Nottingham City Council, One Nottingham and Small Steps Big Changes are leading the city towards international recognition as a UNICEF Child Friendly City.
In a broad-based local partnership programme, Nottingham will see children’s rights put into practice in the city. Over the next three-to-five-years we will work towards recognition by the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) as a Child Friendly City.
To achieve our ambition, we need everyone to know about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. (It’s often shortened to UNCRC). The 42 articles of the UNCRC will underpin all we do in the city. You can find out more about Child Friendly Nottingham here.
In fact, Article 42 states we must work to make sure children and adults know about the Convention.
The UK government are signatories to the UNCRC and have agreed to comply with the articles. Every 5 years the government reports on its progress.
Over the next two years, we will be highlighting the articles of the UNCRC. This will help everyone understand what children’s rights are. We are encouraging organisations to make a child rights-based approach part of the delivery of their services. They can make being Child Friendly part of their normal budgeting and planning.
Our partners are working towards 7 goals, four of which the city’s children and young people chose. The goals are represented by badges. The badges chosen after consultation with over 9,000 of the city’s children and young people are:
· Safe and Secure
· Education and Learning
· Healthy
· Equal and Included
Additionally, there are three areas that UNICEF UK needs all partners to work towards:
· Culture
· Cooperation and Leadership
· Communication
The badges link to the articles of the UNCRC.
Over the next few years, the council and its partners will use children’s rights to achieve meaningful change for children in the seven badges.
UNICEF UK and an independent panel of experts in human rights, child wellbeing and public services will review our progress. There will be an advisory board of local children and young people. If Nottingham can show significant and sustainable progress in all seven badges, it will be recognised as a UNICEF Child Friendly City.
Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC) is a Nottingham based charity. It is supporting the initial administration and set up costs of the programme. SSBC gets financial support from the National Lottery Community Fund’s ‘A Better Start’ programme
Nottingham City Council, One Nottingham and Small Steps Big Changes are leading the city towards international recognition as a UNICEF Child Friendly City.