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Van Leer Foundation

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Investing in the foundations of inclusive societies to globally improve the wellbeing of babies, toddlers, caregivers and communities
🌎 @urban95cm

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Something new is coming from the Van Leer Foundation: Birth of a Parent

A podcast on how becoming a parent transforms who we are — and what we’re capable of, hosted by CEO Michael Feigelson.

Launching this Wednesday 22 July - follow along🦋

#EarlyChildhoodMatters #Parenting #Metamorphosis by @vanleerfoundation

The Van Leer Foundation is dedicated to supporting inclusive societies where young children, caregivers and communities can flourish.

Since 1949, we have been working alongside our partners to create positive social change around the world. Our programmes focus on strengthening communities — where everyone's needs, starting with the youngest, are considered and met.

We look forward to sharing and celebrating important stories of learning and impact with you. by @vanleerfoundation

Meet the 2026–27 Van Leer Fellowship cohort.💫

Over the next 16 months, 18 leaders from across science, art, storytelling, entrepreneurship, communications, health, technology and social change will come together to explore a shared question:

What becomes possible when we see the world through the lens of babies, toddlers, parents and caregivers?

Each fellow brings their own experiences, questions and way of seeing the world. But if the inaugural cohort taught us anything, it's that the heart of the Fellowship isn't any one idea, conversation or retreat.

It's the connections that form between people.

The unexpected friendships. The moments of curiosity. The chance to learn from someone whose world looks very different from your own.

As this new cohort begins its journey, we're excited to see what emerges through those connections. What questions will they explore together? What collaborations might take shape? What new possibilities appear when different worlds meet?🌍🌎🌏

We don't know the answers yet.

That's part of the magic.

Learn more about the fellows and their exploration questions through the link in our bio.

#VanLeerFellowship #Leadership #Parenthood #EarlyChildhood #LearningJourney #Community #SocialInnovation

@anamariareymartinez @agnitaroosch by @vanleerfoundation

What does Housing for a Good Start look like in practice?

The Housing for a Good Start Playbook sets out eight principles for housing investors, developers and operators to consider when designing, developing and managing homes and neighbourhoods for families with young children.

From affordable housing and well-connected neighbourhoods to opportunities for play, supportive social networks and safe environments, the principles highlight the different ways housing can contribute to children's early development and family wellbeing.

But how can these principles be put into practice? Discover case studies from our Playbook here: https://vanleerfoundation.org/publications-reports/housing-for-a-good-start-playbook/

#housingforagoodstart #playbook #casestudies #parentalwellbeing #housingforeveryone #goodhousing #vanleerfoundation by @vanleerfoundation

Following World Cities Day, we're pleased to share our latest report, The State of Urban Parents, developed in collaboration with @we.are.uns

Together, we gathered insights from more than 340 parents and caregivers from across the globe to better understand how cities support their well-being. Their experiences form the foundation of the report and open up a question that deserves more attention: do our cities support the people raising the next generation?

Parenting and caregiving do not happen only at home. They are part of daily urban life: getting to childcare, travelling to work, buying groceries, finding somewhere to play, or taking a moment to rest. These everyday activities invite us to look at the city through a different lens.

Can a journey be made comfortably with a young child? Is there somewhere nearby to sit, meet others or spend time outdoors? For architects and urban designers, these questions connect the scale of the city to the details of daily life.

This publication opens a conversation about parental wellbeing in cities. It suggests that what is often treated as a private burden should instead be recognised as a shared public concern, with implications for how we plan, design and use our urban environments.

For us, this means considering parents and caregivers not as an afterthought, but as people whose experiences can help us ask better design questions. Listening to them is a starting point for understanding what a more supportive city could look like.

The conversation doesn't end with World Cities Day. Read the report and stay tuned as we continue exploring how to make our urban environments kinder to those helping us grow.

#worldcitiesday #parentalwellbeing #vanleerfoundation by @vanleerfoundation

Under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Jordan’s first National Conference on Parental Wellbeing, Quality of Life, and Enabling Environments was held in Amman on 27–28 October. H.E. Ms. Wafa Bani Mustafa, Minister of Social Development, opened the conference representing Her Majesty.

Organised by the @rhasjo Health Awareness Society (RHAS) in partnership with the @vanleerfoundation, the conference brought together decision-makers, government representatives, researchers, civil society organisations, and development partners to establish parental wellbeing as a national priority within Jordan’s quality-of-life agenda.

Through insightful discussions, interactive experiences, and workshops, participants explored the connections between parental wellbeing, emotional and mental health, social support, urban planning, safe mobility, and the design of family-friendly neighbourhoods and public spaces.

#parentalwellbeing #vanleerfoundation #royalhealth #nationalconference #urbanplanning by @vanleerfoundation

Nuestras ciudades no son solo para adultos. En sus calles, plazas y parques, niños y niñas crecen y descubren el mundo. Sin embargo, la mayoría de nuestros entornos urbanos no están pensados para las infancias ni para quienes las cuidan. En la nueva temporada de Estación Ciudad, recorremos América Latina para conocer qué se está haciendo por los más pequeños y qué deudas persisten en materia de cuidados.

