Written by Isami Kinoshita Translated by Shen Yao, Liu Sai, Guo Xiaokang

Keywords： Child Friendly Cities; Children’s Rights; Children’s Participation; Sustainable Development Goals; Japan; Self-Assessment; Certification; PDCA

Abstract：

Since the United Nations introduced the concept of Child Friendly Cities (CFC) in 1996, there have been 38 countries certified by the United Nations, covering 3 000 cities and communities. However, after the discussion, Japan chose to follow the CFC self-assessment process to be CFC. Based on the research and practical accumulation, this article interprets the core and origin of CFC, especially the connection between CFC and sustainable development goals (SDGs), and extends the opportunity for UNICEF Japan to officially start CFC construction. Then it analyzes how to choose assessment methods, improve self-assessment tools, CFC management, based on the original and diverse movements of child participation and child rights protection regulations tc. It revealed the three-level assessment tool, PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act)management model, and the first five cases of self-assessment case experience and intermediate evaluation results after one year of trial in Japan, providing a reference for the devplementation of the CFC concept at various national levels to adapt to the development of national conditions.

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