1000 First days: International Congress on Brain Science Early Childhood Care Education

Transforming Early Childhood Care and Education through Neuroscience

UNESCO and the Babilou Family Fondation have hosted two editions of the International Congress on Brain Science; one in Marseille in 2022 and the last one in Paris, UNESCO HQ in 2024 .

This is a wonderful opportunity to present research findings on early childhood development and learning, and to encourage dialogue between resarchers, education policymakers and practioners on the practical implication of the research.

Xavier Ouvrard

VP Supervisory Board Babilou Family & Babilou Family Foundation

We are going to fight an explain to the world that everything happens between 0 and 6 years old, that we have to invest there, with an international aim, with a shared vision of sustainable education, for a sustainable world

International Congress on Brain Sciences, Early Childhood Care and Education

Purpose and Concept

1,400 attendees in person
30 International speakers
3 Round tables
1 Plenary Session

Neuroscience is key in determining the necessary conditions for toddlers' development and fulfilment. It also plays a major role in the way the first 1,000 days of a child's life are apprehended. In order to take advantage of all the work in the field and to bring together the world of research and stakeholders, the Congress of brain science and Early Childhood Care and Education gathered renowned international neuroscientists alongside public and private players, field professionals, and experts, all of whom committed to spearheading a genuine educational revolution from early childhood onwards.

Babilou Family is convinced that the development of sustainable and responsible ecosystems requires close collaboration between public institutions and private actors.

Babilou Family is presented in 10 countries around the world and is proud to commit to UNESCO and its partners for the sustainable education of future generations.

Openning session

Keynote speaker: Professor James Heckman

This keynote has presented the influential work in economics by Doctor James Heckman, which has shown the importance of quality education from the earliest age in improving the chances of personal and professional fulfilment for individuals and their children, and in breaking the cycle of poverty.

Opening session

Understanding how young children think and learn

This round table has presented recent advanced in brain development and learning in very young children. In recent years, the rapid development of brain imaging in young children has led to major advances in our understanding of how the brain is organized and functions in the first few years of life, and how this organization enables the young child to possess many early skills and acquire new ones. A remarkable example is language acquisition, where we now have a better understanding of how the child develops numerous language skills from the very first years of life. Research also shows the fundamental importance of sleep for the reorganization of the brain during development, and its influence on children's learning. Advances in knowledge about the development and learning of very young children can play a major role in developing innovations to promote the development of children's early skills.

Round Table #1

Limiting inequalities in development and learning

This second round table has focused on inequalities in development and learning linked to differences in the security and enrichment of children's living environments.

The challenge is to better understand how the early experiences associated with these contexts affect cerebral and cognitive development, and what innovations can help reduce these developmental inequalities.

Round Table #2

The importance of the development of the executive functions

This final round table has covered work on the importance of executive functions for early childhood development and learning, the long-term effects of their development in early childhood on the individual's chances of fulfillment and achievement in adulthood, and the various approaches used to support the development of executive functions across different cultures.