Esta temporada fue producida con el apoyo de la @vanleerfoundation a través de la participación de @carinarvizu en el Van Leer Fellowship programme. Desde la quincena de noviembre en Spotify, Apple Podcast y Youtube. by @vanleerfoundation

Yesterday, we had an exciting day in Amsterdam as we launched the Housing for a Good Start Playbook with the Impact Investing Institute.

Bringing together investors and practitioners to explore what changes when the earliest years are placed at the centre of housing investment, and what that means in practice.

Across the day, we moved from looking at housing through a child’s eyes and understanding why housing matters for babies and parents, to applying the Playbook’s principles and considering how they translate into investor action.

🏘️ A good home shapes the earliest experiences of a child’s life: where they sleep, play, connect and grow. Yet babies, toddlers, parents and other caregivers are too often overlooked in how housing is funded, designed, delivered and managed.

The Playbook offers a starting point for changing that.

Rather than proposing a new housing type or asset class, it sets out a shift in perspective and practice, with a framework of 8 principles and 18 action areas that investors, developers and operators can apply and adapt.

Explore the Housing for a Good Start Playbook on our website.

#Housingforagoodstart #vanleerfoundation #impactinvestinginstitute by @vanleerfoundation

What's your view II: A view from Literature about the Early Years

Can a kite be a metaphor for freedom? How do the stories we tell children shape the way they see themselves and the world around them? And is children’s literature political?

In this conversation, Van Leer inaugural Fellows ( @neuro.maternal ) Susana Carmona, a neuroscientist, and ( @loaayw ) Loaay Wattad, who holds a PhD in the sociology of children's literature, explore the relationship between politics, storytelling and early childhood.

Because the stories we tell children shape what they see, imagine and believe is possible.

What's your view?

In frame: Susana Carmona (neuroscientist) and Loaay Wattad (PHD sociology of children's literature)

#vanleerfellowship #literature #earlyyearseducation #earlychildhoodmatters #neuroscience #vanleerfoundation by @vanleerfoundation

Thank you. 💫

Birth of a Parent has won seven @signalawards across four categories, including three Listener's Choice awards, which means they were decided by you.

🏆 Family & Child-Raising: Gold and Listener's Choice
🏆 Best Editing: Gold and Listener's Choice
🏆 Thought Leadership: Gold
🥈 Documentary: Silver and Listener's Choice

To receive this recognition from the Signal Awards and its distinguished judging community is an extraordinary honour 💗

Thank you to everyone who listened, shared an episode and voted. To our guests, who trusted us with their ideas. And to the team who made it: Sabine Jansen at Studio Becq, our producer; Felix Richel at Richel Audio, our sound designer; Rachel Dare at Chez Boris Design, our designer; Michael Feigelson, our host; and Hannah Rothschild, who made this possible.

New to Birth of a Parent? It is a podcast about how becoming a parent transforms who we are, and what we are capable of.

Follow the show wherever you listen, and subscribe to the Early Childhood Matters newsletter, to be the first to hear about our bonus episode and what comes next. 🤓 Find the links in our bio. by @vanleerfoundation

What's your view I: A view from Neuroscience about the early Years

What happens to a woman’s brain when she becomes a mother? And is “mom brain” a real thing?

In this conversation, two Van Leer fellows from the inaugural cohort, (@bovaristas) Fernanda Bastos, a Brazilian journalist, poet and new mother, and (@neuro.maternal) Susana, a neuroscientist, explore science behind the maternal brain and the biological, psychological and societal changes that come with motherhood.

Research reveals that the maternal brain undergoes profound changes during pregnancy and postpartum, even more pronounced and dynamic than those that occur during adolescence. Yet, for a long time, these transformations received surprisingly little scientific attention.

Discover what neuroscience is teaching us about the maternal brain, why these changes matter, and how a better understanding of motherhood can help us support mothers and their families.

What's your view?
In frame: Fernanda Bastos (journalist, translator and book editor) and Susana Carmona (neuroscientist)

#earlychildhoodmatters #vanleerfoundation #vanleerfellowship #neuroscience #mombrain by @vanleerfoundation

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 18 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 — 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳?

Quite a lot, it turns out.

A few days ago, the new Van Leer Fellowship Class of 2026–27 gathered in the Netherlands for their first retreat. This cohorts' fellows come from São Paulo, Sydney, Nairobi, New York and many places in between. Scientists and artists. Thought leaders and researchers. Storytellers and entrepreneurs. Each with an intriguing story but might never have found themselves in the same room.

For a few days, they were invited to show up in their fullness. To listen, be curious, embrace play...and make room for one another. And along the way, a room of unique individuals began to feel like a community.

One of our fellows, @daisyaugerdominguez, captured it beautifully:

“A room of near-strangers came into sync while learning the science of being in sync.”

At the heart of the week was a question: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴?

Of course, we did not arrive at the answer to that question in a week. Yet by sharing and learning from each other's explorations question, interesting and powerful intersections emerged.

Welcome to the Van Leer Fellowship, Class of 2026–27. We are so glad to have you join our mission for a Good Start for children and parents.
@daisyaugerdominguez @simonegiertz @launoah57 @iamelliottrae @darbysaxbephd @sanjaypurohitm @libbiedoherty @drodriguezfranco @yasmeenabufraiha @candeliousfang

#VanLeerFellowship #Class2026-27 #netherlands🇳🇱 #vanleerfoundation #earlychildhoodmatters #fellowship by @vanleerfoundation