Children First: Child Friendly Cities

A local system of good governance committed to fulfiling children’s rights

The situation

Large scale rural to urban migration in Turkey during the past three decades means that 65% of the population now live in cities and towns. The general strain on services in metropolitan areas has led to gaps in the protective environment for children. For example, under–fifteen–year–olds represented 28.5% of the urban population in 2004 and 24.2% of them were living in poverty.

One of the major obstacles to the provision of a protective environment for children is that general awareness of children’s rights and the obligation to respect them is low. The education system is also under–resourced and further investment is limited by lack of funding.

Data and analysis on urban inequalities such as poverty and access to health services is insufficient to direct resources towards improving provision of these important basic services for socially excluded children.

Despite national level commitment to the concept of Child Friendly Cities, local councils do not yet fully understand how to go about making their cities and towns child friendly.

The solution

Reforms providing good governance, justice and protection for children are underway in Turkey. The commitment to increase investment for children and combat child poverty has already been made at the highest levels of government.

UNICEF and the Ministry of Interior plan to build on the promise of these reforms by promoting the Child Friendly Cities model in twelve major cities. Local authorities will be able to use data collection, planning and child–centred budgets to direct resources for the benefit of children and raise public awareness of children’s issues.

As part of the broader ‘Social Investment for Children’ programme over the next five years, Child Friendly Cities will support strategies to:

• prevent children resorting to living and/or working on the streets;
• encourage more child participation and provide them with training in children’s rights;
• decentralise social services and improve local level service delivery for children.

The success of the project will set an example for the rest of the country’s urban centres to follow.

The activities

An incentive package should be developed in order to help central and local government, community organisations and children’s groups encourage cities to become child friendly. The Child Friendly Cities incentive package will:

• encourage community action to adopt the Child Friendly Cities model by promoting the advantages for children amongst community groups, parents and children themselves;
• aim for all hospitals to achieve Baby–Friendly status, enrolment of all school–age girls in primary education, provision of catch–up education for children working on the streets and assistance for them to reintegrate with their families if possible;
• engage the support of local media with training sessions and press conferences promoting children’s rights and the Child Friendly Cities model;
• support informed dialogue between local authorities and community groups on children’s issues by providing computers, statistical analysis software and training to monitor progress in children’s rights.

The result

Establishment of the Child Friendly Cities model in the twelve cities of Antalya; Bursa; Erzincan; Gaziantep; Karaman; Kayseri; Kırşehir; Konya; Sivas; Tekirdağ; Trabzon and Uşak will support:

• the MONE and UNICEF Haydi Kızlar Okula! initiative to get all girls into primary education;
• reintegration of children living on the street with their families;
• reduction of child labour with measures to alleviate poverty in low–income families;
• provision of catch–up education for children who have missed basic education;
• tighter traffic regulation and controls to make roads and streets safer for children;
• Baby Friendly hospitals and the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding;
• adequate budget analysis and allocation of resources for children;
• making all schools Child Friendly Schools (CFS);
• greater awareness of children’s rights — among both adults and children;
• more sports and recreational activities and facilities for children.

For sponsors

As a comprehensive social mobilisation project, Child Friendly Cities relies on the financial support of private sector businesses and agencies. Their active participation in the process of making our cities fit for children to live in is also vital.

As the heart of the economy, business activities directly influence outcomes for children. In return, children will one day shape business because they are the future of the economy.

Involvement in the development of any one of Turkey’s twelve major Child Friendly Cities will increase the visibility of a sponsoring brand and build a positive public image as caring agents of social development.

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Download the Child Friendly Cities brochure in pdf format [PDF 137KB] or alternatively download a zipped porfolio of the seven funding brochures [ZIP 1.8MB].

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