UNICEF Child-Friendly City Certification in 2020... Four-Year Plan Established to Aim for Higher-Level Certification
Various Child-Friendly Policies to Be Implemented Through a Four-Year Plan Reflecting Five Major Policy Tasks
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee), which received UNICEF Child-Friendly City certification in 2020, is making every effort to achieve higher-level certification by 2024.
This year, the district has established and is implementing the "2nd Child-Friendly City Four-Year Plan (2023?2026)" reflecting five major policy tasks (▲ Exciting Gwanak for Children ▲ Participatory Gwanak for Children ▲ Safety-First Gwanak for Children ▲ Growing Gwanak for Children ▲ Eco-Friendly Gwanak for Children).
Through projects such as ▲ inspection and supervision of children's playground facilities ▲ creation of complex play and cultural spaces in parks to provide children with environments where they can play freely, ▲ installation of QR code reporting signs for illegal parking in school zones ▲ improvement of pedestrian environments around schools ▲ inspection of food safety protection zones for children's food, the district is striving for the healthy and safe growth of children through various safety-related initiatives.
An evaluation of the Child-Friendly City projects over the past four years (2019?2022) conducted by a professional agency highlighted the need to strengthen the activities of the dedicated child rights organization and establish mechanisms for gathering opinions from preschool-aged children. These areas will be a focus for improvement this year.
The district plans to expand opportunities for children to participate directly in local governance by operating a "Child Rights Monitoring Group," which explores activities to guarantee child rights and proposes policies reflecting children's needs. Additionally, satisfaction surveys for infant and toddler participation programs will be conducted to broaden children's opportunities for expression.
Moreover, an "Ombudsperson" group composed of related experts will be operated to advocate for child rights. The Ombudsperson holds an independent status and acts as a representative who can defend children's positions, reviewing policies, systems, laws, and services to suggest improvements based on child rights and oversee the overall district administration to ensure child rights protection.
They will identify cases of child rights violations, provide counseling, conduct investigations, propose solutions, and continue professional child rights relief activities.
In particular, the district plans to expand the dedicated organization for the Child-Friendly City in the second half of this year and focus on realizing a Gwanak where children are happy and live well.
Additionally, the district will hold review meetings with the "Child-Friendly City Promotion Committee," including civilian members, and the "Child-Friendly City Promotion Team" (18 departments involved in child-friendly city projects) to continuously and meticulously manage the progress of projects aimed at creating a child-friendly city.
Mayor Park Junhee stated, "We will focus on ensuring that not a single child is left out and that all children can grow up healthily," adding, "We will do our best so that children can enjoy a happy life and grow into bright leaders of the future through various activities such as guaranteeing child rights and projects for child safety, befitting a child-friendly city."
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