The “International Center of Education and Human Development” (CINDE) is a research and development center focused on childhood, primarily in early childhood, founded in 1976 by Glen Nimnicht and Marta Arango.

Its main focal point is on promoting the creation of an appropriate environment for the integral development of children and youth living in conditions of vulnerability in Colombia, Latin America and the world, through the work with families, communities and educational institutions. It has four offices in Colombia in the cities of Bogota, Manizales and Medellin.

 

Mission

 “Promote the integral development of children and youth in Colombia and other countries through research, development of innovative alternative solutions to the most relevant challenges of the context, the preparation of human talent at all levels, the dissemination of experiences, the participation in networks and the impact on policies”.

 

Vision

In 2013 CINDE will be a center for research and sustainable development, economically and technically sustainable and supported by human talent experienced in childhood and youth research and development, which influences the formulation and operalization of policies in favor of integral development, the promotion and implementation of the rights of children and youth from Colombia and other countries, in coordination and partnership with other organizations and national and international networks.

 

OUR WORK

 

Dissemination, Advocacy & Networking

In order to develop awareness and make more effective the work in favor of children and families, CINDE works strengthening institutional networks, disseminating successful experiences and influencing in public policy.

Therefore, CINDE has participated in the design, implementation and evaluation of national child care and development programs in countries such as Indonesia, Guyana, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Bolivia, among many others. It has also developed educational material and has trained staff to implement some of the programs. These actions have been developed cooperatively with governmental and civil society organizations of the different countries and with bilateral and international cooperation agencies. Some of the most significant experiences are:

• Guyana 1978-1981: Design of a personnel care and training model; UNICEF and Ministry of Education
• Indonesia 1979-1983: Design of a national ECD program and prepare the central team, and the Ministry of Women Empowerment, for its implementation
• Costa Rica 1992-1994: Reorganization of the preschool unit, design of the community homes program and consultancy for its implementation
• Nicaragua 1999: Contribution to the design the National ECD program for children from 0 to 3 years, with the Ministry of Education and the World Bank. This included also the training of the PAININ staff and the development of educational material
• Panama 2000: Consultancy for the design of Non-Formal Early Education Program for the Ministry of Education and the World Bank
• Bolivia 2000: Adviser for the National Care Program for children under 6 years on behalf of the Inter American Development Bank

 

Training of Human Talent

In order to support the social actors working with and for children, CINDE, in partnership with universities and other institutions in Colombia, Latin America and other countries, has implemented human talent development programs directed to policy and decision makers, advocates, program designers, implementers, researchers and other professionals, as well as community leaders and families.

The objective in this field of action is to build a critical and ethical human talent, able to identify within its context the problems children and youth face up and to propose alternatives that will contribute to the improvement of their quality of life and to their integral development. For this purpose, CINDE offers specialization, master degree and doctoral programs, as well as courses and workshops for professionals and community workers coming from Colombia and other countries in Latin America and the world.

 

Research & Development

CINDE's work in research and development is directed toward the design and implementation of innovative child care alternatives, which are based on extensive research processes focused at knowing the specific context of the population where programs and projects are carried out.

The families and community members themselves identify their main problems, needs and potentials in the care they provide to their children and they participate actively in generating innovative responses to address them.

These social and educational projects that enhance human development of professionals, community leaders, teachers and family members have been carried out, starting from the strengthening of their ability to provide care that meets the physical and psychological needs of children.

The developed projects include ongoing investigation processes which allow identifying and systematizing the lessons learned from each experience, with the aim of facilitating their dissemination in other contexts.