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This booklet should be of interest to educators and people seeking to understand the mechanisms of exclusion and the forging of new paths towards community empowerment and basic education skills. Many inhabitants of Cairo, Egypt, depend on the zabbaleen/garbage collectors but know very little of these people who make their way up and down the city's crowded streets every day picking up and recovering refuse. If they looked into the zabbaleen's history and that of the garbage neighborhood of Mokattam, they would discover a busy world where inventiveness and the need to survive have given birth to new ways of looking at the environment, basic education, and development. Since 1984, the Association for the Protection of the Environment (A.P.E.) has been working with the zabbaleen in improving living conditions and bringing about change. The result is a series of impressive programs where literacy, numeracy and health are combined with practical skills, rag and paper recycling units, neighborhood upgrading schemes, an organic compost plant, a children's club, a nursery and much more. Today, the zabbaleen, in collaboration with A.P.E., are taking their skills and programs beyond their neighborhood of Mokattum to other garbage villages around Cairo, to South Sinai and abroad. This spread of expertise shows how waste management can become an entry point for the empowerment of the excluded. (LB)

Early childhood development is increasingly viewed as an affirmation of children's rights. This report describes the concept of early childhood development and presents several viewpoints regarding early childhood care and development, parenting, and approaches to early education. The report also presents 10 case studies of programs to enhance the development of young children and their families throughout the world. Part 1 of the report examines early childhood development as providing the foundation for later learning, and discusses several topics such as: the state of current research about the learning process; caregivers' role in supporting children's learning; linking current research to practice; identifying effective models for early childhood development in various cultures; and national attitudes toward early childhood development and improving learning conditions for young children. This section also suggests ways to enhance public policy in early childhood development. Part 2 presents the following papers regarding early childhood care and development: (1) "Parents as Care-givers, Teachers and Learners: Examples from Asia" (de los Angeles-Bautista); (2) "Early Childhood Care and Development: Where We Stand and the Challenges We Face" (Evans); (3) "Value Outcomes in Early Childhood Development" (Weikart); (4) "Approaches of Early Childhood Education" (Arango); (5) "The Whole (All) Must Grow Through Learning" (Hesse); and (6) "From Centre-Based Pre-School to Integrated Child and Family Educational Programming" (Bennett). Part 3 of the report presents case studies describing early education programs, parent education programs, and research initiatives in Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, South Africa, Ireland, China, India, Mali, and Arab countries. (KB)

This issue of UNESCO's "Education for All: Making It Work" shows how the SHAPE project's message of autonomy has been translated into productive work, community participation, emphasis on local context, self-reliance and innovations. Since 1987, the Self-Help Action Plan for Education (SHAPE) in Zambia reflects a new philosophy introduced by the Zambian government to respond to dwindling funds and acute lack of materials. SHAPE encourages education policymakers and administrators to take initiatives and stimulate interest in education, and to find funding and materials for schools. The project has now reached all primary schools in Zambia. Chapters include: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Reform from Top to Bottom"; (3) "The SHAPE Approach"; (4) "Solutions in Action"; (5) "Inspectors and Colleagues"; (6) "Taking SHAPE"; (7) "From Teachers to Trainers"; (8) "Changes in the Neighborhood"; (9) "Financing and Sustainability: SHAPE in the Long Run"; (10) "Conclusion: The SHAPE Legacy." Charts, graphs, and a bibliography conclude the text. (EH)