National meeting of cities participating in the CFCI in Toruń, Poland

4 November 2025 - Since joining the global Initiative in 2018, the CFCI in Poland has grown to include 4 recognized cities, 3 candidate cities and 11 additional municipalities working towards certification, along with experts and researchers. The meeting in Toruń offered an opportunity for cities to exchange experiences on child-friendly local governance, including urban planning, meaningful participation of children and young people, and local strategy development. The opening session featured Renata Bem, Executive Director of UNICEF Poland, and Paweł Gulewski, Mayor of Toruń.

A strong contribution from the host city

Toruń, which has made significant progress since joining the programme, played an important role in shaping the meeting. The city showcased several examples of how UNICEF Poland’s recommendations have been implemented over the past year, including the development of the Urban Lab, the strengthening of services at the Centre for Therapy and Development, and a study visit to the Młyn Wiedzy Science Centre — a space that promotes science and includes an excellent exhibition on adolescence tailored for teenagers, teachers and educators.

The Youth Officer and the city’s CFCI coordinator ensured that young people were not just present but actively influenced discussions—highlighting Toruń’s growing leadership in creating spaces where youth participation has real impact.

A unique expert debate on children in urban space

One of the most distinctive elements of the meeting was a multi-disciplinary debate on urban planning, featuring:
– Prof. Małgorzata Michel, researcher,
– Magdalena Milert, architect and urban planner, and
– Marta Trakul-Masłowska, sociologist

specialising in public space and social practices.

Their three perspectives offered cities a deeper understanding of how children function in public space and how much can be improved through thoughtful planning, design and local policy.

Hands-on strategic workshops with dedicated tools

Another highlight were the strategic planning workshops, facilitated by Agata Bisping and Carolina Pietyra — experts in strategic planning and participation, who are currently leading a major participatory process in the Wesoła district in Kraków. City representatives worked with a specially designed task booklet developed by UNICEF Poland for this meeting. The booklet (available in Polish; English version upon request) guided cities through analysing their progress and identifying next steps in building a child-friendly local system.

UNICEF Poland also shared a curated set of good practices—from both the global CFCI network and examples outside the programme—as inspiration for cities designing their next actions. Each participating city additionally prepared visual boards presenting their own local good practices, which supported peer learning and exchange.

Youth participation put into practice: co-creation with young people

The second day of the meeting was fully co-created with young people invited by the City of Toruń — an approach that remains rare across the global UNICEF network. Youth participants actively facilitated dialogue with city representatives, offering concrete feedback on how cities communicate with young people and what makes public messages credible, accessible and meaningful from a youth perspective. Together, young people and city officials developed a practical example of youth-oriented communication, demonstrating how participation can move beyond consultation and become real, shared work.

Looking ahead

Beyond exchanging knowledge, the meeting allowed cities to share their needs regarding guidance, tools and trainings from UNICEF Poland for 2026. The strong involvement of Toruń, the engaging mix of expert perspectives, and the hands-on strategic work made this year’s national CFCI meeting not only informative, but genuinely transformative.