Week 6: Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: International

There are many international organizations dedicated to the well-being of young children.  This week I was able to explore several of these organizations.  It was great to see what is being done to advocate for young children and further the work of early childhood professionals from an international standpoint.  Below are the three organizations that I chose to look at in a more in-depth way.

The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is committed to creating intercultural communities and alleviating poverty.  On top of their work with these topics they are also committed to ideals of respect, gender equality, and, “attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning” (UNESCO, 2011, para. 3). 

Job opportunities for UNESCO are broken into different categories based on your level of education and the role that you are interested in.  I chose to look under the “young professional” category to see what was available.  UNESCO has a Young Professionals Program that provides opportunities for someone recently done with college who is looking to pursue a career in their organization.  To be qualified you must be under 30 years old, be fluent in English or French, and have a degree.  They also prefer their Young Professionals to be from a non- or under-represented nationality.  I would not say I fall under the last category but this still sounded like an interesting opportunity.  I appreciated that they saw the early years in ones career in a different light and saw the need for a special program.  One difficulty with joining this program would be that I do not speak any other languages and they deal closely with international members who speak many different languages.

The second organization I looked at was the International Step-by-Step Association.  “ISSA is a vibrant network that connects professionals and non-profit organizations working in the field of early childhood development” (International Step By Step Association, n.d., para. 1).  One goal of this organization that I especially appreciated was that they advocate for inclusive early childhood programs.

I was unable to find any paid job opportunities for this organization so I looked into the benefits of their membership.  Members of ISSA have access to the latest information on trends in early childhood.  They also have opportunities for members to receive funding for projects related to early childhood development.  The only requirements for this opportunity are an application and a yearly membership fee.

The third organization I chose was the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  UNICEF believes, “that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress.  UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path” (UNICEF, n.d., para. 2).  In the realm of education, UNICEF is committed to gender equality, education for women, and innovation in the field.

Current UNICEF job opportunities include an advocacy specialist, partnership manager, and human resource manager.  I found the role of advocacy and policy specialist interesting so I looked into the requirements and job description.  The role would have a person communicating about issues related to issues that affect women and children in Africa.  An advanced degree in law or a social science is required as well as eight years of relevant work experience in the realm of advocacy and policy.  I do not have the qualifications for this position but it is still important to know what opportunities are out there.  If I wanted to do something like this in the future I would want to become involved in local and state-level advocacy and policy affairs to build up my background.  The nature of this position also requires much travel so I would need to be at a place in my life where I felt able to do that.

International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/