“We are not safe…” Children’s experiences and voices in urban poor settings: What this means for Save the Children

Why involve children in urban planning?

One billion children live in urban areas. In efforts to address priority concerns affecting children and families in urban settings, to reduce vulnerability and to increase resilience, it is imperative that children’s voices are heard and acted upon, and that inclusive participatory governance processes are strengthened. A failure to listen to children’s voices, especially the voices of the most deprived girls and boys will result in the continuation of protection risks and rights violations, and will contribute to a failure to develop effective, responsive and accountable programming. In contrast, listening to and acting upon children’s voices will help to achieve Save the Children’s breakthroughs including the Child Protection Initiative 2030 breakthrough that “violence against children is no longer tolerated”.

Read about the key asks as identified by children in urban settings. This report identifies best practices of implementing different types of child participation in urban contexts that contribute to positive changes from both Save the Children and other child-focused agencies. It also includes conclusions and key recommendations that should direct Save the Children planning for more integrated child participation in urban programming and urban governance.

Included here are a series of resources: the full report, a summary, a flyer, and two posters.