The ALAS-IDB awards represent the emblematic commitment of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the ALAS Foundation to promote the development of early childhood in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Awards recognize extraordinary efforts in four categories: best teacher, best center, best children’s story and best innovation.
In this fourth edition of the ALAS-IDB awards, more than 1,200 nominations were received from 21 countries in the region. These were evaluated by a demanding Review and Selection Committee integrated by Leonardo Yánez from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation; Sarah Johnstone of the Star Foundation; María Mercedes Liévano of the ALAS Foundation; Andrea Rolla from Harvard University; and Aimee Verdisco, Jannelle Thompson, Mercedes Mateo-Berganza and Emma Näslund-Hadley from the Education Division of the IDB.
This year’s finalists are:
Best Children’s Tale:
- Preparados, listos “Trampilla”. Written and illustrated by Jeunanne Alkins, of Trinidad and Tobago
- Tamika, written by Tamara Vidaurrazaga and illustrated by Karina Cocq, from Chile
- El Día de Manuel, written by María Ferrada and illustrated by Patricio Mena, from Chile
- Toti y la Luna, written and illustrated by Jessica Pérez, from Guatemala
Best Teacher:
- Carlos Eduardo Prieto Vera, from Colombia
- Marta Taipa, from Chile
Best Children’s Center:
- Tiempo Feliz, from Barranquilla, Colombia
- Fundación Guatemalteca para niños con Sordoceguera FUNDAL-ALEX, of Guatemala, Guatemala
Better Innovation:
- IDIS, Institute for the Development of Social Investment, of Brazil
- Por Mi Bebé, from Colombia (TENEBIT S.A.S)
- Children’s Theater “La Casa Incierta“, from Brazil
- Videobooks in Sign Language Argentina (Civil Association Channels), Buenos Aires, Argentina
The winners of the ALAS-IDB Awards will be recognized on November 9, at the IDB headquarters in Washington DC, in the presence of a select group of international celebrities, actors, singers, businessmen, ministers and renowned academics who will attend the award ceremony and the academic event on brain development and executive function. See agenda here.
The stories behind the 12 finalists shed a light of hope on the way to overcome the challenges of development in Latin American countries.
“This year’s nominations show that the region is waking up collectively in the face of scientific evidence about the benefits of early childhood development. However, the persistence of the problems that the nominees seek to address and resolve attests to the many challenges that the region still has,” says Emiliana Vegas, Head of the Education Division of the Inter-American Bank.
Childhood is an incredibly formative and decisive period in all our lives. That is why the ALAS Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the finalists for the incredible work they have done to improve the experiences of early childhood during such an important period of life.
To meet the winner in each of these categories, we invite you to attend the event live on November 9, 2017 at the Enrique V. Iglesias Auditorium of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC. Sign up here!
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