Abu Dhabi’s Innovative Approach: Engaging Children in Early Childhood Development Solutions

• Over 55 children participate in workshops that utilized design-thinking principles to generate insights.
• Children aged six to eight years use imagination and creativity to ideate for current and foreseeable real-world challenges.
• The children displayed a high awareness of the idea of sustainability and recycling, as well as climate-friendly energy alternatives.

30 November, 2023, Abu Dhabi, UAE

In a child-centric initiative, the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) has engaged children aged six to eight in the WED Children’s Discovery Workshops, a series of workshops designed to gather unique insights crucial for early childhood development (ECD). More than 55 children across Abu Dhabi, Al Falah, and Al Dhafra participated, showcasing their imagination and problem-solving abilities to address present and future real-world challenges.

It is critical to understand the needs of children in their early years. However, accessible research for parents and caregivers are not easily available beyond academic content. In recent years, design thinking has been increasingly applied and has shown success in generating valuable research and creating innovative solutions and programs that better cater to children’s developmental needs.

Harnessing the unique perspective and creativity of these young minds, the workshops gathered critical insights and unveiled a remarkable awareness among the children regarding outdoor recreation, recycling, and eco-friendly energy alternatives. Their prototypes included a  green park with a sustainable recycling facility and crops of locally grown food, a smart hotel that operates on clean energy with a green rooftop coffee shop, and a sustainable car powered by solar energy.

The insights garnered from the workshops will be utilized by WED Movement’s Breakthrough Working Group (BWG) to develop innovative and actionable outputs, advancing ECA’s vision to help Abu Dhabi’s young children achieve their full potential in a safe and family-friendly nurturing environment. A multidisciplinary group, the BWG comprises of experts representing a mix of academicians and researchers, creatives, innovators, policy influencers, global business leaders, and technical consultants.

Her Excellency Sana Suhail, Director General of Abu Dhabi ECA, says “Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) recognizes the pivotal time from pregnancy to age eight as crucial for child development. Our human-centric approach empowers us to address today’s pressing issues while using children’s perspectives as the foundation of our significant projects in Abu Dhabi and beyond. Recognizing children as intelligent, creative, courageous, and environmentally aware, we value their unique insights on the development and evolution of the Emirate. These workshops therefore invited a diverse group of children and parents, spanning different ages, schools, locations, and cultural backgrounds, including both working and non-working parents. Focusing on problem identification, creative thinking, and developing actionable solutions, the insights received will further encourage the partnership with the BWG to yield transformative results that will make an actual difference in Abu Dhabi and the world at large.”

In the inaugural edition, the BWG spearheaded a series of reports and outputs, two of which – namely the survey titled “Tech Humanity for Children Survey” and the “Developers Guidelines Whitepaper” – have already been introduced into the piloting phase.

The UAE, along with other countries like Sweden and Denmark, are leading in integrating child participation in decision making, a practice not yet common worldwide. Despite advancements, the degree of adoption and frequency of the direct involvement of young children in policy-making and developmental workshops is still an exception rather than a widespread norm.