This edition of Early Childhood Matters offers a first introduction to the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s thinking as we flesh out our new goals for the period 2010 to 2015. In a keynote article programme director Michael Feigelson explains the foundation's preliminary thinking behind each of the new goals - why they excite us, and what we hope to achieve. The other articles explore various aspects of the new goals and include contributions from the Wolfensohn Centre, WHO and UNICEF; an interview with UN special representative on violence against children, Marta Santos Pais; and country-specific insights from Brazil, the Netherlands and Turkey.