September 29th, 2020

Birth of the Collectif petite enfance

Let’s back up a little before we move forward…
During the 2018 Early Childhood Week, organized by Avenir d’enfants, plans were announced to create a Quebec-wide early childhood collective. Two years later, these plans have become a reality.

What is the Collectif petite enfance?

The Collectif petite enfance is the united voice of more than 20 member organizations committed to the shared goal of making early childhood development a priority for the entire province, including leaders from every sector of society and elected officials representing the various levels of government. Its mission is to ensure that young children’s potential is fully realized by supporting those who help them thrive, including parents, educators and the community in general. The Collectif petite enfance strives to play a pivotal role in all matters affecting the current and future wellbeing of children, from the womb through to preschool. One of the ways it delivers on this objective is through Early Childhood Week, an annual event that takes place every November.

First employee

The Collectif petite enfance is proud to welcome its first employee: director Elise Bonneville. Elise has worked in community development and engagement for many years. She has been involved in early childhood issues at the local and regional level as well as the delivery of institutional health, education and perinatal services. Her agility and versatility have come in handy during various intersectoral endeavours and within a collaborative organization made up of partners representing multiple interests. In recent years, Elise has served as a social development coordinator for Concertation petite enfance Mercier-Est and a mobilization and communication officer for a Montreal-based group of early childhood stakeholders known as Instances de concertation petite enfance de Montréal. Before this, she was a perinatal outreach worker and took part in a group initiative, as a birthing assistant coordinator, to set up a birthing home in Montreal. A fun fact about Elise: when the plans for the Collective were being announced in November 2018 at the Grand Rally for Our Little Ones, Elise, who was sitting in the audience at the time, surprised herself with the thought that she’d like to be part of this adventure. She knew this was exactly the kind of undertaking she could get behind. So it seems like this was meant to be! Best of luck, Elise!

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