Around 80 countries will take part in a global UNESCO conference in Moscow on the upbringing and education of preschool children from September 27-29, First Deputy Mayor Ludmila Shvetsova told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
"Many countries around the world have embarked upon prioritizing preschool education, more so than they have done in the past. Moscow takes the initiative one step further by paying close attention to children with special needs. We are in the midst of creating a department which will deal with exclusive and correctional education," she said.
"Some of the directions that the project is meant to embark on are: intellectual and physical development, patriotic and moral education, accelerated learning of customs and traditions, installation of programs assisting bilingual upbringing, all-round artistic development, programs for detection and nurturing of talented and gifted children, psychological onsite support, and last but not least, programs for integration between kinder grade and middle school" Shvetsova said.
The Moscow city administration initiated support for the original proposal by the Russia Federal government to hold the conference, she said. An estimated 21,600 children in Moscow preschools are involved in special needs programs.
This is the city's third year of working with UNESCO in making the new project, "Moscow education: from toddlers to High School" a reality.
MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti)
