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Child Friendly Places is an approach for integrating children’s rights into local development initiatives and educational programs through a participatory, intergenerational and child friendly assessment and planning methodology that empowers communities to improve their local conditions and environments with children, adolescents, families, educators, service providers and decision makers.

For more information, contact Dr. Pamela Wridt: pamelawridt@yahoo.com

Research-Based Case Studies

Learn more about how this methodology is being used around the world. Initially developed and piloted in nine countries with UNICEF for Child Friendly Cities and Communities, the methods and tools continue to be adapted, scaled and implemented in more than 30 countries  by a range of organizations interested in children’s rights. To date more than 65,000 children, adolescents, parents and service providers have participated in the assessment process, as documented in 55 research-based case studies representing diverse community settings within urban development and humanitarian contexts.

Research Publications

Learn more about the process and outcomes of the assessment methodology through research and evaluation publications. Research-based outcomes include: a) individual or family outcomes (such as increased awareness of children’s rights and intergenerational empathy); b) organization or group outcomes (such as improved capacity to implement positive youth development practices); c) community or municipal outcomes (such as cleaner streets, new schools, improved pedestrian safety and the establishment of children’s councils); and d) policy or systems outcomes (such as cross-sectoral planning for children, and improved monitoring and evaluation of community conditions for children).

• Spatializing Children’s Rights: A Comparison of Two Case Studies from Urban India
• Child Friendly Places Global Evaluation Executive Summary
• Child Friendly Places Global Evaluation Report
• Child Friendly Places Theory of Change

Indicator Databanks

Learn more about the assessment topics and items being investigated by children and their communities, with technical support from organizations like UNICEF and Plan International.

• UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities and Communities – See the original version of the governance toolkit, assessment topics and items, as developed for the Child Friendly Cities Initiative.
  • Assessment Tool for Children
  • Assessment Tool for Adolescents
  • Assessment Tool for Service Providers
  • Assessment Tool for Preschool Parents
  • Assessment Tool for Secondary School Parents
• Child Friendly Schools and Child Friendly Communities – Learn how the assessment topics and items were expanded upon for local use by teachers and community-based organizations.
  • Child Friendly Schools [Brazilian Portuguese] [Hindi]
  • Child Friendly Communities [Brazilian Portuguese] [Hindi]
• Education in Emergencies – Learn how the assessment topics and items were adapted for transitional learning spaces in humanitarian contexts [available in English/French/Haitian Kreyol]
• Safe and Inclusive Cities – Learn how Plan International adapted the assessment topics and items for the “Because I am a Girl” Urban Programme.

Facilitator Guides

Explore guidebooks for empowering local governments, adult allies and adolescents as facilitators of the assessment methodology.

• Guidebooks by UNICEF, CERG, and Childwatch International for local governments, service providers and community-based organizations.
  • UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities and Communities [English]
  • UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities and Communities [Spanish]
• Guidebooks by CERG for Adolescent Facilitators and Adult Allies (such as teachers and youth development program managers)
  • Introduce [English] [Brazilian Portuguese] [Hindi]
  • Explore [English] [Brazilian Portuguese]
  • Assess [English] [Brazilian Portuguese] [Hindi]
  • Analyze [English] [Brazilian Portuguese]
  • Plan [English] [Brazilian Portuguese]
  • Share [English] [Brazilian Portuguese]
  • Act [English] [Brazilian Portuguese]
  • Review [English] [Brazilian Portuguese]
• Guidebooks by Plan International and CERG for Adolescent Facilitators and Adult Allies (such as service providers, including police officers, social workers, and community leaders)
  • Young Citizens’ Community Scorecards [English] [French]

Acknowledgements

This research was generously funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (Office of Research), UNICEF Education Section (International Headquarters), Plan International, and the US Fund for UNICEF.