Fair Play for Children News — Children in the World & Society
70 min readJan 3, 2023
Fair Play for Children website: http://www.fairplay31.online/index.html
15th March 2023
Iranian Children Used As Human Shields Against Protesters
Government approves forced evacuation of children from active combat zones
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/government-approves-forced-evacuation-children-140747324.html
14th March 2023
Toddler shoots sister dead in bedroom — US
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/texas-toddler-shot-sister-bedroom-home-houston-b1066952.html
12th March 2023
11th March 2023
10th March 2023
9th March 2009
Child in the City Newsletter — 9 March 2023
- ‘Up periscope’ — a DIY manual for how we can all see our cities through the eyes of a child
Seeing our surroundings through the eyes of children — that’s how you really understand the needs of young people in our cities.
read more… - Global gathering of road safety NGOs — ‘how do we protect the vulnerable’?
The safety of children and all vulnerable road users has been under the spotlight at the annual gathering of The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety.
read more… - ‘We demand justice’: Austrian children take their own government to court over climate action
A dozen children have filed a lawsuit with Austria’s top court seeking to force the government to ensure their constitutional rights are protected by taking tougher action against climate change.
read more… - Coventry joins growing ranks of ‘child friendly cities’
Giving young people a voice is the priority for local leaders in Coventry, as it becomes the latest UK city to declare itself a ‘child friendly zone’.
read more…
8th March 2023
7th March 2023
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS WORSENING ‘DUE TO GOVERNMENT FAILURES’, CHARITIES WARN
Recent UK action to protect children from online gambling and gaming-related privacy issues
Governments Urged to Protect Children’s Rights
4th March 2023
2nd March 2023
28th February 2023
27th February 2023
25th February 2023
24th February 2023
Shamima Begum -v- Home Secretary — Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
23rd February 2023
Child in the City Newsletter — 23 February 2023
- UNICEF USA’s Child Friendly City scheme gathers pace
Minneapolis is working closely with UNICEF USA as it builds towards its goal of being named one of the country’s first official ‘child-friendly cities’.
read more… - ‘Urgent need’ to implement changes to play infrastructure in Wales — report
A report on play services in Wales says there is an ‘urgent need’ to deliver key changes like promoting school grounds as community assets and having adequate safeguarding in place.
read more… - Soaring costs mean England’s early years providers are ‘in crisis’
England’s nurseries, pre-schools and childminders say that rising costs and a lack of funding are putting ‘unsustainable pressure’ on the early years sector.
read more… - King’s coronation is inspiring more UK Play Streets
This year’s coronation of King Charles III is inspiring one London borough to expand its successful ‘Play Streets’ programme in time for children to celebrate the day in safe surroundings.
read more… - Putting local communities at the center of public space making in informal settlements
The Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) collaborates with local community groups to transform underutilized risk-prone spaces in Kibera, Kenya, into a resilient and productive network of public spaces.
read more…
22nd February 2023
20th February 2023
18th February 2023
Child in the City Newsletter — 16 February 2023
- ‘Cycle trains’ gaining young fans in Portugal’s cities
Strength in numbers appears to be the key to an increasingly popular programme which sees youngsters in Portuguese cities cycling to school in organised groups.
read more… - Hundreds of thousands of children endure desperate conditions following earthquakes
“As families face the wretched, heartbreaking reality that the focus in Türkiye and Syria is moving to recovery more than rescue, UNICEF fears many thousands of children have been killed.
read more… - More London boroughs to become ’20mph zones’
Five more areas of London are to introduce a 20 miles per hour speed limit, following what city leaders call a ‘dramatic fall’ in road traffic collisions in boroughs already with a lower limit.
read more… - Children can now report rights violations directly to the UN — it’s progress, but Aotearoa New Zealand still needs to do more
The latest report into the rights of children in Aotearoa New Zealand has painted a mixed picture of how the country treats young people.
read more… - Safer Internet Day 2023 — putting children’s needs first
Eurochild, the EU’s foremost child rights umbrella organisation, is calling for a truly ‘child rights approach’ to the protection of youngsters’ rights online.
