TEHRAN – An international symposium titled ‘kid's utopia’ is planned to be held from May 14 to 15 in Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan Province.

The symposium will be centered around designing and building child-friendly cities, principles of designing child-friendly schools, modern architecture of child-friendly cities, artificial intelligence (AI), and smart cities, BORNA reported.

The initiative promotes the realization of child rights at the local level through a unique network of municipal governments, civil society organizations, the private sector, academia, media, and children themselves.

The event also aims to foster scientific and technological knowledge, review and evaluate research projects, develop capacity for child-friendly cities’ projects, and create opportunities for private sector investment. 

This symposium will also serve as a platform to enhance interactions among experts, policymakers, and urban managers, architects, urban planners, students, professors to share their experiences. 

Addressing children’s needs and their participation in urban planning will not only improve the quality of children’s lives, but will also create a safer, more sustainable, and inclusive city for all citizens.

Developing the event at the national and international levels will take an effective step towards improving the quality of life of children and creating better cities for the future.

Child-friendly cities 

Every child has the right to grow up in an environment where they feel safe and secure, have access to basic services and clean air and water, can play, learn and grow, and where their voice is heard and matters.

A child-friendly city aims to create equal opportunities for all children. This entails identifying the most marginalized and vulnerable children, the barriers to inclusion that they face, and removing these barriers.

Building a child-friendly city requires clearly identifying who is responsible for each aspect of implementation and holding them accountable. Transparency calls for clarity and openness in the decision-making process.

It requires having a system in place to facilitate public participation in decision-making to promote local accountability for children’s rights. It also requires that governments undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures to implement child rights to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation. The process is responsive to the needs of the children and families affected.

Building a child-friendly city requires a flexible management approach in order to be able to anticipate and respond to changing circumstances and be sustainable over time.

MT/MG