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OMEP World Project · 2024

Water and Waterscapes

Children's right to clean water

Project leaders:  Elin Eriksen Ødegaard & Aihua Hu

Water, the essence of life, is a universal necessity. We all experience water or the lack of it in our daily lives. Its significance transcends existential and cultural boundaries, often holding spiritual importance.
The way we interact with water, from washing to cooking, reflects our cultural practices and beliefs.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) declares every child's right to clean water and health -  Article 24.

In 2024, a pilot study carried out in Tanzania, New Zealand and Norway paved the way for this new OMEP World project.

PROJECT PAGE > www.hvl.no

The project began at the KINDknow research centre, which developed the original idea, led its academic and pedagogical design, and funded the administration of the pilot study. This project aims to raise awareness of the need to cherish and protect water, landscapes, and sources in the best interest of every child and the planet. It also aims to broaden understanding of water as a concept and vital resource for children and their families across contexts, nations, and cultures.

The project engages children aged 4 to 8 years and professionals to explore the conditions of their water supplies for washing and drinking, and to express what finding the sources and
sensing the available water means to them. 12 national committees are involved. 

Water practices can be experienced aesthetically and culturally in a variety of ways - through poetic forms, narrative accounts, and local traditions. In Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE), water also connects to STEAM disciplines and to children's rights and world fairness.

A Norwegian research news outlet has covered the project with the story
"Children understand more of the world than we believe" > www.forskning.no

The participation will contribute to generating an analytic base that will lead to:

Stories
Policy briefs
Academic papers & reports
Visual communication

Together, these will enable OMEP to effectively communicate with local and world leaders about children's right to clean water and for a more sustainable future in their best interest.

2025 project report

Download the project

Pilot study

Navigating the waterscapes: children's expressions and perspectives of water across Aotearoa, Norway, and Tanzania.

Read the study
WASH Programme

Water and
Waterscapes

REPORT to OMEP 

The project Wash From the Start is oriented to educate and make aware adults and children regarding the importance of washing their hands frequently, as a part of early childhood care and education, and, besides, as a tool to prevent the spread of multiple infectious diseases.

Wash From the Start is the result of a partnership project with UNICEF. The agreement was signed in 2016. Based on their initiative Wash in Schools, arises Wash From the Start, attending specially ECCE from birth onwards.

The program also presents the value of access to drinking water as a human right. The pandemic COVID-19 showed the importance of hand washing - OMEP celebrates on October 15 the International Handwashing Day. The program also exposed the lack of access to drinking water in many countries, with consequences in the most vulnerable groups, where early childhood belongs.

Key Recommendations of OMEP for the development of WASH in Preschool

1.

Adequate funding and other support for WASH as an essential component of quality in existing and new preschools.

2.

Greater coordination between sectors responsible for the wellbeing and education of young children, such as heath, education, social services, nutrition, child protection, and WASH.

3.

Development and implementation of standards for WASH in preschools.

4.

Inclusion of WASH in the education and supervision of preschool teachers and caregivers.

5.

Development of additional evidence on the impact of WASH in preschools by local and global academic communities.