Early Childhood Education
as the First Line of NCD & Climate Resilience Prevention
COP framework, aligned with the Global Oral Health & Climate Action Plan
In collaboration with Penn Dental Medicine’s Center for Integrative Global Oral Health, this session was held within the COP framework and aligned with the Global Oral Health & Climate Action Plan.
We explored Early Childhood Education as a strategic entry point for oral health within broader NCD-prevention, public-health, and community-resilience agendas — and how this approach supports the WHO Oral Health Action Plan, the Bangkok Declaration, and the UN NCD Political Declaration (2025).
The session introduced innovative ways to integrate oral health into early childhood education and public-health programmes. Case studies demonstrated how these approaches can operationalise the three core domains of oral health (FDI) — physiological, psychosocial, and disease/condition status — holistically and developmentally.
We highlighted why early childhood must be understood not only as an educational domain, but as a critical arena for introducing preventive health, equity, and climate adaptation through whole-school, whole-community strategies. International experts contributed insights demonstrating how education can become a cornerstone of disease prevention, social resilience, and planetary health — advancing SDGs 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, and 17.
In collaboration with Penn Dental Medicine’s Center for Integrative Global Oral Health, this session was held within the COP framework and aligned with the Global Oral Health & Climate Action Plan.
We explored Early Childhood Education as a strategic entry point for oral health within broader NCD-prevention, public-health, and community-resilience agendas — and how this approach supports the WHO Oral Health Action Plan, the Bangkok Declaration, and the UN NCD Political Declaration (2025).
The session introduced innovative ways to integrate oral health into early childhood education and public-health programmes. Case studies demonstrated how these approaches can operationalise the three core domains of oral health (FDI) — physiological, psychosocial, and disease/condition status — holistically and developmentally.
We highlighted why early childhood must be understood not only as an educational domain, but as a critical arena for introducing preventive health, equity, and climate adaptation through whole-school, whole-community strategies. International experts contributed insights demonstrating how education can become a cornerstone of disease prevention, social resilience, and planetary health — advancing SDGs 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, and 17.
Post release 2025 | Strategic Insights Library
Variety of Approaches to Early Childhood Education for NCD's and Climate Resilience Prevention
Across the presentations, the speakers explored how the earliest stages of life shape long-term health, emotional wellbeing and resilience — especially in a world increasingly affected by socioeconomic stressors and climate challenges. Though approaching the topic from different angles, they converged on one message: the foundations of physical and mental health are laid early, and the environments surrounding young children matter profoundly.
Isabelle presented a compelling argument that early childhood development is a critical yet overlooked determinant of climate resilience and NCD prevention. She showed how the first 1000 days shape stress regulation, executive functions, empathy, and long-term health — capacities essential for adaptive, pro-ecological behaviour in adulthood.
Her central conclusion: investing in early relational, emotional, and physiological foundations is one of the most effective strategies for strengthening both public health and societal resilience.
Her full presentation offers a deeper scientific and practical analysis; we strongly encourage viewing the complete talk.
Her central conclusion: investing in early relational, emotional, and physiological foundations is one of the most effective strategies for strengthening both public health and societal resilience.
Her full presentation offers a deeper scientific and practical analysis; we strongly encourage viewing the complete talk.
Ursula Stenger delivered a precise and timely analysis of how today’s overlapping crises — ecological, social, psychological — are reshaping childhood. She described a generation increasingly affected by stress, emotional challenges, and health risks, yet profoundly aware of the connection between their own wellbeing and the health of the Earth.
She then posed one of the most urgent questions of our time:
“Are we educating children for the world they will live in —
or for a world that no longer exists?”
This question reframes early education not as a system for transmitting knowledge, but as a public health and planetary resilience infrastructure. Stenger argued that preventive mental, physical, and environmental health must be woven into daily practice — not added as external programs.
She identified four pillars children will need to stay healthy in a climate-challenged future:
• Secure, loving relationships as the root of resilience
• Ethical orientation and responsibility to navigate uncertain futures
• Knowledge and critical thinking for shared, interdependent worlds
• Transformative practices with nature and community, grounded in real experiences
Her central message was clear: healthy environments create healthy, resilient children, and early childhood education must evolve if societies hope to remain healthy and cohesive.
Her answer reshapes everything we think we know about early education.
