We’ve all seen how the Duchess of Cambridge has dedicated her time as a royal to children and early years and now, she’s launched The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood which will drive awareness of and action on the extraordinary impact of the early years, in order to transform society for generations to come.
The initiative is inspired by her work as a senior royal and over a decade of meeting young people and families, where she has learned how our early years can massively impact our lives as we reach adulthood.
The plans were revealed alongside a report, titled Big Change Starts Small– which was written with The Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University and the London School of Economics, showing what impact early childhood really has on our later years, and why it’s so important to act now.
Speaking about the plans, the Duchess said, ‘My hope today, through the report and through this new centre, to show that change really needs to happen, and the time for action is now.
‘Because I feel that this is the social equivalent of climate change, where we followed the science for many, many years.
‘And that is what we have to do with early childhood development if we want to build a happier, healthier world.
‘The more we learn about early childhood and the first five years of life the greater imperative it is to act.’
The new centre will be based at Kensington Palace and will have three key areas of focus. These include research, developing new solutions with public and private voluntary sectors, and campaigns to raise awareness.
Find out more about the project and how you can play your part here.