Steps to Networking

Steps to Networking


1) Establish the Network and develop the mechanisms for networking.
At present, there are two organizations (Child Friendly Calgary and Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa) whose sole mandate is child and youth friendliness, two others for whom it is a major program (Society for Children and Youth of BC and Saskatoon Communities for Children), and many others who espouse its principles, use the tools and language, and in many cases see ‘creating a child and youth friendly community’ as really underpinning all they do.

It is the intention to establish a network and related structures.  These structures will initially include a website, email linkages and list serve,
As the Network grows and resources are identified and accessed, the Network will also develop opportunities for face-to-face discussion, and a national strategic planning process. 

Develop an Inventory of Partner Resources, and make them available to all members.
Over the years that the different agencies have been focusing on child and youth friendly communities, they have developed many programs, tools and resources.  For example, Society for Children and Youth of BC has an Awards Program and community planning and assessment toolkit; work is also underway on the development of municipal indicators and standards of child friendliness.  CAYFO has a photo event called ’24 Hours in the Life of a Child’ (sponsored by Fuji); CFC has a Mayor’s Advisory Council on Youth with many collateral materials; the City of Edmonton has developed a Child Friendly Decision-Making Filter.  Several have websites, but few are hot-linked one to another.  This is simply not efficient. The Network would compile an inventory of these programs, tools and resources, so that members can avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’.<!--[endif]-->

Promote and market the concept of Child and Youth Friendly Communities to municipalities and other local government agencies in Canada.
In Canada, the major responsibility for communities lies with the municipal tier of government: local municipalities, regional governments, school districts and divisions, local police forces, etc.  The policies that these local governments set, and the attitudes of their decision-makers, both elected and employed, determine much about the child friendliness of their communities.  If our communities are going to be more child friendly, these governments and politicians must change how they do things: how they engage and talk with children and youth, how they build their communities and how they provide their services.
The work done by all the partners in this proposal has been positively received by municipalities. Municipalities, both large and small, want to know what to do that will work.  They want to be positively supported and they like being encouraged and patted on the back for a job well done.  Work on this objective will also include liaison with federal agencies involved in the federal government’s Cities Initiative.

Provide partnership opportunities for Corporate Canada in support of Child and Youth Friendly Communities.
        Attracting the attention of corporations is difficult, especially for small projects. It takes time, and often the scope of the project is not the 
        national one that corporations are looking for.
        By working together, the network can create national programs which appeal to corporations.