CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno will leave for New York on Tuesday, November 29, to participate in a conference which will discuss early childhood development (ECD), an event sponsored by The New York Academy of Sciences.
The city chief executive will be among 41 civic officials from 13 cities worldwide for the event “Global Compact on Early Childhood Development: Cities Meeting” slated on November 30 to December 1 at the Academy Sciences Conference Center.
The Science Academy noted in its website that it is inviting four civic officials from the United States, four from United Kingdom, and one-each from Brazil, Colombia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Moreno for the Philippines.
Along with other officials in other cities worldwide, Moreno will take part in sharing experiences in the development of urban ECD programs in each of the cities, such as programs for maternal health, nutrition and parenting, creation of family centers, and increase the child-friendliness of social services, justice systems, and public spaces, among others.
One of the City Government's thrust is programs involving early child development.
At present, the city has hired 86 child development teachers, who were trained to teach 3-5 year old kids in pre-school, using new tools and learning techniques from the 196 Child Development Centers in Cagayan de Oro.
According to the New York Academy for Sciences, 70 percent of the world's population will be living in cities by 2050 and that these cities will play a major role in helping all children achieve their full potential.
The said conference is a platform to support civic leaders and focus on improving the lives of urban children up to three years of age.
"Our goal is to build a global collaborative network of cities that are committed to developing innovative, evidence-based, effective, and scalable programs for young children. We are guided by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals," it said.
By convening civic leaders, policymakers, practitioners and researchers, the academy said it “hopes to foster an exchange of ideas and information among cities and across disciplines” and help mayors and civic leaders around the world improve their own ECD contexts.
While Moreno is off for an official trip, Vice Mayor Rainier Joaquin Uy will temporarily takeover as city mayor and City Councilor Zaldy Ocon as vice-mayor.
In October this year, Moreno also left for Vienna, Austria and joined leaders of more than 80 cities from around the world for the One Belt One Road Inclusive and Sustainable City Exhibition and Dialogue, a United Nations sponsored conference.
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