Building indicators for Child Friendly Cities and Communities and assessing local progress in child well-being through a

participatory approach

Pamela Wridt, CERG – CUNY Graduate CenterRoger Hart, CERG – CUNY Graduate Center

Dora Giusti, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre

Child Friendly Cities Movement

9 Building Blocks for

Local Authorities

1. Children’s Participation2. Child friendly legal framework3. City-wide children’s rights

strategy4. Children’s rights unit or

coordinating mechanism5. Child impact assessment and

evaluation6. Children’s budget7. Regular “State of the City’s

Children” report8. Making children’s rights known9. Independent advocacy for

children

Goals: • Community data on children’s rights• Municipal data on

children’s rights• Raising public

awareness on children’s rights• Local plans of advocacy

and action for children’s rights

Community ToolsChildrenParents

Community Service Providers

Governance ToolsLocal authorities

NGOs

Parameters of Community Assessment

• CRC as guiding framework• Comprehensive of all children’s rights• Cover all age groups (0-18) in the CRC• Ability to disaggregate data by gender and age• Adaptable to different cultural contexts• Suitable for interpretation and use by children, parents and community members• Ability to scale up to a national level• Asset based• Quantitative and qualitative

Child Friendly Community Domains

Presence/Absence * Access * Opportunity * Quality * Engagement

Local NGOsLocal CBOs

Sample of Children’s Tool

Sample of Children’s Tool

The health clinic is not welcoming to children

from certain tribes

Girls do not feel safe using public toilets

because they fear abuse

Girls feel the community is clean; boys do not

The smell is only bad for children living near the

factories

Child Friendly Community Initiatives

Local Adaptation of Indicators

• Rewording• Deletions• Additions

Gender * Family Relations * Disaster Risk Reduction * Access to Condoms

Example: Priorities for Education

Children• equal treatment of boys and girls in schools• access to books/materials for learning• clean drinking water in schools• physical discipline in schools

Parents• affordable schools for parents with small children• informal school opportunities• parent participation in school decision making

Community Service Providers• children’s rights taught in school• informal school opportunities

Community in:Dajabón,

Dominican Republic

95 Percentage of children who say the government

does not ask them their opinions about

the community

76 Percentage of

children who feel a stranger can take

them away

50 Percentage of children who feel

safe walking or cycling in their

community

Assessment Potential

Child Friendly Community Planning• Local Plans for Children• Creation of new schools• Safer routes to school• New programs for children• New community governance structures• Child friendly certification process

Awareness of Children’s Rights• Children• Parents• Community Service Providers• Local Authorities

www.childfriendlycities.org