Aloha Hawaii supporters of Men in ECE Hawaii!
International Efforts
It has been exactly one month since the Working Forum (WF) on Men in Early Care and Education (MECE) Honolulu (See below). It was a tremendous success, with more than just a handful of the delegates calling this a “WOW!” or “life-changing” event.
• The World Forum Foundation (WFF) website http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/projects/men_ece/index.php has been updated; it can now be used as a potential press release.
• The WF MECE delegates list is up and available for those delegates who wish to stay connected.
• If you plan or are in the process of writing or presenting on what you learned or shared at the 2008 WF MECE Honolulu, please let us know
• Since a critical part of the WF MECE efforts continues to include the sharing of stories, please add your story to the WF MECE collection! Go to the link: http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/survey/index.php?survey_id=136. See some of the stories entered thus far at: http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/projects/men_ece/stories.php.
• IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ!!! – The 2009 World Forum on Early Care and Education, which will include our next official WF MECE event, will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland in early summer of 2009. (We’ll know the exact dates after awhile, but typically “WoFo” is held in the early summer).
• 2009 WoFo Belfast places WF MECE at the epicenter of allied international MECE efforts!
• United Kingdom (UK)-wide Men in Childcare (MIC) (http://www.meninchildcare.com/), which trained over 1000 men to be ECE professionals; held 6 very successful international Men in ECE conferences, and has at its helm our very own European representative and now one of three WF MECE Leadership Team co-coordinators, Kenny Spence (http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/projects/men_ece/bios/spence.php).
National Efforts
The NAEYC Annual Conference & Expo is the largest early childhood education conference in the world, where tens of thousands of educators choose from hundreds of presentations and exhibits. The 2008 NAEYC Annual Conference will be in Dallas on November 5-8, 2008.
• NAEYC Interest Forums are groups of NAEYC members who share a common area of concern related to the NAEYC mission, and who desire to network, reflect and learn together.
• The Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children (HAEYC) – Men in Education Network (M.E.N.) Interest Forum functions in the same capacity.
• Involvement in national efforts is one way to keep Hawaii at the epicenter of the Men in ECE movement.
• HAEYC M.E.N. is directly affiliated with the NAEYC M.E.N., which is co-coordinated by Bryan Nelson, Francis Carlson, whom you may remember from the 2008 WF MECE Honolulu, and Mr. Rodney West of San Diego Unified School District.
• Don Piburn recently received NAEYC approval to plan the official NAEYC M.E.N. Interest Forum Symposium at the NAEYC annual conference as a follow-up to the 2008 WF MECE Honolulu.
• Bryan Nelson and Frances Carlson have both agreed to assist.
Next Steps in Hawaii’s Efforts:
Hawaii has become an important global epicenter for the international movement supportive of men in ECE following the 2008 WF MECE Honolulu.
• All options for future Hawaii MECE efforts are open for discussion, however trying to encourage change by oneself can be exhausting. It’s nice to have help, and perhaps more importantly to have others of a like-mind to offer support, even in small ways. A little encouragement can go a long way.
• Translate this as: If you only have just a little spare time, but are still interested in this movement please contact us anyway. We want your ideas and any level of involvement!
• HAEYC M.E.N. has been in existence since 2004, plus has the collaborative statewide infrastructure of the HAEYC already in place to support us.
• An HAEYC M.E.N. statewide gathering to discuss “Next Steps” on Men in ECE could take place in affiliation with the upcoming State Early Childhood Conference, set for October 3 – 4, 2008 on Oahu at the Hawaii Convention Center.