Watch her full talk →
She then posed one of the most urgent questions of our time:
“Are we educating children for the world they will live in —
or for a world that no longer exists?”
This question reframes early education not as a system for transmitting knowledge, but as a public health and planetary resilience infrastructure. Stenger argued that preventive mental, physical, and environmental health must be woven into daily practice — not added as external programs.
She identified four pillars children will need to stay healthy in a climate-challenged future:
• Secure, loving relationships as the root of resilience
• Ethical orientation and responsibility to navigate uncertain futures
• Knowledge and critical thinking for shared, interdependent worlds
• Transformative practices with nature and community, grounded in real experiences
Her central message was clear: healthy environments create healthy, resilient children, and early childhood education must evolve if societies hope to remain healthy and cohesive.
Her answer reshapes everything we think we know about early education.
Watch her full talk →
Elin Eriksen Ødegaard underscored that movement, play and exploration are not “extras” in early childhood education — they are the core architecture through which children develop embodied resilience. In a time of overlapping environmental, social and economic crises, she argued, early childhood systems carry a unique responsibility: to help children build the bodily, emotional and cognitive strength they will need to navigate an unpredictable future.
She highlighted that daily experiences — balance, coordinated movement, breathing–posture regulation, self-care routines and playful exploration — function as foundations for public health. These are not peripheral activities but essential conditions for developing strong executive functions, emotional stability and social connectedness.
Linking her message to the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan and the Bangkok Declaration, Ødegaard emphasised that national preschool policies should embed these practices intentionally and consistently. When early learning environments cultivate embodied, relational and sensory-rich experiences, they create the conditions in which children grow healthier, more resilient and more capable of contributing to sustainable futures.
Her central message: the preschool environment itself can become a form of public health infrastructure — shaping children’s wellbeing and the wellbeing of the communities and ecosystems they will one day sustain.
Watch her full talk →
She highlighted that daily experiences — balance, coordinated movement, breathing–posture regulation, self-care routines and playful exploration — function as foundations for public health. These are not peripheral activities but essential conditions for developing strong executive functions, emotional stability and social connectedness.
Linking her message to the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan and the Bangkok Declaration, Ødegaard emphasised that national preschool policies should embed these practices intentionally and consistently. When early learning environments cultivate embodied, relational and sensory-rich experiences, they create the conditions in which children grow healthier, more resilient and more capable of contributing to sustainable futures.
Her central message: the preschool environment itself can become a form of public health infrastructure — shaping children’s wellbeing and the wellbeing of the communities and ecosystems they will one day sustain.
Watch her full talk →
Adele Diamond delivered a clear and urgent message:
The future of children — and the future of the planet — depends on how early we support executive functions.
She showed that these core abilities—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—form the mental infrastructure for learning, emotional regulation, problem-solving, empathy, and wise decision-making. In her words, executive functions determine how we meet complexity, and in a climate-stressed world, complexity is becoming the norm.
Diamond emphasized a profound two-way relationship: children with stronger executive functions are more capable of engaging with global challenges — but the environments we create for them determine how these functions develop. The wellbeing of our bodies and the wellbeing of our planet, she argued, cannot be separated.
She highlighted three forces that shape the prefrontal cortex during early childhood:
• Movement and physical exploration — the brain grows through action
• Secure relationships and attachment — a “neuro-scaffold” for healthy brain architecture
• Protection from early stress — because adversity can suppress prefrontal development
Crucially, she reminded us that executive functions are not fixed.
They strengthen only when children are challenged, supported, and allowed to grow beyond routine.
Her conclusion was both hopeful and urgent: the seeds of responsible, caring, resilient adults are planted early — in the everyday environments where young brains take shape. If we want societies capable of facing tomorrow’s challenges, we must begin by nurturing these foundational skills today.
Her message reframes early childhood not as preparation for school,
but as preparation for life — and for the planet.
Watch her full talk →
The future of children — and the future of the planet — depends on how early we support executive functions.
She showed that these core abilities—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—form the mental infrastructure for learning, emotional regulation, problem-solving, empathy, and wise decision-making. In her words, executive functions determine how we meet complexity, and in a climate-stressed world, complexity is becoming the norm.
Diamond emphasized a profound two-way relationship: children with stronger executive functions are more capable of engaging with global challenges — but the environments we create for them determine how these functions develop. The wellbeing of our bodies and the wellbeing of our planet, she argued, cannot be separated.
