As part of the establishment of the IECD as a Category 2 Centre for ECCE under the auspices of UNESCO, a delegation from the IECD conducted a mission visit to the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) in Seoul, South Korea.
The Seychelles delegation consisted of Mrs. Shirley Choppy, the Chief Executive Officer of IECD, Mrs. Sonia Mancienne, the Vice Chairperson of the IECD Board, Mrs. Nathalie Moustache, the Director for Regulatory Affairs, Ms. Corina Andre, the Director for Advocacy and Information, Ms. Laurette Lebon, the Human Resources & Budget Management Officer, and Mrs. Vicky Michel, the Secretary General of the UNESCO National Commission.
The main objectives of the working mission were to learn more about the centre’s overall functioning and gain an understanding of the centre’s various targeted programmes and initiatives.
On the first two days, the team met with different Heads of Sections and presented their country’s strategic and governance framework as well as the mandates and functions of their organizations.
On the afternoon of the second day, the team had the chance to visit the Seoul Early Childhood Education & Promotion Center, which promotes play-based early learning activities that allow young children to experience art and culture. This is done through different support programmes for parents and families as well as activities for children.
On the third day, the delegation had a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Korean National Commission, Dr Jihon Kim, at the Headquarters of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, where both parties made a presentation on their respective National Commissions. The Secretary of the Seychelles National Commission, Mrs Vicky Michel, expressed Seychelles’ wish to collaborate with the Korean National Commission. Mrs Michel also briefed Dr Kim on the Ministry of Education’s recent initiative to integrate Global Citizenship Education into the curriculum.
In the afternoon, the delegation visited the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (KICCE). Mrs Shirley Choppy briefed KICCE officials about the work IECD is doing regarding Early Childhood Development in Seychelles. She explained how IECD has received the status of a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO and how the delegation had come to Korea to learn more about the activities being undertaken by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education.
To concretize the work relationship and cooperation between IECD and APCEIU, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on the last day of the mission at APCEIU Headquarters. “Through this MOU, we very much hope that we will work together to promote ‘Global Citizenship Education’ in Seychelles and in the region,” stated Dr Lim, the Director of APCEIU. On her part, Mrs Shirley Choppy shared that “this is an important step for IECD as we prepare to operate as an international centre – the Category II centre under the auspices of UNESCO. We have gathered a lot of information and enriched our knowledge.”
The Vice Chairperson of the IECD Board, Mrs Mancienne, expressed confidence that the knowledge, skills, and ideas acquired through this mission visit have helped the team to better understand the APCEIU’s strategic and governance framework. “This will contribute immensely towards the IECD’s process to effectively establish and operate its Category 2 Centre for ECCE in the near future. It is also without any doubt that the acquired knowledge, skills, and ideas will help me to better govern and provide strategic direction to the IECD in my capacity as the Vice-Chairperson of the IECD Board,” quoted Mrs Mancienne.
