ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Society for Children and Youth is please to announce
its new partnership with the Lower Nicola School. SCY and LNS are joining
together to develop a Child and Youth Friendly Communities Toolkit for use by
British Columbian Aboriginal communities. The Child and Youth Friendly
Communities Self-Assessment Toolkit includes Child Friendly Housing, Smart User's Guide to Child
Friendly Housing, Making Your Community More Child and Youth Friendly: Getting
Started, and Making Your Community More Child and Youth Friendly: Planning for
Action booklets
and worksheets. Working with
Aboriginal communities, the project will examine the cultural competence of
SCY’s 0-6 child friendly planning and assessment tools, and adapt these,
thereby creating a resource that can be applied more broadly to the Aboriginal
communities in other parts of the Lower Mainland and the province.
To ensure
wide dissemination and encourage knowledge transfer of this toolkit, this
project will also design a training-the trainers manual and Aboriginal based
workshop. Please feel free to pass the attached Request for Proposals on to
organizations you think would be interested in this exciting new project. Check
back here on the SCY website for updates on this and other SCY
programs.
Please click here to download the Request for Proposal (pdf)
Making a place for young people in the community:
Are the young people in your community involved in the planning and decision making of programs and services that affect them? Do they have a voice in the way their parks and playgrounds are designed? Children and youth need to contribute in meaningful ways within their communities.
Engaging young people teaches them to be responsible and active citizens for life. Finding out what matters to children and youth means we can ensure programs and services are more effective.
"The idea of being child friendly is a mindset and allows you to view your community through the eyes of our youngest citizens," says Gary Manson, SCY Volunteer Chair, Child and Youth Friendly Communities Committee. In order to encourage communities to promote child and youth participation, SCY initiates several programs including provincial community orientation workshops, convening local and national forums and hosting annual child-friendly awards.
Visit publications to learn how you can receive your own community self-assessment kit.
Our guiding principles:
Communities must evolve in order to provide elements that contribute to the physical, social, emotional and spiritual growth and development of children and youth. Common elements of successful child and youth friendly communities include the following guiding principles:
- Supporting parents and families
- Treating children and youth with respect and dignity
- Ensuring the safety and health of children and youth
- Providing access and promoting diversity
- Teaching empowerment and leadership skills
- Exploring nature and living things
Child and youth friendly communities around the globe:
During the last half-century, world populations have become more and more concentrated in cities. There is particular concern about the effect of rapid industrialization and urbanization on the growth and development of children. A variety of international movements have developed toward improving the quality of life of citizens and making cities more livable and enjoyable for all. One of these, under the auspices of UNICEF, is the Child Friendly Cities initiative. Since the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul in 1996, this initiative has taken a firm foothold in many European countries and in others around the world. Another example is the Growing Up In Cities initiative.
SCY recently hosted Caroline Boswell, head of London (UK)’s Children and Young People's Unit in the Mayor of London's Office of the Greater London Authority in the UK. Caroline shared her expertise in building child and youth friendly municipalities in a 4 hour workshop on November 30, 2006. For more information about this event, including Caroline’s powerpoint presentation, click here.
Child and youth friendly communities in Canada:
Canada is very much involved in the "child and youth friendly movement." The emphasis may differ from province to province, but the common denominator is to make cities, communities and neighbourhoods better places for children and youth.
In Canada, there are a growing number of organizations taking action to make communities more child and youth friendly. Examples are: Child and Youth Friendly Calgary and Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa, as well as the work of the Society for Children and Youth of BC. |