She highlighted three forces that shape the prefrontal cortex during early childhood:
• Movement and physical exploration — the brain grows through action
• Secure relationships and attachment — a “neuro-scaffold” for healthy brain architecture
• Protection from early stress — because adversity can suppress prefrontal development
Crucially, she reminded us that executive functions are not fixed.
They strengthen only when children are challenged, supported, and allowed to grow beyond routine.
Her conclusion was both hopeful and urgent: the seeds of responsible, caring, resilient adults are planted early — in the everyday environments where young brains take shape. If we want societies capable of facing tomorrow’s challenges, we must begin by nurturing these foundational skills today.
Her message reframes early childhood not as preparation for school,
but as preparation for life — and for the planet.
Watch her full talk →
Adele Diamond delivered a clear and urgent message:
The future of children — and the future of the planet — depends on how early we support executive functions.
She showed that these core abilities—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—form the mental infrastructure for learning, emotional regulation, problem-solving, empathy, and wise decision-making. In her words, executive functions determine how we meet complexity, and in a climate-stressed world, complexity is becoming the norm.
Diamond emphasized a profound two-way relationship: children with stronger executive functions are more capable of engaging with global challenges — but the environments we create for them determine how these functions develop. The wellbeing of our bodies and the wellbeing of our planet, she argued, cannot be separated.
She highlighted three forces that shape the prefrontal cortex during early childhood:
• Movement and physical exploration — the brain grows through action
• Secure relationships and attachment — a “neuro-scaffold” for healthy brain architecture
• Protection from early stress — because adversity can suppress prefrontal development
Crucially, she reminded us that executive functions are not fixed.
They strengthen only when children are challenged, supported, and allowed to grow beyond routine.
Her conclusion was both hopeful and urgent: the seeds of responsible, caring, resilient adults are planted early — in the everyday environments where young brains take shape. If we want societies capable of facing tomorrow’s challenges, we must begin by nurturing these foundational skills today.
Her message reframes early childhood not as preparation for school,
but as preparation for life — and for the planet.
Watch her full talk →
The future of children — and the future of the planet — depends on how early we support executive functions.
She showed that these core abilities—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—form the mental infrastructure for learning, emotional regulation, problem-solving, empathy, and wise decision-making. In her words, executive functions determine how we meet complexity, and in a climate-stressed world, complexity is becoming the norm.
Diamond emphasized a profound two-way relationship: children with stronger executive functions are more capable of engaging with global challenges — but the environments we create for them determine how these functions develop. The wellbeing of our bodies and the wellbeing of our planet, she argued, cannot be separated.
She highlighted three forces that shape the prefrontal cortex during early childhood:
• Movement and physical exploration — the brain grows through action
• Secure relationships and attachment — a “neuro-scaffold” for healthy brain architecture
• Protection from early stress — because adversity can suppress prefrontal development
Crucially, she reminded us that executive functions are not fixed.
They strengthen only when children are challenged, supported, and allowed to grow beyond routine.
Her conclusion was both hopeful and urgent: the seeds of responsible, caring, resilient adults are planted early — in the everyday environments where young brains take shape. If we want societies capable of facing tomorrow’s challenges, we must begin by nurturing these foundational skills today.
Her message reframes early childhood not as preparation for school,
but as preparation for life — and for the planet.
Watch her full talk →
Silvia Dubovoy reminded us that the first three years of life are not a prelude — they are the moments when the foundations of the human being are built.
She showed how the mouth becomes the infant’s first bridge to the world: a source of bonding, regulation, exploration, imitation, and joy. In her view, oral health is not just biological — it is a story of attachment, emotion, and early learning.
Her core message was simple and transformative: observation is the beginning of healthy development.
Before we label a child, we must learn to see them — their readiness, curiosity, and inner direction. Dubovoy traced how early routines — breastfeeding, freedom of movement, joyful exploration, water, and nutrition — quietly shape empathy, self-regulation, and even environmental awareness. Her perspective reframes early childhood as the birthplace of peace, resiliency, and planetary health.
A rare, essential talk. Watch it →
She showed how the mouth becomes the infant’s first bridge to the world: a source of bonding, regulation, exploration, imitation, and joy. In her view, oral health is not just biological — it is a story of attachment, emotion, and early learning.