read more…
February 2023
Child in the City Newsletter — 9 February 2023
- Safer Internet Day 2023 — putting children’s needs first
Eurochild, the EU’s foremost child rights umbrella organisation, is calling for a truly ‘child-centred approach’ to the protection of youngsters’ rights online.
read more… - US ‘Safe Routes to School’ programmes benefit from new funding
The US Government has announced a mammoth cash award of over $800 million (US Dollars) for making the country’s urban streets safer, including dedicated ‘Safe Routes to School’.
read more… - Earthquake: Children ‘sleeping in cars’ as freezing conditions hinder aid efforts
Freezing temperatures and damaged roads and airports are making it difficult for aid agencies to reach thousands of children and their families who desperately need help after the devastating earthquakes…
read more… - UK’s environment plan makes ‘connecting children with nature’ a priority
Connecting children with nature and improving air quality are part of the UK government’s latest long-term strategy for meeting its environmental goals…
read more… - Devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria leave thousands of children at risk — UNICEF
Thousands of children and families are at risk after two devastating earthquakes and dozens of aftershocks hit south-east Turkey and Syria…
read more…
Child in the City Newsletter — 2 February 2023
- Could 20 mph become ‘the norm’ on UK roads?
The introduction of a new ‘default’ UK national speed limit of 20 miles-per-hour (mph) — and with it a safer environment for children — could become a reality, suggests a draft government report…
read more… - Effects of pollen also now found in babies
Babies — and not just older children and adults — can experience wheezing and coughing as a result of airborne pollens, say researchers in Switzerland…
read more… - Action needed to tackle rise in begging among ‘Roma’ children across Europe
European countries must work harder to tackle the root cause of begging among ‘Roma’ traveller children, which is once again on the rise…
read more… - Children and teens aren’t doing enough physical activity — new study sounds a health warning
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It’s also associated with chronic illness and disability…
read more… - Education disrupted for millions of Ukranian children — UNICEF
The ongoing war in Ukraine has disrupted education for more than five million children, says children’s charity UNICEF…
read more…
Child in the City Newsletter — 12 January 2023
- United Nations: A child or youth died once every 4.4 seconds in 2021
Around five million children died before their fifth birthday and another 2.1 million young people aged 5–24 years lost their lives in 2021…
read more… - Five more years for child rights knowledge partnership between UNICEF and Leiden University
A successful decade-long partnership between UNICEF Netherlands and Leiden University which promotes knowledge about children’s rights is being extended…
read more… - Tokyo is offering families money to leave the city behind
With Tokyo bursting at the seams, families living in Japan’s overcrowded capital are being offered money by the government to move out of the city and into the countryside…
read more… - UK government urged to introduce more ‘walkable neighbourhoods’
Children’s safety in cities could be improved if Sustrans, a charity that champions non-vehicle mobility, is successful in persuading the UK government to introduce more ‘walkable neighbourhoods’…
read more… - USA: Asthma attacks in urban children linked to specific outdoor air pollutants
Non-viral asthma attacks suffered by children living in low-income urban areas are linked to moderate levels of certain air pollutants, ozone and fine particulate matters, says a new U.S. study…
read more…
Child in the City Newsletter — 5 January 2023
- Children’s Commissioners: Governments are ‘failing to protect children’s rights’
A damning new report from the Children’s Commissioners for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales highlights violations of children’s rights that raise areas ‘of grave concern’ over issues like poverty, mental health and human rights…
read more… - More children than ever needed humanitarian help in 2022 — Save the Children
The number of children needing humanitarian assistance rose more than 20 per cent last year to 149 million, with Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo most severely impacted…
read more… - Cutting red tape so that German cities can cut speed limits
The safety of children in and around our urban streets will forever remain an area of concern for local authorities…
read more… - ‘We want Manchester to be a city that belongs to its children and young people’
Municipal leaders in Manchester have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the city does all it can in 2023 and beyond to realise its hopes and goals for local children and young people…
read more… - Putting Melbourne’s on-street parking ‘undercover’ would mean a more child-friendly city
The streets of Melbourne could be made significantly more child-friendly if large swathes of on-street parking spaces were moved underground…
read more… - Universal free school meals would make a huge difference to the cost-of-living crisis — here’s how
The UK government’s recent autumn statement set out several measures to help people with rapidly rising prices. These including increased benefit payments and an extension to the energy price cap, although at a less generous rate than currently guaranteed…
read more… - Early childhood education programs fight food insecurity in Philadelphia and beyond
When teachers at Children’s Playhouse, a pair of child care centres in South Philadelphia, noticed children sneaking school-provided snacks into their book bags to take home, it was a ‘huge red flag’…
read more… - More children to benefit from latest Breathe London air quality scheme
The Mayor of London and the Bloomberg Philanthropies charity have revealed the next round of 30 community groups to receive free air quality sensors awarded as part of the Breathe London Community Programme, whose work is helping children to breathe cleaner air…
read more… - European Union — policies for child participation in political and democratic life
Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states: “Children(…) may express their views freely. Such views shall be taken into consideration on matters which concern them in accordance with their age and maturity.”
