Spain

The Ciudades Amigas de la Infancia (Child Friendly Cities) initiative in Spain was launched in 2002 and has the support of the Ministry of Youth and Children, 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 local governments 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.

All local authorities must commit to deliver results for children:

1. Every child is valued, respected and treated fairly;
2. Every child's voices, needs and priorities are heard and considered in all decisions that affect them.
3. Every child has access to quality essential services;
4. All children live in safe and clean environments;
5. All children have the opportunity to enjoy family life, play and recreation.

To be recognised, they must also meet the following minimum criteria:

1. Have demonstrable results in upholding children's rights as enshrined in the Child Right Convention.
2. Have achieved meaningful and inclusive child participation.
3. Demonstrable commitment to eliminating discrimination against children and young people in the policies and actions of the Local Authority.

This new approach requires that recognition is awarded when the Local Authority can start to show results for children. Thus, since 2023, three levels have been established:

• Candidates - They have a diagnosis, a local plan for children, an internal coordination space and child participation.
• Recognised - After a minimum of one year of implementation of the local plan for children, it is able to demonstrate results.
• Renewed - Has been recognised for the previous four years, has evaluated its local plan for children and has designed a new one based on the lessons learned from the previous one.

The mechanism for local authorities to have a common framework of indicators was the battery of indicators that the initiative developed in 2019, and on which, depending on the population size, each local authority must choose a number of indicators.

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.

In 2024, an external impact assessment of the twenty-two-year initiative in Spain was carried out. The impact evaluation aimed to measure the changes brought about by the initiative in both local governance and the lives of children and adolescents. Using the matching technique and regression models, it were able to attribute observed changes to the initiative. The findings were structured around five core objectives and two cross-cutting goals of the initiative, as follow:

Cross-Cutting Goals

1. Governance and Rights-Based Approach:
   • Child-friendly cities are more likely to implement actions that improve governance and integrate children’s rights into public management.
   • Notable increases were observed in diagnostic assessments, child rights awareness campaigns, and child participation initiatives.
2. Capacity Building and Policy Integration:
   • Training for local politicians and technical staff has increased annually.
   • Budget allocations for child-related policies have grown, with each additional year in the initiative linked to a 1.4% increase.
   • There has been greater integration of children’s rights into youth and gender policies, though structural legal protections remain limited.

Rights-Based Objectives

1. Being Valued and Treated Fairly:
   • 75% of children in child-friendly cities feel they are treated fairly.
   • There has been a 2.4% annual increase in adapted sports programmes for children with disabilities.
   • 70% of children believe their local governments are making efforts to support vulnerable groups.
2. Being Heard:
   • All child-friendly cities have child participation bodies, compared to only 27% of non-participating cities.
   • Participation leads to more diverse discussions and greater focus on social rights.
   • Each year in the initiative is associated with a 10% increase in implemented proposals and a 6% increase in self-managed proposals.
   • However, only 1 in 4 children feel their proposals are acknowledged and followed up by local authorities.
3. Access to Essential Services:
   • 87% of child-friendly cities report universal access to quality services.
   • There has been a notable increase in early childhood education enrolment and mental health programmes.
4. Safe and Clean Environments:
   • 71% of local entities believe children live in safe and clean environments.
   • Safety and pedestrian safety measures in schools have improved annually.
5. Play and Leisure:
   • 77% of local entities agree that children have adequate spaces for play and leisure.
   • 82% of children report access to cultural and social life, contributing to their well-being.

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, 311 local governments had been granted this recognition. Altogether, the initiative reached 48.34% of all children living in Spain. Local governments had 409 local children's councils, involving about 13,000 children. In addition, 45 local entities have begun the process and are considered candidates for recognition. Thus, there are 356 local governments that are part of the Child-Friendly Cities network in Spain.