Tres Cantos, child-friendly city
2024
Tres Cantos, child-friendly city
After several years of cooperation between the Youth Council and other municipal areas, Tres Cantos has been recognised by UNICEF as a Child-Friendly City (which will be valid until 31 December 2027).
Since 2001, the UNICEF Spanish Committee has led the Child-Friendly Cities initiative in Spain to support Local Entities as guarantors of children's rights at the local level within the framework of the Convention.
How is the active participation of children and young people promoted?
The improvement of its Local Plan for Childhood and Adolescence and its monitoring and evaluation mechanisms provides annually with the budget required to implement the measures and actions it contemplates.
How have you worked and are you currently working with young people?
Through the C.O.P.I.A or Child and Adolescent Participation Commissions of Tres Cantos. The C.O.P.I.A. is subdivided into two groups: The Children's C.O.P.I.A., for girls and boys from 8 to 12 years old, and the Adolescent C.O.P.I.A., for young people from 12 to 17 years old who are in high school..
These groups were created in 2020, a little after the confinement that was caused by COVID-19, and its main objective was to encourage the city's participation, proposing improvements to the City Council and thus giving a voice to children and teenagers about their needs and rights. At first, the groups met online, so the start was more "impersonal". However, this didn’t mean that there was a lack of desire to change and improve their city. In 2021, they began meeting in person at the Youth House of Tres Cantos.
Although the group wore their masks, the in-person treatment fostered group cohesion, and thus, little by little, both groups grew and proposed more and more new ideas to improve Tres Cantos.
These proposals were brought to the Municipal Plenary Session for the first time in the City Council, where the C.O.P.I.A. presented its recommendations for improvement in an event chaired by the mayor, with the participation of the councillors, the political opposition, the staff of the Youth House, the families and all the people in the city who wanted attend (associations, media, neighbours…). The event was a success, and since then, two plenary sessions have been held yearly.
Currently, the C.O.P.I.A. has already participated in 5 Plenary Sessions on Childhood and Adolescence on November 20 on the 5th, coinciding with Children's Rights Day and Adolescence.
In all this time, the C.O.P.I.A. has become larger and more diverse, representing many of the schools and high schools of Tres Cantos. They have even carried out joint activities (the children's group with the adolescents), and participated in UNICEF events or in meetings between the Children's Network and Adolescence (the so-called R.I.A.).
In these years, they have been able to try out several of their proposals, although not all of them have always been possible. Some of the actions they have successfully carried out are the organisation of several solidarity markets or an Oriental Culture Leisure Event called "El Rincón del Rábano", which is now in its second edition. A children's park called Metropolitan Park came out of their ideas, and money has been raised by four N.G.O.s to bring it to life.
Right now, the group meets once a week at the Youth House with his two educators. In addition to working on his proposals, it addresses social issues that concern them, such as the environment, feminism, multiculturalism, and the LGTBiq+ collective, to seek a conscientious, intercultural, diverse and sustainable Tres Cantos.
The aim is to grow even more, to increase the participation of children and youth, and welcome the great ideas of more girls, boys and adolescents who want to change things and have a present and a future where they are heard. We want more European cities to join this exciting project that claims children's opinions. Would you be up for the challenge?
