There is even a calendar of events that gives dates and locations for meetings and conferences regarding early childhood education all across the world.