The President of the Kyrgyz Republic presented certificates to ten cities recognized as friendly to children and youth

BISHKEK, 28 April 2021 - Today, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Kyrgyz Republic, Ozonnia Ojielo, and the UNICEF Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic, Christine Jaulmes, awarded certificates to the three cities that won the "Child and Youth Friendly Cities" competition and to the other seven cities that were certified as youth and child-friendly cities.

The city of Kara-Kul in the Jalal-Abad region came first in the competition and received a 3 million soms prize, the city of Balykchy in the Issyk-Kul region got second place and received 2 million soms, and the city of Batken in Batken region got the third place and received 1 million soms. Also, the ten cities that reached the highest scores based on a comprehensive assessment managed by the Ministry of Culture, Information Sport and Youth Policy were awarded certificates as being youth and child friendly. The list of these cities, in addition to the winners, includes Kadamjai, Tokmok, Naryn, Jalal Abad, Kochkor-Ata, Osh and Karakol.

In total, the 18 cities included in the Concept of Regional Development for the period 2018-2022 as “growth points” took part in the competition announced on May 2019 by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. Cities were assessed against a total of 26 indicators measuring how they are providing a friendly environment to children, adolescents and young people, including in areas such as education, health care, protection from violence, assistance for those in difficult life situations, safety and youth participation in decision making. All cities established a youth council to allow young people to be involved in decision-making processes.

“Mayors and their teams have always been at the forefront of fulfilling the country’s obligations to ensure the well-being of children and youth in line with the Convention on the Rights of Children. Local self-governments are closer to children and youth; they can reliably assess the local situation and take quick and targeted measures to solve youth’s problems. Moreover, they have offered a space where young people could voice their concern and ideas and took them into account in their plans. UNICEF will continue to support the Child and Youth Friendly Cities initiative and encourages the government to conduct a second competition so that more cities can become child friendly,” said UNICEF Representative Christine Jaulmes.

A robust methodology was designed to assess the different cities. In addition to the 26 indicators, the Ministry of Culture, Information Sport and Youth Policy together with UNICEF conducted relevant surveys to collect more qualitative data. A commission made the final decision using all the evidence collected, including submitted reports and documents by the various municipalities.

The UNICEF Child and Youth Friendly City Initiative was held from 2019-2021 and spearheaded by the Ministry of Culture, Information Sport and Youth Policy and the plenipotentiary representatives of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in the regions. The 18 cities participating in the initiative were Bishkek, Kara Balta, Tokmok, Naryn, Balykchy, Karakol, Talas, Kara-Kul, Tash-Komur, Kerben, Kochkor-Ata, Jalal-Abad, Uzgen, Osh, Kara-Suu, Kadamjai, Batken and Isfana.