Kate Middleton is taking her campaign to highlight the importance of the early years of a child's life to new levels.
On Tuesday, the Princess of Wales, 41, traveled to the northern English city of Leeds to talk to locals about her new initiative.
Kate's new campaign, Shaping Us, kicked off on Monday to raise awareness and get a conversation going on the importance of the first years of life. On Monday, Kate gave a landmark speech in London, followed by the release of a claymation film that highlighted how babies and young children develop in response to their earliest experiences.
Princess Kate, who wanted to bring her campaign to the heart of a city community, visited Leeds Kirkgate Market and met vendors and members of the public to discuss early childhood.
After briefly touring the market where she chatted with vendors, she then joined a discussion with some of the workers and locals to hear about their experiences of early childhood.
In an open letter released on Saturday, Kate explained: "During our very early childhood, our brains develop at an amazing rate – faster than any other time of our lives. Our experiences, relationships, and surroundings at that young age, shape the rest of our lives. It is a time where we lay the foundations and building blocks for life. It is when we learn to understand ourselves, understand others and understand the world in which we live."
"But as a society, we currently spend much more of our time and energy on later life," she continued. "I am absolutely determined that this long-term campaign is going to change that. It will start by highlighting how we develop during early childhood and why these years matter so much in terms of shaping who we become. I will be joined by a remarkable group of experts spanning science, research, policymaking and front-line practice as well as an exciting group of well-known faces from music, sport and television to show all of us why it is in all of our interests to care about this."
On Tuesday, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood also released a message from Kate, where she added that "by focusing our collective time, energy & resources on these most preventative years, we can make a huge difference."
Children and young people's interests are at the heart of life in Leeds, which is about 200 miles north of London. The city has the ambition to be the best place in the U.K. for children and young people to grow up.
The city launched Child Friendly Leeds in 2012 with the belief that by investing in and supporting children, young people and their families, the whole city will see immediate and long-term social and economic benefits.
Since then, Leeds City Council has been working with partners across the city to deliver enrichment programs to improve outcomes and has seen many positive results, including a reduction in the number of children and young people being taken into local authority care, more young people going into education, employment and training, and better school attendance.
Kirkgate Market, which opened in 1857 and is home to hundreds of local independent businesses from grocers selling fresh fruit and vegetables to butchers, and fishmongers, receives around 120,000 visitors a week. Its mission is to be an inclusive, successful, and sustainable part of the Leeds city center where independent retailers can innovate and thrive.