Her core message was simple and transformative: observation is the beginning of healthy development.
Before we label a child, we must learn to see them — their readiness, curiosity, and inner direction. Dubovoy traced how early routines — breastfeeding, freedom of movement, joyful exploration, water, and nutrition — quietly shape empathy, self-regulation, and even environmental awareness. Her perspective reframes early childhood as the birthplace of peace, resiliency, and planetary health.
A rare, essential talk. Watch it →
Karen Spruyt delivered a striking message: sleep is the earliest and most sensitive marker of a child’s wellbeing — yet it is also one of the most overlooked sources of inequality.
She showed how disrupted sleep in infancy and early childhood is never “just tiredness.”
It predicts behavioural and emotional difficulties, immune stress, impaired learning, and early oral–respiratory dysfunctions that drive lifelong NCD risk.
One of her most powerful insights: breathing-related sleep problems in young children map directly onto social and environmental stressors — becoming biologically embedded inequalities.
Spruyt argued that healthy sleep must be treated not as a lifestyle choice, but as a fundamental right and a cornerstone of early prevention.
A crucial, eye-opening talk for anyone working with children.
Watch her full presentation →
She showed how disrupted sleep in infancy and early childhood is never “just tiredness.”
It predicts behavioural and emotional difficulties, immune stress, impaired learning, and early oral–respiratory dysfunctions that drive lifelong NCD risk.
One of her most powerful insights: breathing-related sleep problems in young children map directly onto social and environmental stressors — becoming biologically embedded inequalities.
Spruyt argued that healthy sleep must be treated not as a lifestyle choice, but as a fundamental right and a cornerstone of early prevention.
A crucial, eye-opening talk for anyone working with children.
Watch her full presentation →
Dr. Umakanth Katwa delivered a compelling clinical message: adult sleep apnea is rarely an adult problem — its origins almost always begin in early childhood.
Through real case examples, he showed how early-life factors—prenatal conditions, feeding and lactation challenges, muscle tone, mouth posture, breathing patterns, pollution and climate stress—shape airway development long before symptoms appear. Sleep-disordered breathing, he emphasized, affects not only sleep, but cardiovascular, metabolic, endocrine, and neurocognitive health.
Dr. Katwa argued that red flags such as mouth breathing, low facial tone, tongue tie, poor suck–swallow patterns, snoring, high palate, or dental crowding should trigger immediate assessment. Waiting for symptoms to “declare themselves” allows preventable harm.
He outlined a Preventive Airway Health Model grounded in newborn screening, early dental and feeding support, functional therapies, and interceptive orthodontics, and called for tight collaboration among pediatrics, dentistry, sleep medicine, and therapy providers.
His conclusion was clear: to change the trajectory of airway disease, the medical system must shift from late diagnosis to early prevention and phenotype-driven care.
Watch his full talk →
Through real case examples, he showed how early-life factors—prenatal conditions, feeding and lactation challenges, muscle tone, mouth posture, breathing patterns, pollution and climate stress—shape airway development long before symptoms appear. Sleep-disordered breathing, he emphasized, affects not only sleep, but cardiovascular, metabolic, endocrine, and neurocognitive health.
Dr. Katwa argued that red flags such as mouth breathing, low facial tone, tongue tie, poor suck–swallow patterns, snoring, high palate, or dental crowding should trigger immediate assessment. Waiting for symptoms to “declare themselves” allows preventable harm.
He outlined a Preventive Airway Health Model grounded in newborn screening, early dental and feeding support, functional therapies, and interceptive orthodontics, and called for tight collaboration among pediatrics, dentistry, sleep medicine, and therapy providers.
His conclusion was clear: to change the trajectory of airway disease, the medical system must shift from late diagnosis to early prevention and phenotype-driven care.
Watch his full talk →
Alison Baulos delivered a compelling argument grounded in decades of economic evidence: the highest social and economic returns of any public investment come from the earliest years of life — especially for under-resourced children.
She showed how human capital is built through integrated inputs — parenting, health and education — and why early childhood must be the priority in any system aiming to reduce inequality, improve health, and strengthen long-term economic productivity. Early neglect and adversity, she noted, create deep and costly developmental scars, while early support generates returns that compound across generations.
