According to the program Child Friendly Cities of UNICEF, a CHILD FRIENDLY CITY is a city that is commmitted to the fullest implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and it guarantees the right of every young citizen to:
- Influence decisions about their city
- Express their opinion on the city they want
- Participate in family, community and social life
- Receive basic services such as health care, education and shelter
- Drink safe water and have access to proper sanitation
- Be protected from exploitation, violence and abuse
- Walk safely in the streets on their own
- Meet friends and play
- Have green spaces for plants and animals
- Live in an unpolluted environment
- Participate in cultural and social events
- Be an equal citizen of their city with access to every service, regardless of ethnic origin, religion, income, gender or disability
What do you think? Maybe something like… “Well that is not too complicated…” or “Any city could be a child friendly city!” In many cases you are right! but the process of building a CHFC demands political commitments, concerted action thoughout goverments and the involvement of concerned stakeholders: local autorities, civil society, experts, communities and especially CHILDREN.
Also it includes working on these elements:
1. Children’s participation 2. A child friendly legal framework 3. A city-wide Children’s Rights Strategy 4. A Children’s Rights Unit or coordinating mechanism 5. Child impact assessment and evaluation 6. A children’s budget 7. A regular State of the City’s Children Report 8. Making children’s rights known 9. Independent advocacy for children
Ten years ago very few cities could truly say that they had included a vision of a child friendly city but at present many regions of the world are working on this commitment and they are making the Convention on the Rights of the child a daily practice 😉
IS YOUR CITY ONE OF THEM??
