Three municipalities and two communes in Romania are candidates for the title of "Child Friendly City"

Bucharest, 25 January 2024. The municipalities of Brasov, Bacău and Moinești, Colonești and Corbasca, were recognised on Thursday as candidates for the title of "Child Friendly City", as part of a global initiative by UNICEF and UN-Habitat launched in 1996, in which more than 3,400 cities in 38 countries participate. The Child Friendly Cities initiative is a concept that brings together authorities and other relevant actors such as non-governmental organisations, the private sector, academia, the media and, most importantly, children.

The initiative started in Romania in 2021, as part of the project "Romania for every child. Ensuring social inclusion - breaking the vicious circle of exclusion for the most vulnerable children in Romania", which benefited from a grant of €4.2 million from Norway through Norwegian Grants under the Local Development Programme administered by the Romanian Social Development Fund, as well as support from companies and individuals in Romania.

After two and a half years, during which time a number of necessary steps have been taken (including signing memoranda with UNICEF, carrying out situation analyses and action planning in the five localities, setting up local and consultative children's councils, establishing local coordination committees by decisions or orders of the mayors, and trainings to improve children’s knowledge of their rights, etc.), the municipalities of Bacau, Brasov, Moinești Colonești and Corbasca have been nominated as candidates for the title of "Child Friendly Municipality".

What the children of the five municipalities want:

- A safe and clean environment.

- Quality inclusive education.

- More playgrounds with facilities for children with disabilities.

- More cultural and artistic events.

- To be consulted more by parents when making decisions that affect them.

- Make public spaces more accessible for people with disabilities.

- Eliminate discrimination in the community and bullying in schools[1].

Over the next two years, the candidate municipalities will work with the support of UNICEF to implement the local action plans. At the end of implementation, they will be independently evaluated and the qualifying municipality will be recognised as a child-friendly city.

"The Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities supports the UNICEF initiative to make more and more cities in Romania child-friendly. Children need to grow and develop in communities where they have the best services, where their voices are heard and where local government works with them to build truly child-friendly cities and municipalities. The Child-Friendly Cities Initiative sets the benchmarks for the necessary changes that need to start at local level," said Natalia Intotero, Minister for Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities.

"The initiative promotes social inclusion, prioritizing vulnerable groups, which will not remain invisible at local level. Involving children in decisions that affect them and formalising local children's councils also enables local councils to systematically consult children. We want Bacau, Brasov, Moinești, Colonești and Corbasca to become places where children's rights are truly respected and where children's voices are heard in all matters that concern them", said Nicolae Gorunescu, Vice-President, National Authority for the Protection of Children's Rights and Adoption.

"A future awaits us - not only us in Romania, but all of us in the world - in which human resources will be the differentiating factor and the source of competition between countries. Cities and communities that invest in human capital will win, and that means improving the quality of life of children and families. Mayors who consult with children and young people make better decisions with them and I am glad that the Child Friendly Cities Initiative has come to Romania to be their guide and partner", said Oana Țoiu, Chair of the Youth Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and member of the National Steering Committee of the Child Friendly Cities Initiative.

"I am part of the Brasov Children's Council and this UNICEF initiative was an experience from which, together with my colleagues, I learned a lot. The Child Friendly Cities initiative gives us the opportunity to really participate in the civic life of the city, to come up with proposals and to look for ways in which they can be achieved, for the benefit of all children living in the city, but especially for the most vulnerable", said Alexia, member of the Brasov Children's Council.

"The Romania for Every Child project, under the aegis of which the Child Friendly Cities Initiative was implemented, is an example of best practice in terms of collaboration with concrete results for children between an international organisation, government and subordinate institutions, as well as local and county authorities, collaboration involving children and benefiting from their energy and ideas. I wish success to the five nominated localities and hope that other communities will follow their example", said Roxana Mînzatu, Secretary of State, Coordinator of the Department for Integrated Evaluation and Monitoring of Programmes Financed from Public and European Funds, Government of Romania.

"I thank the municipalities of Bacău, Brașov, Moinești, Colonești, and Corbasca and other local partners for this partnership and assure them of UNICEF's commitment to provide technical assistance in the implementation of local action plans and in the creation of truly child-friendly localities, where children's rights are respected and promoted, where children are involved in local decision-making processes and which can be a model for other local authorities across the country," said Anna Riatti, UNICEF Representative in Romania.

[1] According to the results of the Child Rights Situation Analyses carried out in Brasov, Bacau, Moinești, Colonești and Corbasca