The inaugural Bridging Worlds in Early Childhood Development Conference, hosted by KLC International Institute (KLCII) on 31 July and 1 August 2025, shone brilliantly with a stirring keynote address from world-renowned neuroscientist Professor Adele Diamond.

Professor Diamond inspired over 400 participants from 12 countries at the Furama RiverFront with her keynote on executive functions (EFs), highlighting them as essential tools for learning, health, relationships, and success in life. She emphasized that developing these functions in early childhood matters more for school readiness and long-term outcomes than IQ, literacy, or socioeconomic background.

As a pioneer in developmental cognitive neuroscience and a leading researcher on the development of EFs in children, she highlighted three core EFs: inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility. Inhibitory control is being able to resist a strong inclination to do, or attend to, something, and instead do, or attend to, what is most appropriate or needed. Working memory is holding information in the mind and working or playing with it. Cognitive flexibility is being able to see things from different perspectives, think about something in a whole new way (“thinking outside the box”) and switch between tasks.

She urged educators to see these skills as capacities that grow with practice, challenge, and the right kind of support. Like a parent steadying a child on a log, scaffolding helps children stretch their abilities until they can stand on their own. She reminded the audience that arts, play, movement, and storytelling are not “extras” but are vital to brain development as these help children develop EFs. Removing stress is also key for children to exercise and grow in their EFs. Hence, it is important to take care of children’s well-being, and also teachers’ well-being, as the two are inseparable. She offered participants strategies to apply immediately in classrooms and homes.

Professor Adele Diamond delivers her keynote and followed by dialogue session moderated by KLCII Principal and CEO Dr Chua Ying Hwee

Building on her call to nurture the “mental toolkit for success,” the two-day event featured more than 30 workshops and presentations across four strands: Inclusive Practices and Children’s Wellness; Teacher Well-being and Efficacy; Positive Parent–Teacher–Child Relationships; and Ecosystem Redesign. Participants also used KLC AIR (Actionable Ideas Record), a tool offered to participants to record learning insights gleaned at the conference to apply at work or at home subsequently.

From left to right: Dr Chua Ying Hwee, Principal and CEO of KLCII, Professor Tseng Shu-Hsien, Chung Yuan Christian University, Ms Karina Schreurs, Aro Training, Professor Adele Diamond, University of British Columbia, Mr Jason Wong, Founder of Dads for Life

Participants attending workshops during the conference

In his opening address, Dr Chua Ying Hwee, Principal and CEO of KLCII, introduced the Every Child · Every Teacher (ECET) initiative, anchored in the VALUED framework—Validating, Affirming, Loving, Understanding, Enabling and Developing every child and every teacher.

More than just a conference, Bridging Worlds marked the beginning of a sustained movement to strengthen Singapore’s early childhood ecosystem.

Preschool educator Mr Ashoka Raj Arjuna, reflected:

“KLCII has done a fantastic job. The conference was thoughtfully curated, with strong panels and relevant topics like executive function. It is a powerful stepping stone to empower educators and support the next generation.”

Mr Andy Teo, Developmental Optometrist and Preschool Director, who presented at the conference shared:

“A big thank you to KLC for this opportunity, and to Prof. Adele Diamond for generously sharing her work on Executive Functions … “Every Child and Every Teacher needs to be VALUED.” – Dr Chua Ying Hwee’s message is one I’ll carry forward.”

The conference, being part of KLCII’s Every Child · Every Teacher project which aims to help propel Singapore forward on its journey to realize the shared national vision of inclusive and responsive early childhood development, was organised to gather global expertise from across early childhood development, special education, healthcare and parenting domains to connect people, enable mutual learning and spark cross-discipline collaboration. From the positive feedback received from participants, the Bridging Worlds conference has gotten off with a good start in catalysing further progress on this mammoth transformation effort.

Photo credits to Keng Photography