Publications

The study analyses how the Philippines’ national Child Friendly Movement, which has engaged government, NGOs, civil society, children and UNICEF, has enhanced the capacity of local governments, communities and young people to fulfil the rights of the poorest children. The study uses participatory methodologies and reflects the viewpoint of children and the community. It reveals that in areas where the Child Friendly Cities strategy was adopted, greater attention is paid to the most excluded and vulnerable groups and interventions are developed on a wider spectrum of children’s rights. Beyond providing insights on concrete ways in which child rights are bring promoted at local level, it provides recommendations on how the fulfilment of child rights can be further enhanced by municipal governments.

Child Friendly Cities in Italy describes the evolution of childhood in Italy and the emergence of a new culture of the city. It analyses the consideration given to the Child Friendly Cities initiative and in particular the attention provided to the child as an active citizen and the role of the city in promoting the participation of young people in decision-making processes at the local level. The study looks at the specific experience of 12 of the more than 100 Italian cities that have adopted this approach, considering planning, budgeting and monitoring plans of action for children and ways through which children’s views are taken into account. The study provides recommendations on how to further promote children’s rights within local governance.

La presente ricerca si prefigge di documentare i processi che hanno condotto alla realizzazione di città amiche dei bambini in Italia, tanto a livello nazionale, quanto a quello locale, analizzandone le tendenze, le metodologie, le strategie, con lo scopo di identificare le lezioni e di evidenziare le buone pratiche. La ricerca si sofferma su alcuni temi principali. Innanzitutto, sono state analizzate le idee guida, gli obiettivi e i destinatari degli interventi, le visioni complessive che sono alla base degli interventi. In secondo luogo, sono state descritte le iniziative innovative sperimentate dal programma italiano, con riferimento alle attività ed ai metodi e alle tecniche.

This document provides a framework for defining and developing a Child Friendly City. It identifies the steps to build a local system of governance committed to fulfilling children’s rights. The framework translates the process needed to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by national governments into a local government process. The concept of Child Friendly Cities is equally applicable to governance of all communities which include children, large and small, urban and rural. The framework is intended to provide a foundation for adaptation to suit all localities. The Child Friendly Cities Initiative emerged in recognition of several important trends: the rapid transformation and urbanisation of global societies; the growing responsibilities of municipalities and communities for their populations in the context of decentralisation; and consequently, the increasing importance of cities and towns within national political and economic systems. The initiative represents a strategy for promoting the highest quality of life for all citizens.

Il progetto "Bambino urbano" ha promosso attività di ricerca nelle Filippine, in Brasile, India e Kenya. L'Italia, invece, costituisce una sfida particolare che introduce nel progetto la dimensione Nord-Sud. I bambini italiani vivono sicuramente meglio per la rapida industrializzazione e la crescita economica nel periodo 1950-1980. Nello stesso tempo, tuttavia, emergono fra le giovani generazioni forme anche gravi di disagio e di emarginazione, non sempre adeguatamente compresi e fronteggiati dalla società.

The Urban Child project launched studies in the Philippines, Brazil, India and Kenya. Italy constituted a special challenge because it introduced to the project a North-South dimension. Owing to the rapid industrialization and economic growth of the period 1950-1980, Italian children have certainly fared better. However, severe forms of disaffection and problems among Italian youth have also emerged.