The 5th edition of the Child in the City Conference kicked off on Wednesday in the
city of Florence and will conclude on Friday October 27. This international conference
and trade show on child friendly cities is a joint project of the Child in the City
Foundation and the European Network Child Friendly Cities, both organisations that
aim at encouraging cities in becoming more child friendly. As key speaker Froukje
Hajer explains, this edition will further build on the ideas of former events with
themes like children’s participation, space for children, children’s mobility and
assessment tools. This year, another important theme will be included: child poverty.
By doing so, Child in the City will more and more cover the whole Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Ultimately, Hajer says, the Child in the City conference 2010
aims to encourage cities all over Europe to create child friendly public spaces and
“that the different initiatives of different countries create inspiration” for a
better future for children, who – after all – “are the future of all of us”.