City School’s Early Years Education Symposium – Breaking New Grounds By. Asghar Ali Mubarak

Islamabad: As a leader in Early Childhood Education, The City School (TCS) Northern region organized an Early Years Education (EYE) Symposium: Let Me Be. The seminar featured national, regional and local experts in early childhood learning and provided a platform for TCS management, EYE heads and school heads to discuss the challenges, opportunities and strategies to enhance Early Years educational programs. The conference was hosted at The City School Capital campus and the notable guests included TCS Chairperson, Dr. Farzana, human rights activist and academic Dr. Farzana Bari, Ms. Reena Singh, TCS Regional Directors and senior management from the South and Central regions.The symposium welcome address was given by the Regional Director Ms. Shireen Jawaid and was followed by several thought-provoking presentations by the keynote speakers including Capital Campus Principal Mr. John Proctor, Dr. Farzana Bari, Ms. Reena Singh via skype, General Manager EYE Ms. Tayyaba Amer, Administrator Marketing Ms. Fiona Hallworth and Margalla Network Head Ms. Shahmina Kamal. Dr. Bari spoke on the importance of developing a child-centered approach to learning in her presentation “The Child Comes First” while Mr. Proctor talked about the history of early years reading programs and reading development.To encourage discourse and identify strategies to improve early years programs and student retention, two panel sessions were held. “Achieving Excellence in Academics” and “The Early Years Set-up – Challenges and the Way Forward” were panels led by experts in the field of early childhood education. The “Let Me Be” symposium was the first in a series of symposiums that will be held in Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi in March, 2017.The City School vision places childhood at the center of practice and pedagogy for the early years. The up-coming symposia will venture into new territory that brings diverse perspectives, evidence-based practice, traditions and new thinking together. TCS aims to provide a platform for EY professionals and stakeholders to connect with colleagues, share and consider early childhood teaching and learning through practical, theoretical and reflective lenses.