A Child Friendly City is a local system of good governance
committed to fulfilling children's rights
France
Ville Amie des Enfants - UNICEF France
Launched by the French Mayors Association (Association des Maires de France - AMF) and by the French National Committee for UNICEF in 2002, the initiative "Ville amie des enfants" (Child-Friendly City) represents a network of 160 French cities of all sizes. Towns committed to becoming child friendly apply to be awarded the recognition. The completed application form is reviewed and assessed by an evaluation committee with regard to 5 areas/goals: every day’s life of children; child participation programmes; promotion of international solidarity; knowledge of children’s rights and partnership with UNICEF. Once appointed as child friendly, a city or town commits to enhancing activities to further meet the goals embedded in the 5 areas of work. Recently, UNICEF France, jointly with the 19 pilot child friendly cities, has launched a new initiative, A Programme of Action for Children (Un programme d’action pour les enfants). All members of the network will have to implement it by 2014. The plan envisions 5 operational objectives which are related to the key 5 goals/ areas of assessment: 1. Operational measures (cross-cutting coordinating bodies and other coordinating mechanisms); 2. Evaluation and visibility; 3. Innovation with regard to children’s rights (creation of spaces for children, adults “defenders” of children etc.); 4. Knowledge and information on children and the CFC (articles on newspapers, conferences etc.); 5. Promotion of children’s rights (CFC day, celebration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child etc.); 6. Partnership with UNICEF - national and district levels- (supporting UNICEF’s action).To facilitate the implementation of the Programme of Action and to support cities in the process, UNICEF France and the pilot cities have developed a quiz and a scoreboard (French version, English version).
The former allows cities to have a snapshot of the situation at any moment while the table of indicators may be used for a more thorough assessment by the city. Its completion would imply a cross-cutting involvement of different sectors. Since its inception, 160 cities and towns are part of a network, the exchange of practices and lessons learnt is key to ensure progress. This is fostered through yearly meetings involving all participating cities. The website is also a means for sharing of good practices and innovations.
Contact
Mélusine Harlé
Coordinator for Ville amie des enfants
French Committee for UNICEF
3, rue Duguay-Trouin
Telephone (33) 01 44397725
Fax (33) 01 44397786
E-mail mharle@unicef.fr
For more information : http://www.villesamiesdesenfants.com
Associations Nationale Des Conseils d'Enfants et de Jeunes (ANACEJ)
National Association of Children and Youth Councils
http://www.anacej.asso.fr/
Children and Youth Councils enable 9 to 18 year olds - and in some cases, young adults - to be actively involved in the everyday events of their town, county or region. They put forward ideas and suggestions and undertake activities to enhance the quality of life of inhabitants. Numbers have been steadily on the increase since the beginning of the 90's. In 1992, there were 400 councils, today there are more than 1000. The very first councils came into being in France in the 60's. ANACEJ, the National Association of Children and Youth Councils, groups together 460 "communes" and 4 local authorities which have elected to set up their own town. Local authorities (i.e. communes, county and regional councils) can organise their councils as they wish. They frequently refer to the experiences of other local authorities and the recommendations and advice of ANACEJ. On occasion, young people are directly involved in the creation of a council whilst local authorities organise elections or encourage volunteers to help put them in place.
The activities of youth councillors are as numerous as the issues are diverse. They launch awareness campaigns on the weight of school satchels, voting, tobacco, pollution, the European Union. They create cycle and rollerblade tracks. They organise demonstrations against violence.
Children and Youth Councils are empowered with an all important mission:
- appropriate representation of young people throughout a given area;
- sharing ideas on local life and society so as to improve world understanding;
- the implementation of projects to improve everyday life;
- consultation of young people on local authority projects.
Its main objectives are:
- to assist in the creation, running and evaluation of councils;
- to set up a network enabling members to share and compare experiences thanks to a date base, to national and regional assemblies, to consultation and exchange workshops and to its Internet site;
- the development and distribution of methodological and communications supports;
- the training of council leaders;
- research on the councils and young people's participation;
Contact
ANACEJ
105 rue Lafayette, 75010 Paris
Telephone 01 56 35 05 35
Fax 01 56 35 05 36
E-mail info@anacej.asso.fr
