Committee on Teaching about the United Nations (CTAUN)

The Pathfinding Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children, counting now with 54 Member States, with the adherence today of Sao Tome and Italy, met in Turin on 4-5 June. This global meeting was built on the momentum generated since the Alliance’s official launch in November 2024, as well as on a year of rich regional and national consultations across different regions.

During the meeting that brought together 151 participants, including high-level government representatives, civil society, faith-based organizations, the United Nations, children, and other partners, the marketplace for knowledge-sharing was launched. Over two days, this gathering provided a trusted space to showcase actions, deepen peer learning, and peer exchange. The collaboration among Member States and partners was further strengthened through nearly 80 bilateral and multilateral engagements.

Together, we are turning commitments into action to end violence against children.

Learn more about the Pathfinding Global Alliance: violenceagainstchildren.un.org/en/pathfinding-global-alliance

Play creates powerful learning opportunities that help promote intellectual, social, emotional and physical development.

On Thursday’s International Day of Play and always, we must ensure every child has the opportunity to play, learn and thrive.

. Before children learn to read and write, they learn by exploring, imagining, creating and playing.

Play is a fundamental part of early childhood development. It helps children build confidence, develop social and emotional skills, nurture creativity and make sense of the world around them. Yet too many children still lack access to quality early childhood education and care education where play is recognized as a powerful part of learning.

Across UNESCO's Compendium of Promising Practices in Early Childhood Care and Education, countries share innovative pedagogical approaches that use play.

In Burkina Faso, an innovative picture-book initiative has improved learning opportunities for more than 7,800 young children while equipping hundreds of educators with new teaching tools.

In Nigeria, a play-based curriculum and teacher training programme are creating more engaging, child-centred learning environments.

And through the Sesame Workshop's ‘Watch, Play, Learn’ initiative in Bangladesh, Colombia and Kenya, children affected by crisis and displacement are developing foundational skills, resilience and social-emotional well-being through playful learning.

On the , reaffirms the importance of play as part of every child's right to learn, develop and thrive.

Because every child deserves the chance to grow and succeed.

Learn more: https://www.unesco.org/en/early-childhood-education

What if our goal wasn’t less screen time, but better screen time?

That’s what Tanyella Leta, Ed.M.’25, and her co‑founder, Isabel Sheinman, set out to build with Maka Kids — a research‑backed app that helps caregivers find healthy, trustworthy content for kids under six.

“I want to create a world where children’s media supports healthy growth and development. Maka Kids meets parents where they are in a nonjudgmental way, providing tools that help them include media in their families’ lives," says Leta.

Read more about how Leta turned an idea at Harvard into an app: https://bit.ly/4xhTQ1U

Photo courtesy of Tanyella Leta

Today, on the International Day of Play, we celebrate one of the most powerful — and often overlooked — drivers of early childhood development.

Play helps children learn, explore, communicate, build relationships, and develop the skills they need to thrive throughout life. Yet UNICEF's new brief, The Power of Play, finds that millions of young children around the world still lack opportunities to play with caregivers or access play materials.

For those working in early childhood development, the message is clear: play is not a luxury. It is essential.

Read UNICEF's brief, The Power of Play: https://data.unicef.org/resources/the-power-of-play/

Today, we celebrate the right to play!

But at Aflatoun, we'd go one step further. We celebrate what happens through play.

This year's theme is "Protect play, protect childhood" , a reminder that happy, healthy childhoods are built on play. We couldn't agree more. And we'd add: they're also built on curiosity, discovery, and the confidence to try, fail, and try again.

In classrooms across 100+ countries, our educators don't lecture children about saving money or resolving conflict. They invite children to explore it, through games, role play, group activities, and real-world simulations. Children run savings clubs. They negotiate, debate, and reflect. They lead.

Because children don't learn by sitting still. They .

Yet in too many communities, children's access to play is shrinking, as public spaces become unsafe or inaccessible, particularly in dense urban settings and humanitarian contexts. When play disappears from childhood, so does something essential.

Aflatoun works in some of the world's most challenging environments. In every one of them, our partners know: a child who plays is a child who is present, engaged, and ready to learn.

Protect play. Protect childhood. And invest in the educators, programmes, and spaces that make it possible.

Learn more about our Active Learning methodology: aflatoun.org/latest/news/curricula/aflatoun/

Join us for a discussion highlighting the upcoming selection of the next UN Secretary-General: https://tinyurl.com/43t5va77