Building Collaborative Pathways: Reflection on the SEAMEO CECCEP Policy Brief Experience
By Farhatul Kamilah
Attending the Peluncuran Risalah Kebijakan Pengembangan Anak Usia Dini Holistik Integratif (PAUD HI), Modul Pengasuhan Gembira dan Aplikasi Anaking [the Launch of the Policy Brief for Integrative Holistic Early Childhood Development (IH ECD), Happy Parenting Module and Anaking Application] was a very valuable experience for our team. This event was organized by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Regional Centre for Early Childhood Care and Education and Parenting (SEAMEO CECCEP) on December 19, 2024, at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Jakarta. The event, which was officially opened by Prof. Abdul Mu’ti as the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen), aims to increase awareness of the importance of early childhood education and parenting. As part of the event, there was also a talk show with policy makers and stakeholders who discussed some critical issues and efforts to strengthen IH ECD through policies, parental involvement, and digital innovation.
In this event, my team and I wrote the Policy Brief for Integrative Holistic Early Childhood Development in Southeast Asia. Our policy brief aims to enhance collaboration in early childhood development across Southeast Asia. As I try to reflect on the process of drafting and writing the policy brief, I realized how challenging our journey was. Starting from the initial stages of crafting the draft, collecting data from various Ministries of Education across Southeast Asia and the literature review, finalizing the document, and conducting readability tests. These steps were not easy. There were many different perspectives when drafting this draft. However, because we have the same goal, we can go through all this together, returning to our common goal. This reminds me of our discussions with Prof. Vina Adriany, PhD (the Director of SEAMEO CECCEP) during the drafting process. We analogized our ECD policy brief like a ship in which policymakers, stakeholders, teachers, parents, and children all have one goal and shared vision, which is improving holistic and integrative early childhood development. This ship represents unity and collaboration, where everyone works together to overcome challenges and achieve the same goal. Therefore, the success of this holistic and integrative early childhood development will depend on the collective efforts of all parties, driven by the same goal for a brighter future for children.
Apart from the challenges, our experience in the process of preparing this policy brief was a very valuable learning experience that enriched my personal and academic development. The process taught me teamwork, collaboration, resilience, and real-world policy development. My team and I are very grateful to SEAMEO CECCEP and the Faculty of Education UIII for this opportunity to engage in meaningful work that bridges our academic knowledge with practical implementation. This opportunity allowed us to apply the theory and skills that we had learned in our course, particularly in Educational Policy Analysis and Educational Research Methodology course. These courses equipped us with the knowledge and skills needed in this project, making it a meaningful learning experience.
More than providing academic and professional development, for me, this experience has also strengthened my commitment to contribute to the field of education, especially in early childhood development. By this experience, I am inspired to continue working and developing knowledge in order to provide transformative solutions that can support the growth of children, especially in Indonesia.
