2020-00163 - Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Fund for UNICEF, dba UNICEF USA, for the Child Friendly Cities (CFCI) Initiative

On February 14th 2020, Minneapolis signed on to become one of the first US Cities to pursue a Child Friendly Cities designation through UNICEF USA. UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative represents a community-based commitment to elevating and prioritizing the voices of children in local governance and decision-making. Through this flexible, dynamic, child rights-focused framework, communities are improved as neighborhoods become safer, schools and health systems function better and infrastructure is strengthened for all citizens. Currently, we are working on a community assessment process focusing on parents of young children and adolescents living in Near North, Phillips and Cedar Riverside.
Through the City’s relationship with UNICEF USA, we have been contacted by Growing Up In Cities which is a global project involving an international collaboration of researchers. This is the third wave of the research, the first happened in the 1970’s and again in the 1990’s to examine and report on contemporary children’s experiences of growing up in urban environments. Growing Up In Cities would like to work collaboratively with 4 Child Friendly Cities candidates, including Minneapolis, to conduct research with and about children and youth in the City to provide support to the cities’ CFC initatives and interests. Growing Up In Cities will be conducting a comparison study between a higher resourced neighborhood and a less resourced neighborhood, likely Southwest Minneapolis and one of the following: Near North, Phillips and Cedar Riverside.
We would like to partner with the US cohort of the global Growing Up in Cities initiative to better understand the social and physical environments affecting local children and youth, to identify disparities in health and well-being outcomes for young people across our city, and to engage youth as local change agents. The objectives of our two initiatives are well aligned, and each group brings invaluable knowledge and resources to the table. We aim to work collaboratively with GUIC-US team to accomplish our individual and collective aims and look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership. This partnership can inform gaps and areas for improvement around how higher vs lower resourced Minneapolis neighborhoods the design of physical environments to support the health and development of children and youth.
Child Friendly Cities Guiding Principles
1. Safety and Inclusion: every child is protected from abuse and neglect, enjoys safe communities and schools, and is treated fairly under the law.
2. Children’s Participation: every child has their voice, needs, and priorities heard and taken into account in decisions affecting their lives.
3. Equitable Social Services: every child has access to quality social services.
4. Safe Living Environments: every child lives in a safe, secure and clean environment.
5. Play and Leisure: every child has opportunities to enjoy family life, play and leisure.