In Teresina, the country’s largest early childhood gathering brought together researchers, public managers, and municipalities around scientific evidence and Brazil’s newly established national early childhood policy.
In March 2026, Teresina (PI) became the epicenter of early childhood debate in Brazil. The 11th International Symposium on Early Childhood Development, organized by the Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância (NCPI) — an initiative in which the Van Leer Foundation and the Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal are partners. It is the country’s largest gathering dedicated to bringing scientific evidence closer to the formulation of public policies for children up to six years old.
The Symposium brought together researchers, public managers, and civil society experts around an innovative programme that covered topics ranging from the challenges and opportunities of the newly established Política Nacional Integrada de Primeira Infância (PNIPI) to the importance of relationship quality in early childhood education. The agenda also addressed public safety, climate change and its impact on family life, and parent and caregiver wellbeing as a foundation for promoting holistic development.
The day before, Teresina also hosted the Urban95 National Gathering 2026. The event brought managers from more than 60 municipalities in the Network together to exchange experiences and engage in collective planning. This made the week a unique moment of convergence between the urban agenda and the scientific agenda for early childhood at the national level.
The event reached more than 3,500 in-person and online participants from dozens of Brazilian municipalities, including several cities from the Brazilian Urban95 Network. These cities also organised satellite symposia to deliver the content synchronously to their local technical teams.
Transforming the reality of young children requires continuously bridging science and public policy. Initiatives like the Symposium reinforce the importance of building connections between knowledge and decision-making, strengthening agendas that place early childhood at the heart of the country’s development.
