Dear Colleagues and Friends

On behalf of the University of Brighton and the School of Education, Sport and Health Sciences, I am delighted to welcome you all to the 32nd EECERA Conference in Brighton, UK.

We would like to thank the European Early Childhood Research Association and its Board of Trustees for offering us the opportunity to host the conference and the international early childhood community in the city of Brighton and Hove. It is a great honour for us to host practitioners, researchers and academics not just from Europe, but from across the whole world.

Conferences always have a theme. As you know, this year’s is Developing Sustainable Early Childhood Education Systems: Comparisons, Contexts and the Cognoscenti. It was consciously chosen to highlight and explore the challenges involved in developing sustainable Early Childhood Education systems against the backdrop of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals and wider concerns about climate change and sustainability. The second part of the theme goes to the heart of EECERA’s longstanding focus on creating the space to learn from each other and our varying contexts and to engage with people who have the knowledge and influence we need to bring about change. We look forward to listening to the dialogues and experiencing the energy that we know will follow over the next few days.

The University of Brighton began as the Brighton School of Art in the kitchens of the Royal Pavilion in the mid-19th century, next to the Dome where part of the conference is taking place. It has developed into an institution with 18,000 students and 2,300 staff organised into six academic schools and three campuses in Brighton. Early Childhood and Care is one of the key areas we offer, alongside a range of undergraduate and postgraduate provision in Teacher Education and Education Studies, in the newly formed School of Education, Sport and Health Sciences.

I would like to express my gratitude to the everybody at the University of Brighton who has worked so hard to make this conference possible, particularly Luke, Eden and Laura. I would also like to thank Maggie and Sean at CREC for their advice, support and patience and the conference’s Scientific Committee for their commitment and their professionalism.

Brighton is known internationally for its tolerance, energy and eccentricity. We think you will enjoy your visit here as much as we will enjoy hosting you. On behalf of the 32nd Annual EECERA Scientific and Organising Committee, I sincerely hope you have a wonderful and productive conference.

Yours faithfully

Prof Michael Jopling
Chair of the 32nd EECERA Conference
Professor of Education, University of Brighton