Sharjah Urban Planning Council (SUPC) has hosted an event titled ‘Child-responsive Urban Planning’, on Sunday in collaboration with the Sharjah Child Friendly Office (SCFO) – the entity tasked with the implementation and completion of requirements for the Sharjah Child-Friendly City (Sharjah CFC) project, and United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

The workshop, held at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was attended by Eng. Khalid Al Ali, Member of the Steering Committee of the Sharjah CFC project and Secretary General of SUPC, Dr. Hessa Al Ghazal, Executive Director of SCFO, representatives of 30 Sharjah government departments, as well as private sector companies, property developers, urban experts and architectural consultants.

Child-responsive urban planning is one of the main goals outlined in the Sharjah CFC action. This gathering thus formed part of SCFC’s 2019-2021 strategic executive plan, which aligns with the emirate’s aspirations to embolden its status in offering a safe, nurturing and inspiring environment to children. The aim of the discussions and presentations was to raise awareness about challenges faced by children within their immediate surroundings, and shed light on how urban planning can be conceptualised and executed to bring to life child- and youth-friendly spaces, which would fulfil their rights as framed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The main objective of the event was to orient participants on the main principles of child-responsive urban planning. The event heard from Jens Aerts, urban planning specialist UNICEF HQ, who spoke about the importance of devising ways and means to incorporate child-friendly principles into the Sharjah CFC action plan. The day’s discussions also looked at ways to effectively assist relevant stakeholders working in planning, designing, transforming, building and managing the urban environment in a manner that ensures that Sharjah is a child-friendly and child-responsive city.

Eng. Khalid Al Ali, Member of the Steering Committee of the Sharjah CFC project and Secretary General of SUPC, said: “The event falls under SUPC’s strategic plans to heighten people’s awareness about the crucial impact of urban planning on the lives of children and youth residing in a city. We are responsible for building safe and adequate child and youth friendly spaces, where they can function as platforms for entertainment and education, contributing to their well-being and future. Cities are as much an entitlement of the young populace that resides in them, as they are for their adult residents. Our responsibilities also include creating a safe environment with facilities, public services and public realms that support the demands and requirements of citizens of all ages.”

Eng. Al Ali added: “This one-day orientation was held in the presence of all relevant authorities in Sharjah to discuss the current situation of children and the urban environment, because partnerships and the right collaborations are crucial to this project’s success. We were all here to define a vision for Sharjah CFC, based on principles outlined in UNICEF’s handbook on child-responsive urban planning.”

Dr. Hessa Al Ghazal, Executive Director of SCFO, said in an opening keynote: “Sharjah has been honoured as the first city in the world to receive the UN’s Child Friendly City Initiative title after successfully meeting its new criteria. Moving on from this achievement, we want our city to be a leading model for cities of the world, that seek to develop child and young youth-friendly facilities, infrastructure and urban plans.”

She added: “This workshop, in collaboration with one of Sharjah CFC’s key partners – SUPC – aims to explore ways to enhance urban planning strategies and practices to improve the life of children and young adults, in line with the vision of Sharjah to ensure happiness and wellbeing for the whole community.”

The three-day event, which concludes tomorrow (Tuesday December 18), will include stakeholder field visits to Sharjah’s historic district, informal settlements and city expansion areas, where the scope for applying the 10 UNICEF children’s rights and urban planning tools will be closely examined and ideas for strategic intervention projects will be formed. The last day will see a technical work session during which SUPC and other participants will together draft a roadmap for Sharjah CFC by selecting relevant, child-responsive urban planning principles for their action plan, based on challenges and opportunities.

Cities are growing at fast pace, offering various opportunities for development. A UNICEF report states that by 2025, 6 children out of every 10 are expected to live in cities and urban areas. With such a quick pace of urbanisation, providing children and young people a quality life is one of the biggest challenges the UAE and other ultra-urban nations are facing today.