The Foundation at the Prague Forum ON INVESTING IN YOUNG CHILDREN GLOBALLY

The American National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and the American Institute of Medicine in partnership with the Open Society Foundation (OSF) and the ISSAP Organization gathered on 4 November 2015 in Prague, experts and heads of international organizations, universities and agencies, for the Forum on Investing in young Children Globally. We ended the 15 years era of Millennium Development Goals and from September 2015 the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals where the development of children and early intervention occupy a specific and important place for the 15 years to come. Prague Forum, with a view to reach out to recommendations on local and regional policies, future studies and new services, was built as a platform for discussion of global actors among the most important in the field. Dr. Liri Berisha President of the Albanian Children Foundation, was invited to the Forum to introduce the model of early intervention on autism in Albania, chosen by organizers as one of the ‘best practices’ in the region. In her speech Dr. Liri Berisha, expressing her gratitude and appreciation for this invitation, said: “I think our history is generally a success story. Above all we have revived hope in a poor country with many problems where, despite progress, the burden on households remains high “. In his speech, Dr. Ariel Çomo Scientific and Research director of the Regional Center for Autism mentioned, inter alia, the importance from the beginning given to the research and data collection on implementation of the program in Tirana as a key element in the progress of early intervention programs in children with developmental problems.

At the conclusion of the Forum, the  Final Report compiled on the basis of referred data and discussions will be sent to the American Government to develop further policies and initiatives in the field of developmental problems.