Mayor’s Office Press Release
The City of Houston becomes the first city in the United States to become a candidate for the UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative This may interest you : Music census leaders try a new approach with lessons from other cities.
August 11, 2022 – Today, UNICEF USA designated the city of Houston as the first city in the United States to become a UNICEF Child Friendly City candidate. This designation confirms Houston’s dedication to putting children’s needs first, listening to youth challenges and recommendations, and advocating for and protecting children’s rights.
Houston is proud to champion children’s rights by designing a permanent system to make children an active, important part of all city policies, plans and programs. The Mayor’s Office of Education leads the City of Houston’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) and has partnered with city leaders, government agencies, and most importantly, youth and families to achieve this historic distinction.
Achieving this status would not have been possible without the collaboration of nearly 10 city departments, namely the Mayor’s Office of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence, the Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities, the Office of Resiliency and Sustainability, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Mayor’s Office of Comprehensive Communities, and the Mayor’s Office of Trade and International Affairs, and more than 30 community organizations that invested in promoting and supporting children’s rights.
“We are incredibly excited and humbled to receive this national award. Much work has been done and much more will be done to ensure that all youth have the opportunity to have a seat at the table and a viable voice in the decisions made in Houston, said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “This process has been a citywide effort and we look forward to continuing our work with UNICEF.”
Originally established in 1996, UNICEF’s CFCI uses the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to build a roadmap for establishing safer, fairer, just, inclusive and child-friendly cities and communities around the world. Since its inception, CFCI has been used in over 3,000 municipalities in 40 countries. The City of Houston shares UNICEF’s belief that only when the rights and voices of children and youth are integrated into public policies and programs will communities become truly “child-friendly.”
“As an organization that has dedicated over 75 years to upholding the rights of all children worldwide, we are pleased to celebrate the City of Houston’s historic milestone of becoming the first UNICEF Child Friendly City candidate in the United States just ahead of International. Youth Day,” said UNICEF USA President & Managing Director, Michael J. Nyenhuis. “It is an important occasion, and we are proud of the City of Houston for its longstanding commitment to creating a safer, more just, fair and inclusive community for its children and for prioritizing mental health, preparedness and youth participation.”
This achievement is the culmination of a two-year journey that involved formalizing a partnership with UNICEF USA, establishing a CFCI task force, conducting a situation analysis and developing a local action plan designed to improve youth participation, resource availability, preparedness and mindset. Healthcare. One effort born out of the situation analysis and action plan was mental health training, where over 460 service providers, teachers, community members and parents were trained in Youth Mental Health Aid and the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Projects like this will ensure that all Houstonians are able to create safe spaces where every child and youth has their voice, needs and priorities heard and taken seriously.
CFCI is not only dedicated to fostering an environment where children are heard, but also an environment where they can grow and thrive freely. As outlined in the city’s Resilient Houston Strategy, to better serve Houston’s youth, Houston must be clean, unpolluted and provide a safe environment with access to green space; where children are protected from exploitation, violence and abuse; and where they have a fair chance at life regardless of their ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, gender or ability.
The City of Houston is also committed to being a national leader in creating inclusive and equitable sports opportunities for young people. Houston was the first, and remains the largest, city to support the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports, developed by the Aspen Institute through its Project Play initiative and supported by UNICEF USA. Houston is proud to be a city focused on strengthening community resilience for our youngest, most vulnerable residents.
The announcement was followed by a celebratory reception, sponsored by The alliantgroup. The City of Houston is incredibly grateful for their support in making the event reflect how special and meaningful this designation is to Houston.
To get involved in local CFCI Houston efforts, sign up for the CFCI Houston newsletter here. For more information on the Child Friendly Cities Initiative in the United States, visit www.unicefusa.org/mission/usa/childfriendlycities.
About the mayor’s education office
Public education is a human right, the great social equalizer and a key to a prosperous community. Mayor Sylvester Turner believes that every generation of children should be guaranteed a better life and education. Through collaboration, communication and coordination, the Mayor’s Office of Education strives to ensure this goal for all Houston families by promoting access to equitable education and opportunity.
