Strategies
City-Wide Strategic Action Plan
Developing a city-wide strategic action plan with clear budget allocation and accountabilities for implementation.
Building a child-friendly city or community requires a unified strategy with an action plan that defines goals and targets, budget allocation as well as accountabilities for implementation. It must include input from key stakeholders, including children.
The strategy with action plan provides a unifying focus and defines coordination among local government departments. For it to be effective, it should be aligned with existing local planning and budgeting processes and also be linked to national planning as well as be be reflected at neighbourhood levels of government.
In some cases, official, broader-level city strategies may already exist within which a child-friendly city strategy can potentially be incorporated. To increase effectiveness, the strategy and action plan should have ongoing commitment form the highest political level of local government such as the mayor’s office.
Country examples
Inclusion does not necessarily imply endorsement by UNICEF.
CANADA
The Child Friendly Edmonton City Council Initiative aims to make the city of Edmonton, Canada more child-friendly by making it safe, accessible, well-designed with services fit for children and where children and youth are listened to, treated with respect, and valued for their individual contributions. The Child Friendly Edmonton Working Plan 2017-2019 outlines the vision and goals of the initiative.
Link to Child Friendly Edmonton site.
The City Council in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada adopted the “Plan for the Social Well Being of Surrey Residents” (the “Social Plan”), which identified the creation of a child- and youth-friendly city as one of the priorities to improve the quality of life in Surrey. Subsequently, the Child and Youth Friendly City Strategy was adopted in 2010. Development of the strategy included a consultative process that involved children, youth, parents, municipal staff and a range of community stakeholders. The collected inputs were organized around three main themes: 1) participation of young people in decision making and community life; 2) physical environment that nurtures and promotes the healthy development of young people; 3) recreation, library and cultural services that are framed around the developmental needs of children and youth.
Link to City of Surrey site.
JORDAN
The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Policy and Priorities for Children policy document details a holistic approach to improving children’s lives, which includes the fields of health, safety, culture, informal education and child-friendly built environments. An annual budget is set aside for child-friendly policies and plans, covering projects recommended by Child Municipal Councils, including parks, child-friendly built environment and disability-friendly facilities.
View Jordan country profile.
NEPAL
The National Strategy on Child Friendly Local Governance (CFLG) in Nepal places children at the centre of all development policies, structures, and processes at the district, village, and municipal level. All local governments are required to conduct two types of planning processes, five-year periodic planning and annual development planning, in accordance with the CFLG strategy. The annual process includes planning and budgeting for projects that directly impact children as part of their local plan.
Download PDF.
NEW ZEALAND
In 2013, the city of Auckland adopted the ‘I am Auckland – The Children and Young People’s Strategic Action Plan’. The Plan was developed jointly by the Auckland Council and the Youth Advisory Panel and built on consultations with 6,000 children and young people.
Link to site.