City council celebrated UNICEF's Child Friendly Cities recognition granted to Vantaa
In their meeting on January 29, 2024, Vantaa city councilors were given child glasses made by preschoolers in Martinlaakso and Saturnus daycare center. The glasses remind the decision-makers of the importance of accounting for the perspectives of children and the young in decision-making.
The city councilors had their joint photo taken while wearing their new child glasses.
The Finnish Committee for UNICEF granted the City of Vantaa the Child Friendly Cities recognition at the beginning of the year. The City of Vantaa has participated in UNICEF's Child Friendly Cities model since the beginning of 2021.
In three years, Vantaa has accomplished permanent changes in the city's operations as well as significant changes for children and the young: the city has prevented harassment and violence toward children and the young by designing and adopting safer space principles; the city's officials have been given instructions for assessing the child's benefit as an individual in all administrative decisions concerning them; and all the city's employees and trustees are obliged to complete the children’s rights training program.
UNICEF's Child Friendly Cities model—based on the United Nations’(UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child—helps to identify development focuses as regards children’s rights, what must be done to ensure that children's rights are realized, as well as to monitor the progress and results of this work. The Child Friendly Cities recognition is granted for two years at a time.
In addition, the meeting discussed several council initiatives regarding destroying non-indigenous species, increasing the number of signposts along outdoor exercise routes, the children's parliament, playground wading pools, city-level plea against nuclear weapons, hearing residents when making zoning plans, mental-health network, repairing Pikku-Bulders, Isosuo duckboards, Kivistö parking, and developing Martinlaakso bus terminal.