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Building a Europe for and with children:towards a strategy for 2009-2011

Stockholm, 8-10 September 2008

Panel VI – Protection, provision and participation for children in Europe: Council of Europe commitment

Speech by Inger Linge, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Sustainable Development

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Council of Europe

Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to welcome all of you in my home city, as Chair of the Stockholm County Council, on this inspiring occasion of the Conference on children’s rights – the rights which have been long recognised in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and included in many Council of Europe legal texts, but whose practical implementation is still in dire need of our support and constant action for the benefit of our younger generation.

I am proud to say that my country, Sweden, which is currently chairing the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and which organised this Conference, has been paying particular attention to children’s situation – their status and rights, their protection and participation – and has achieved some important results in this area, also at local level. Later I would like to share with you some practical experience which we have had in the County Council.

But we are here first and foremost to take stock of the results at the pan-European level, of the Council of Europe Programme of Action “Building a Europe for and with children”, and to chart our further Strategy for 2009-2011, showing the continuity of our commitment.

We are here today because children in Europe are in need of our help. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which I represent as Vice-Chair of its Committee on Sustainable Development, has been committed to the Programme of Action since the very beginning. It comes as no surprise because local and regional elected representatives have special responsibilities towards children as members of their communities – responsibilities for making sure that in everyday life, and not just on paper, children are regarded and treated as fully-fledged citizens in their localities, that their rights are fully protected, and that they are able to enjoy the world outside their home. These special responsibilities are only natural because children’s first experiences of socialising, of playing, of interacting with the community takes place in spaces managed by local and regional authorities.

Local and regional communities should be the first line of protection and provision for children, and the first stage of their participation. Yet we continue to face many problems in making it a reality, and difficulties in solving them – which are often due not to the lack of commitment but to the lack of a comprehensive approach to finding a solution.

Many of us have good memories of childhood experiences outside the home. The world on our doorstop did not feel threatening; rather it was a place to explore and make our own. However, today the situation is very different in many places, as children are in effect being excluded from public spaces considered to be too dangerous and unhealthy for them. Many urban children seem to be confined to their homes, leading lives which are isolated and inactive. This situation is not only psychologically and physically damaging but deprives them of opportunities to explore the social environment which should be their own, and inhibits a healthy balance between generations.

On the other hand, it is also true that many urban areas are becoming increasingly dangerous, undeveloped, unattended to or outright abandoned by authorities. Children exposed to such areas, not to mention children living or working on the street or in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods, are at a much higher risk of falling victim to violence, becoming easy prey for traffickers and drug dealers, and running into social and health problems. They have a much higher probability of lacking proper schooling, having their future job opportunities reduced, and not being able generally to enjoy a normal and full life.

This double trend, which I would describe as children’s exclusion and children’s exposure, is not only physically and psychologically dangerous but also leads to the fragmentation of our society. We in the Congress strongly believe that stopping and reversing these trends and reclaiming the street and public spaces for our children can only be achieved by creating a new urban environment. This should be nurturing and conducive to children’s development, integration and participation; it should be welcoming and safe for children and it should be family-friendly.

In other words, we need to introduce policies and practices to make our cities attractive, and we will all agree that there is a close connection between making towns and cities child-friendly and making them sustainable. It is in this spirit that the Congress has embarked on a new project, by adopting, at its 2008 plenary session, the new European Urban Charter: Manifesto for a new urbanity. 

This Manifesto lays down a set of principle for a new way of living together and a new approach to city life, and addresses many aspects of children’s experiences in an urban environment. It calls for building towns and cities in a way which would make them citizen-oriented, cohesive, knowledge-based and sustainable. The new Charter urges territorial authorities to place people, with all their multiple identities and cultures, at the heart of preoccupations in urban planning and development, paying particular attention to the needs of the most vulnerable, including children.

This is further developed in our recommendation on the ‘Child in the city’, adopted at the same session, which calls on politicians and spatial planners to design the built environment from the child’s perspective – to make public and private spaces more welcoming and less dangerous for children by taking into account their smaller size and greater vulnerability, and to develop ‘compact cities’ where housing, schools, child-care facilities, shops and businesses would be in close proximity. One way of helping children’s interaction is through inter-generational public and private spaces. We suggest children should participate in the design of ‘their’ spaces thereby encouraging a feeling of ‘ownership’ which awakens their senses, imagination, creativity and autonomy. We also suggest policies to improve children’s mobility and traffic safety in cities.

Our recommendations are the result of a fruitful collaboration with the cities networks which support and promote child-friendly cities. These include Child-Friendly Cities and the Cities for Children Network, which has just launched the first European Award of Excellence “City for Children”. I should also mention our close involvement in the Cities for Local Integration Policy (CLIP) network, which addresses the problems of integration of migrants and their families, and therefore children.

We have produced recommendations on the integration and participation of young people at local and regional level and at the social reintegration of street children. In particular, we recommended setting up a common municipal system of data collection on street children and long-term, integrated municipal action plans, ensuring that street children have access to health care, social services, education and professional training. We also highlight the important role a children’s ombudsman or mediator can play in ensuring children’s rights are respected.

Last but not least, we are currently elaborating proposals for measures at local and regional level to better protect children against violence, drawing on our participation in the campaigns against domestic violence and trafficking in human beings, and our work on urban security and community safety. Such measures could include, for example, hotlines and shelters for battered children, special municipal police and social units, and awareness-raising action.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There are many more aspects to what local and regional authorities can and should do to build a child-friendly, sustainable environment. Children are often more aware than adults of these issues. Local and regional authorities need to involve children in the environmental debate and make them become the best supporters in reversing the current damage to our planet and in changing attitudes.

This requires effort and new approaches. This is conveyed by the title of the Programme: Building a Europe FOR and WITH children. For local and regional authorities, it translates into not only delivering services for children, but delivering services with children, involving them in the process. It means making children’s voices heard, understood and listened to.

The Congress will pursue its commitment by building on our proposals, initiatives and projects launched in recent years. We fully support the Strategy for 2009-2011.

There is a famous saying that “A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.” Children need our help – so let us stand tall.

Thank you.