18 cities of Kyrgyzstan to join Child Friendly Cities Initiative contest

Bishkek, May 7, 2019. / Kabar /. Kyrgyzstan will join the Child Friendly Cities Initiative contest with a prize fund of 6 million soms for the first time. The representatives of the State Agency for Youth Affairs, Physical Culture and Sports, as well as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the Kyrgyz Republic told reporters about the contest in more detail.

During the press conference at Kabar News Agency, contest organizers announced that proposals for participation in this initiative had already been sent to 18 cities of the republic, and the rules for holding the competition were approved by a resolution of the government of the country.

“According to our information, more than 3 thousand cities participate in this kind of initiative, and it is no longer new at the global level, but we are conducting it in Kyrgyzstan for the first time. These 3 thousand cities are located in the countries of near and far abroad: in Ukraine, Belarus, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, Austria, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Canada, Korea, Japan, Andorra - there are a lot of countries participating in this process,” Munir Mammadzade, the Deputy Chairman of the UN Children's Fund in the Kyrgyz Republic said.

At the same time, he noted that in each country the initiative adapts to the conditions of the country, taking into account local realities and current laws, so that the criteria put forward are realizable.

“We invited 18 cities. They give information about their consent,” he said.

The main criteria for evaluating the winner of the competition will be a report on the situation of children and youth, as well as indicators on 26 blocks related to the well-being of children and young people - access to education, health services, safety, etc.

Mirlan Parhanov, the Deputy Director of the State Agency for Youth Affairs, Physical Culture and Sports said that cities will be judged by how carefully local authorities collect data on the situation of children and young people, whether they are asked about the living conditions in their cities and whether they are listened to making urban development decisions.

The organizers point out that the issues of financing cities and the sum of their budgets will not play a key role here and regional cities can easily compete with the capital.