read more…
Child in the City Newsletter — 19 January 2023
- Town planners’ expertise is ‘essential’ to children’s recovery from effects of pandemic
The role of town planners will be vital if children are to fully bounce back from the pandemic, says the UK’s leading organisation for designing and planning our urban spaces…
read more… - In Barranquilla, Colombia, urban parks revitalise a declining city
Samira Perez, a longtime resident of Barranquilla, Colombia, used to spend her time and money on taxis to take her children to local shopping malls after school and on the weekends…
read more… - ‘Rebuilding Ukraine’s schools is the first step’ — Europe pledges €100 million
The simple act — for most of us — of getting our children safely to and from school is a very different story for the people of Ukraine…
read more… - ‘It is our duty to make the online world safe for children’ — World Health Organization
A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) presents a number of ways for addressing the growing worldwide concern of keeping children safe online…
read more… - Why food deprivation in childhood is linked to obesity
As energy prices rise and the cost of living goes up, it is estimated that there are four million children from poorer households who have limited or uncertain access to healthy food…
read more…
January 2023
The Children’s Commissioner’s submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
‘The fact that some adults don’t believe in children’s rights, and we have those rights, so we need the Government to speak about rights for kids so that we have a life of some sort of freedom. And that we have respect for adults so adults should have at least some respect for kids around the world’ — Boy, 10, The Big Ask.
When I took up post as Children’s Commissioner for England and reserved matters in March 2021, I wanted to hear directly from children about what they thought my priorities should be. I was clear that that my priorities should be shaped by their views and experiences. That is why I launched The Big Ask, my survey of children in England which quickly grew to become the largest survey of children ever, collecting the voices of over 550,000 children.
At the time as a country, we were beginning to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and thinking about the longer-term impact on children and young people. Children had made huge sacrifices during the pandemic to protect the older generation. Schools were closed for most children; they weren’t able to see their friends or their family networks and couldn’t take part in their hobbies that they so enjoyed. I wanted to give them all the opportunity to tell the nation what really mattered to them and how we as adults could dismantle barriers to them succeeding. I have reflected on what children told me about their lives and what they want throughout my submission to the UN.
Since March 2021, I have continued to listen to children. My team has now heard from almost 600,000 from across the country, either through speaking with them directly or by hearing about their experiences through surveys. Children’s voices have been at the heart of everything I have done, from a national audit of school attendance to the independent Family Review.
This report is no different. Informed by the thousands of children who have spoken to me, sharing their hopes, ambitions, and even their fears, this is my submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). My report is all about how we can continue to make sure every child, regardless of where they live, has their needs met and their rights upheld.
And as a reminder of why this is so important, let me finish with what one girl told me:
‘Children’s rights and the lack of people open to talk or listen to children’s worries and concerns’ — Girl, 11, The Big Ask.
Submission to United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
Children’s Version — Right to No Discrimination
Children’s Version — Right to be Heard
Tackling forced and child labour: community observers advocate for fulfilment of commitments by government and companies as critical
https://www.modernghana.com/news/1202525/tackling-forced-and-child-labour-community-observ.html
