Divya Lata

Divya Lata specializes in Disability Rights, Education and Early Childhood Development and has been promoting early childhood and elementary education initiatives in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the CEE/CIS region. Working in senior managerial / strategic advisory roles in leading international organizations, notably the Aga Khan Foundation, Save the Children Fund, Open Society Foundations and Plan International, she has focused on child survival, health and development in diverse long-term as well as fragile contexts. This includes steering practice and policy towards universal access to quality education in developing countries; advancing early interventions for children Ëœat risk”; promoting quality in educational settings through pedagogical, managerial and systemic reform processes; realigning social sector initiatives in post-soviet reconstruction and addressing educational imperatives in situations of acute disaster and conflict.

Divya is particularly interested in advancing the provision of developmental and educational support to children with disabilities and their families. Strongly driven by a rights based approach to these issues, she has not only been promoting development of inclusive early childhood and education programs but is also assisting NGOs to use the CRC and CRPD accountability mechanisms as tools of civil society action against discrimination towards children with disabilities.

Ms Lata currently works with Pan International as the Early Learning and Education Advisor, based in Bangkok. She also serves as a trustee of the Child to Child Trust, London and is a Director on the Board of the Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood, Singapore.