For a long time we have ignored the potential of children in early childhood, underestimating the importance of education in the first years, considering it as a private matter and not a collective responsibility. This has led to a lack of pedagogical and professional attention in their accompaniment.

The strongest evidence of the potential of early life development comes from programs around the world that:

- They respect the rights and ways of learning of each child at each stage of development.

- They recognize the interdependence between nutrition, health, care and education.

- They support the strengthening of relationships between children and their families in their contexts.

In aeioTU we work with our own pedagogical program for early childhood education: aeioTU Educational Experience. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy, in this program children learn through play, art and research, being the protagonists of learning based on their own interests and involving all the actors of the environment.

We seek to transform the entire educational ecosystem.

An example of this is reflected in a situation that occurred several years ago at one of the aeioTU centers located in Suba, Bogotá, when a girl who was in the park waiting her turn to ride a tricycle received an unexpected blow from another child.

She respectfully had the ability to say, "No, you can't hit me". Then she called the teacher and said: "We need to have an assembly! The teacher listened to her and called everyone together to discuss the situation that had triggered this reaction in the child who hit her. They discussed and came to an agreement.

The next day, the boy's father confronted the teacher about the way his son was being educated, arguing that it was important for him to learn to stand up for himself. The teacher explained that there are other ways to discipline and resolve differences. Months later, this father, in tears, told us that this event had changed the way he understood his children and had transformed the way they related to each other at home. They had replaced punishment with listening and dialogue, harmonizing their coexistence.

This anecdote demonstrates the power of the articulation of all the actors around early childhood. It dignifies relationships and builds a community that embraces children with love and respect.

Our invitation is to listen to children, their families, teachers and caregivers, and to join together as a society to promote quality education that closes social gaps, transforms the reality of early childhood and drives a virtuous circle of social development and human capital.

María Adelaida López

Executive Director aeioTU