Spain
Ciudades Amigas de la Infancia
The Ciudades Amigas de la Infancia (Child Friendly Cities) initiative in Spain was launched in 2002 and has the support of the Ministry of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and the University Institute of Needs and Rights of Children and Adolescents (IUNDIA).
The initiative drives participating municipalities to design and implement efficient public policies that improve the well-being of children, defend their rights, promote their participation and make cities more livable, sustainable and equitable.
Specifically, the initiative promotes: the integration of child rights, as stipulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, into municipal public policies, cross-sectoral coordination, child participation as a tool for social change, and strengthened alliances among local and regional actors. It is a model for public policy management that – through its structure – allows for continual improvement.
In order to be recognized as child-friendly, participating municipalities must follow a number of steps. They must conduct a child rights situation analysis. They must have a local plan of action for children with a supporting budget. They must have a local Child Participation Council recognized by the local government that harnesses the opinions of children and ensures that they are heard. They must also set up a Steering Group to guide and evaluate the recognition process.
Every year, the UNICEF Spanish National Committee and its partners publicly acknowledges the cities committed to fulfilling the rights of children by awarding them with a Recognition (Reconocimiento Ciudades Amigas de la Infancia). The endorsement is granted for a period of four years, with municipalities having to submit a mid-performance report during this time. The Seal can be renewed every four years as long as the municipalities continue their work with children.
The initiative in Spain supports municipalities participating in the initiative through a dedicated website as well as training opportunities, networking events, child participation activities and research.
To date, 342 local governments have been granted this recognition. Altogether, the initiative reaches 4,165,546 children, representing about 50% of all children living in Spain. We have 458 local child councils (about 32,492 children take part in any of them).
COUNTRY FACTS
Population: 46,722,980 (INE, 2019)
Pop. under 18: 8,332,433
CONTACTS
Silvia CASANOVAS. Child participation and local policies manager. scasanovas@unicef.es
Paola BERNAL, Child Friendly Cities Specialist. pbernal@unicef.es
LINKS
RESOURCES (in Spanish)
- TOOL BOX
- Child Participation
- Indicators for better local policies
- Monitoring a Local Action Plan
- Local Governance
- Toolkit: Identifying and quantifying investment for children
- Booklets for local action: Keys to promote child and adolescent participation
- Participatory experiences of children and adolescents at the local level: pillars that facilitate participation
- Participatory budgeting with children and adolescents
List of child friendly cities in Spain
277 recognized cities
- Albacete
- Alcalá De Guadaíra
- Alcalá De Henares
- Alcázar De San Juan
- Alcobendas
- Alcorcón
- Alhaurin El Grande
- Aljaraque
- Almonte
- Alovera
- Alpartir
- Alzira
- Andújar
- Arganda Del Rey
- Arnedo
- Ávila
- Avilés
- Azuqueca De Henares
- Barbastro
- Barcelona
- Belmonte De Miranda
- Bolullos De La Mitación
- Brenes
- Burgos
- Cabanillas Del Campo
- Cabra
- Cáceres
- Calatayud
- Camarma De Esteruelas
- Candamo
- Carbajosa De La Sagrada
- Carreño
- Carrión De Los Céspedes
- Cártama
- Castrelo De Miño
- Castrillón
- Castro Del Río
- Cazalla De La Sierra
- Cieza
- Ciudad Real
- Ciutadella De Menorca
- Coaña
- Collado Villalba
- Comarca De La Sidra
- Conil
- Cornellà De Llobregat
- Cuarte De Huerva
- Cuenca
- Daganzo De Arriba
- Daimiel
- Dos Torres
- Ejea De Los Caballeros
- El Casar
- El Franco
- Fernán Núñez
- Figueres
- Formentera
- Fraga
- Fuente Palmera
- Gibraleón
- Gijón
- Girona
- Grado
- Granada
- Granollers
- Guadalajara
- Guillena
- Humanes De Madrid
- Ibiza
- Illas
- Iznájar
- Jaca
- La Almunia De Doña Godina
- La Carlota
- La Puebla De Alfindén
- La Puebla De Cazalla
- La Roda De Andalucía
- La Victoria
- Las Regueras
- Laviana
- Leganés
- León
- Llanera
- Lleida
- Logroño
- Lora Del Río
- Lorqui
- Los Realejos
- Madrid
- Mahón
- Málaga
- Mallen
- Mancomunidad De Mejorada Del Campo – Velilla De San Antonio
- Manresa
- Marbella
- Marmolejo
- Meco
- Mislata
- Molina De Aragón
- Mollerussa
- Montilla
- Morella
- Mota Del Cuervo
- Murcia
- Nava
- Navacerrada
- Navia
- Nerva
- Noreña
- Olivares
- Oviedo
- Palafrugell
- Palencia
- Parres
- Pastriz
- Pedrola
- Piloña
- Ponferrada
- Pozoblanco
- Pravia
- Puerto Del Rosario
- Puerto Real
- Puertollano
- Quart De Poblet
- Quer
- Ribadesella
- Rivas Vaciamadrid
- Rubí
- Sabiñánigo
- Sagunto
- Salamanca
- Salas
- San Bartolomé De La Torre
- San Cristóbal De Segovia
- San Javier
- San Sebastián De Los Reyes
- Sant Cugat Del Vallès
- Santa Eulària Des Riu
- Santa Lucía De Tirajana
- Santa Marta De Tormes
- Santaella
- Santander
- Santanyi
- Segovia
- Sevilla
- Siero
- Sigüenza
- Sobrescobio
- Somiedo
- Tarragona
- Teruel
- Tiana
- Tineo
- Toledo
- Torrejón Del Rey
- Torrelodones
- Torrent
- Torrepachecho
- Umbrete
- Valladolid
- Véjer De La Frontera
- Vera
- Vícar
- Villa Termal De Jaraba
- Villamayor
- Villanueva De La Serena
- Villanueva De La Torre
- Villaviciosa