Baulos highlighted landmark studies — the Jamaica Programme, the Carolina Abecedarian Project, and the Perry Preschool Programme — all of which demonstrated profound lifelong benefits: higher IQ and education, higher income, reduced chronic disease, and even significant gains for participants’ children. Some programs achieved 13% annual returns — outperforming most financial investments.
Her key message was unequivocal: investing in early childhood is not a budget expense — it is the most powerful strategy for strengthening families, economies, and societies.
And across all successful programs, one “active ingredient” remains constant: the care workers who empower parents to become their children’s strongest advocates.
Watch her full talk →
She showed how human capital is built through integrated inputs — parenting, health and education — and why early childhood must be the priority in any system aiming to reduce inequality, improve health, and strengthen long-term economic productivity. Early neglect and adversity, she noted, create deep and costly developmental scars, while early support generates returns that compound across generations.
Baulos highlighted landmark studies — the Jamaica Programme, the Carolina Abecedarian Project, and the Perry Preschool Programme — all of which demonstrated profound lifelong benefits: higher IQ and education, higher income, reduced chronic disease, and even significant gains for participants’ children. Some programs achieved 13% annual returns — outperforming most financial investments.
Her key message was unequivocal: investing in early childhood is not a budget expense — it is the most powerful strategy for strengthening families, economies, and societies.
And across all successful programs, one “active ingredient” remains constant: the care workers who empower parents to become their children’s strongest advocates.
Watch her full talk →
This interdisciplinary panel explored a central question: Who must the future child become for climate resilience and NCD prevention — and what foundations must we build now?
Speakers from neuroscience, education, psychology, sleep medicine, and economics emphasized that real prevention begins not with climate policy, but with the child’s body and brain: breathing, posture, sleep, movement, attachment, and emotional regulation. These early foundations shape lifelong health, learning, and resilience — and therefore determine society’s capacity to adapt to global challenges.
The discussion showed how early childhood education can function as the first line of planetary health infrastructure, aligned with WHO frameworks. Core themes included the physiology of resilience, the economic cost of late intervention, and the need to embed preventive practices into daily early-learning environments.
This session marks the start of a global initiative to integrate early prevention into early childhood systems across countries and disciplines.
Speakers: I. Filliozat, U. Stenger, A. Diamond, J. Monzée, S. C. Dubovoy, R. Price, K. Spruyt, U. Katwa, A. Baulos, E.Odegaard
Moderator: Valentina Gecha, IIOPE
Watch the full panel →
Speakers from neuroscience, education, psychology, sleep medicine, and economics emphasized that real prevention begins not with climate policy, but with the child’s body and brain: breathing, posture, sleep, movement, attachment, and emotional regulation. These early foundations shape lifelong health, learning, and resilience — and therefore determine society’s capacity to adapt to global challenges.
The discussion showed how early childhood education can function as the first line of planetary health infrastructure, aligned with WHO frameworks. Core themes included the physiology of resilience, the economic cost of late intervention, and the need to embed preventive practices into daily early-learning environments.
This session marks the start of a global initiative to integrate early prevention into early childhood systems across countries and disciplines.
Speakers: I. Filliozat, U. Stenger, A. Diamond, J. Monzée, S. C. Dubovoy, R. Price, K. Spruyt, U. Katwa, A. Baulos, E.Odegaard
Moderator: Valentina Gecha, IIOPE
Watch the full panel →
Developed in collaboration with
Additional partners will be acknowledged as collaborations are confirmed
| Thrive25 A practice-based framework for early childhood health and education Operationalised through a global exchange of 25-minute daily health routines. Powered by the International Institute for OrthoPostural Education (IIOPE). We unite leading Early Childhood Education and Care Programmes to co-design the gold-standard 25-minute routine for preschools — a bold, practical pathway to healthier, more resilient generations. Thrive25 advances UN SDGs and calls on schools, NGOs, and governments to join the first wave and co-design scalable solutions for child wellbeing, climate resilience, and health equity. Programme currently in development Building on Thrive25, IIOPE is currently shaping its Global Programme 2026–2027, focused on Early Childhood Health, Education, and Integrated Prevention. The programme brings together education systems, healthcare professionals, researchers, and partners to move from shared vision to real-world implementation — across countries, cultures, and contexts. Further details, including international convenings, regional working symposia, and an implementation-oriented scholarship programme for educational technologies, will be published progressively. This initiative is being developed in close dialogue with academic institutions, professional communities, and international partners. |
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