The United Nations Intergovernmental Cooperation for the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities for the Healthy Growth and Comprehensive Development of Children

The core concept of The United Nations Intergovernmental Cooperation for the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities is to put children at the center, fully respect their rights and needs, and advocate that the interests of children should be fully taken into account in urban planning and development; its purpose is to promote the construction of an environment more suitable for the growth and development of children in cities and communities around the world through international cooperation and policy guidance. The United Nations Intergovernmental Cooperation for the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities should start from the following aspects from the perspective of children's healthy growth and comprehensive development:

First, strengthening the docking of policies and standards. First, policy exchange and docking. Policy exchange and communication meetings should be organized from time to time, in which governments share their policy initiatives to promote the construction of child-friendly cities and thoroughly explore the feasibility and effectiveness of their policies. On this basis, promote policy docking and coordination among governments to prevent policy conflicts and form policy synergies. Secondly, formulate unified standards. Jointly formulate and release unified norms and standards for the construction of child-friendly cities, mainly involving urban planning, social services, public facilities and the protection of children's rights and interests; the formulation of unified standards can provide governments with clear guidance, improve the level and quality of child-friendly city construction, and promote children's healthy growth and comprehensive development.

Secondly, the concept and goal of cooperation should be clarified. First, clarify the concept of cooperation. Promote the concept of equal and shared cooperation among governments, and advocate that the promotion of children's healthy growth and comprehensive development is the common responsibility of all countries in the world, and requires the cooperation of all governments. Moreover, it is also necessary to establish the concept of sustainable development to ensure that the construction of child-friendly cities can meet the needs of current children without jeopardizing the interests of future generations of children. Secondly, the goal of cooperation should be set. Guiding governments to recognize the significance of child-friendly city construction in promoting children's healthy growth and all-round development, and determining the fundamental goal of joint cooperation, so as to better promote the construction of child-friendly cities around the world.

Third, establish cooperation mechanisms and institutions. First, establish a sound coordination mechanism. A special coordinating body should be set up to integrate and coordinate cooperation among governments; the body can be led by The United Nations Intergovernmental Cooperation for the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities, inviting representatives of governments to participate in it, formulating cooperation programs, coordinating the implementation of the projects, and solving all kinds of problems that arise in the process of cooperation. Second, building an information-sharing platform. With the support of the information-sharing platform, governments can more conveniently exchange information on policies, technologies, practices and experiences in building child-friendly cities. Through information sharing, countries around the world can learn from each other's successful experiences in child-friendly city construction and improve the efficiency and quality of child-friendly city construction. Thirdly, build an assessment mechanism. A scientific and reasonable evaluation index system should be formulated to evaluate the specific work of governments in the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities; the results of the evaluation can not only be used as an important basis for the government to adjust its policies and improve its work, but also be used as a reference for The United Nations Intergovernmental Cooperation for the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities to provide incentives or support to the governments of various countries.

Fourthly, promote project cooperation and implementation. First, we should clearly prioritize development projects. Taking into account the development situation and realistic needs of each region, we should clarify the priority projects for the construction of child-friendly cities; for example, developed countries should prioritize children's right to participation and creativity cultivation, while developing countries should prioritize children's life security and education. Secondly, joint implementation of projects. Governments can co-finance and co-implement child-friendly city construction projects, and adopting the form of project cooperation can not only strengthen the efficiency and quality of project implementation, but also improve the trust of cooperation among governments. Thirdly, local governments are encouraged to participate actively. In addition to cooperation at the national level, it is also necessary to encourage local governments to actively participate in the cooperation process of child-friendly city construction; local governments can take into account local realities, plan and implement child-friendly city construction projects with regional characteristics, so as to better promote children's healthy growth and comprehensive development.

At the same time, in order to make good use of The United Nations Intergovernmental Cooperation for the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities, the following basic principles should be followed: First, the principle of children first. Putting children's interests in the first place, prioritizing children's rights and needs in policy making and resource allocation; taking the promotion of children's well-being as the starting and ending point of any action, and effectively guaranteeing children's rights to survival, development, participation and protection. Second is the principle of child participation. Highly respect the subject position of children, encourage and support children's participation in the decision-making process, program design and project implementation of the construction of child-friendly cities; provide children with platforms and channels to express their suggestions and opinions, listen to children's voices carefully, and absorb children's reasonable ideas, so as to let children become the real “masters” of the construction of child-friendly cities. Third, the principle of fairness and inclusiveness. Pay close attention to the needs of children of all ages and ensure that all children can enjoy the fruits of child-friendly city construction equally; do not neglect any group of children, including left-behind children, children with disabilities and children in poverty, etc., and eliminate all forms of inequality as far as possible, so as to create a fair and inclusive development environment for children. Fourth, the principle of safety and protection. Constructing a comprehensive child protection mechanism to ensure that children can receive timely and effective protection in all circumstances; increasing efforts to protect children and guarding against all kinds of risks that may cause harm to children, including but not limited to social security and transportation safety. Fifth, the principle of sustainable development. In the process of building child-friendly cities, the sustainability of urban development should be fully considered, and ecological balance and environmental protection should be emphasized; at the same time, it should also be ensured that urban development can meet the growth needs of contemporary children without jeopardizing the interests of future generations of children, so as to create a sustainable future for children.

In conclusion, the United Nations Intergovernmental Cooperation for the Construction of Child-Friendly Cities will create a better living and learning environment for children and promote their healthy growth and comprehensive development!