Established in 2008 with the support of the Price Foundation, Bidayat Al-Qasemi Center for Early Childhood Advancement has grown into a leading body for early childhood in Arab society across the country. The Center is guided by the belief that the first years of a child’s life form the foundation for confidence, language, relationships, curiosity, competence, identity, belonging, and healthy development. During these early years, the quality of interaction between the child and the significant adults in their life—parents, educators, caregivers, grandparents, and mentors—plays a central role in shaping developmental outcomes.

The Center works to promote the well-being and development of young children and families in Arab society by designing and implementing educational, community-based, and professional programs for children, parents, families, educators, local authorities, and professionals. It provides meaningful learning experiences, quality time, play, reading, dialogue, guidance, and professional support, based on the understanding that early childhood is a shared responsibility of families, communities, educational systems, and academia.

The Center’s unique contribution lies in its integration of academic knowledge, pedagogical expertise, community work, and cultural responsiveness. It is closely connected to the Early Childhood Education track at Al-Qasemi Academic College and views the connection between academic training and community service as a core principle: knowledge generated in academia returns to the field, and the field enriches academic training, research, and pedagogical development.

Bidayat Al-Qasemi Center aims to lead social and educational change in Arab society by advancing the quality of early childhood education, care, and adult-child interaction. The Center seeks to nurture children who experience security, curiosity, and belonging; to strengthen parents and families; to empower educational teams; and to build a professional, culturally sensitive early childhood ecosystem around children in their first years of life.

The Center’s vision integrates traditional values with universal humanistic values: equality, respect for human dignity and diversity, freedom of choice and expression, human capital development, and social responsibility.

• Child development and well-being: Promote the well-being and development of children from birth through grades 1–2.
• Quality interaction: Strengthen the quality of interaction between significant adults and young children.
• Program development: Develop and implement educational, pedagogical, and community-based early childhood programs.
• Parent and educator guidance: Deepen knowledge and awareness among parents, families, and educational teams.
• Systemic support: Provide professional support for local authority birth-to-three department directors and educational mentors in daycare settings.
• Culturally responsive resources: Develop Arabic-language content, games, guidance materials, and pedagogical tools.
• Academia-community connection: Strengthen the connection between early childhood academic training and community practice.

Bidayat Center works with three main target groups, alongside additional professional and community audiences:

• Children: Children from birth through grades 1–2.
• Parents and families: Parents, families, grandparents, and significant adults in the child’s life.
• Educational teams: Staff in birth-to-three settings, kindergartens ages 3–6, and grades 1–2.
• Community: Local communities, local authorities, educational institutions, and social organizations.
• Students: Early childhood education students at Al-Qasemi Academic College.
• Professionals and academia: Professionals, educational mentors, local authority birth-to-three department directors, and researchers.

• “Nahda” Program: A systemic program for improving the quality of education and care for children from birth to age three in Arab society, including educational mentoring and supervision in daycare settings in accordance with Ministry of Education regulations.
• “Hakayat Ma‘ Bidayat”: The Center’s flagship program, now in its 16th year, promoting quality adult-child interaction through reading high-quality Arabic children’s books, with specialization in birth-to-three ages.
• “Ahazij Al-Tufula”: A program for infants in daycare settings, integrating language, rhythm, voice, movement, and emotional connection.
• Identity development program: A program that nurtures identity in early childhood and includes a dedicated game developed by the Center, training programs, and workshops for educators and significant adults.
• Professional development: Recognized professional development programs for kindergarten teachers, educational support staff, and early childhood teams, according to relevant frameworks and approvals.
• Parent and family guidance: Dyadic parent/grandparent-child activities through play, cooking, preparation for first grade, and quality time experiences.
• Community, development, and research: Community events, development of content and guidance tools, academic research, and collaboration with College units.

“Nahda” is a systemic program designed to improve the quality of education and care for children from birth to age three in Arab society. The program strengthens the early childhood ecosystem daycare centers, families, local authorities, educational mentors, local birth-to-three department directors, and professionals through training, guidance, supervision, professional support, and partnerships.

At the heart of the program is the understanding that the quality of adult-child interaction is one of the most meaningful predictors of optimal development in early childhood. Therefore, the program focuses not only on children, but also on the adults and systems that shape their everyday lives.

• Hakayat Ma‘ Bidayat: Strengthening relationships, language, and imagination through quality Arabic children’s books and adult-child shared reading.
• Ahazij Al-Tufula: Early exposure to language, voice, rhythm, songs, and movement among infants in daycare settings.
• Identity development: Supporting children’s sense of identity, belonging, language, culture, and awareness of self and others.
• Dyadic activities: Shared parent/grandparent-child activities through play, creativity, cooking, and meaningful interaction.
• Preparation for first grade: Emotional, social, and learning preparation for the transition from kindergarten to school.

Bidayat Al-Qasemi Center operates through a holistic, multi-system approach: the child is at the center, but around the child are many interconnected systems—family, daycare, kindergarten, school, local authority, community, and academia. The Center works to strengthen all these systems in order to create a supportive, high-quality, and respectful environment for early development.

The Center develops Arabic-language content and tools, recognizing language as an emotional, cultural, and educational home for young children. Its work integrates high-quality children’s literature, play, identity, mentoring, research, professional training, and community engagement.

• Educational games: Arabic-language educational games developed by the Center as part of its programs.
• Children’s books: A collection of high-quality, interactive Arabic children’s books.
• Pedagogical guidance materials: A repository of Arabic-language materials for daycare settings, including forms, information sheets, programs, and quality assessment tools.
• Content development: Development of educational and pedagogical content relevant to early childhood work.
• Internal collaboration: Connection with the Early Childhood Education Department, the Parenting and Family Center, and the Social Engagement Unit at Al-Qasemi Academic College.
• Activity spaces: Spaces for children’s activities, workshops, guidance meetings, professional development programs, and community events.