CANADA

CHILD & YOUTH FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES (CYFC)
Society for Children & Youth of B.C.
The Society for Children and Youth founded in 1974, is a provincial advocacy organization dedicated to improving the well-being of children and youth. SCY provides a multi-disciplinary forum for organizations and individuals who care about children and who recognize that special efforts need to be made on their behalf in our increasingly complex and largely adult society. SCY's advocacy work in recent years has included a major project to promote the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its significance to Canadian children.

The seeds for the Child and Youth Friendly Communities (CYFC) Project were sown during SCY's Child Friendly Housing Project, which addressed the needs of children in multi-family housing by applying a child and youth friendly lens. By getting people together in a series of round tables and focus groups, the groundwork was laid for a three-year Child and Youth Friendly Communities Project.

The Project promotes the concept of child and youth friendly communities. It helps community groups, including children and youth themselves, to assess their neighbourhoods through the eyes of young people and to engage in activities that improve the safety and wellbeing of children and youth. Aims of the CYFC Project:
- To develop a climate in BC communities that respects children's rights
- To meet children's need for safe, healthy communities that allow children to thrive
- To involve children and youth actively in creating their community's future

For more information:www.scyofbc.org/

Contact

The Society for Children and Youth of British Columbia
1409 Sperling Avenue
Burnaby
V5B 4J8 Canada
Telephone (1 604) 433 4180
Fax (1 604) 433 9611
E-mail scy@portal.ca
Web site www.scyofbc.org

West Vancouver Civic Youth Strategy: Giving youth a voice in local government http://www.westvancouver.net/

Civic Youth Strategy for West Vancouver provides a set of specific strategies and actions aimed at making West Vancouver more 'youth friendly'. The strategy was prepared by the District of West Vancouver Staff and other experts to develop five strategic approaches to the implementation of a policy statement, as follows: 1) Create a broader vision for youth recreation; 2) Give youth a stronger voice in local government; 3) Improve the image of youth in the community; 4) Use civic resources for youth development; 5) Bring a youth perspective to civic policy development and planning. A three-phase process was used to develop this Civic Youth Strategy. Firstly, a youth survey was undertaken in West Vancouver High Schools focused on youth aged 13 to 18 years (grades 8/12). The survey was delivered in the last week of November, 2001. All secondary schools participated in the survey with the exception of Collingwood School. Secondly, youth participated in a survey of all municipal departments and community facilities. It was considered important for youth to find out what municipal departments and facilities do and how this affects youth. This was accomplished by having teams of two youth tour each department, ask questions, and report back to a workshop. Thirdly, ideas were brought together at a Youth Symposium, organized with the School Board, and held in conjunction with Youth Week 2002. This toolkit provides The Civic Youth Strategy Survey Questionnaire and the Planning for the Youth Symposium.

Contact

District of West Vancouver Municipal Hall
750 - 17th Street
West Vancouver, BC
V5M 3E8 Canada
Telephone (1 604) 925 7127
Fax (1 604) 925 5978
E-mail info@westvancouver.net