SEAToday.com, Surabaya - Surabaya City, East Java, officially became a World Child Friendly City accredited by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and joined the global Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) network with child-friendly cities around the world.

Head of Surabaya's Regional Development Planning, Research and Development Agency (Bappedalitbang) Irvan Wahyudrajad said Surabaya became the first world child-friendly city in Indonesia.

“This achievement shows that Surabaya has met international standards in creating a safe, comfortable and inclusive environment for children,” he said during a talk ”Building a Better Future: Surabaya's Steps Toward Global Child-Friendly Recognition” in Surabaya City, Wednesday (9/25), as reported by Antara.

Irvan said Surabaya City has launched various initiatives in the process of becoming a world child-friendly city through several important steps. First, sustainable policies for children, including the development of child-friendly infrastructure and public services, as well as humane policies for all children in Surabaya.

The infrastructure, such as the construction of Rumah Anak Prestasi (RAP) in 4 areas in Surabaya City, the construction of the FAS secretariat and the Si Arek FAS podcast, the construction of a child-friendly information center, the construction of 487 Puspaga Balai RW, and the construction of two new day care owned by the Surabaya City Government (Pemkot).

“Second, children's involvement in the development process. Surabaya children are actively involved in various public forums, Regional Apparatus Forums, and various Public Consultation Forums to ensure their voices are heard and taken into account,” he said.

Third, the Main Child Friendly City (KLA) award six times in a row. Previously, Surabaya has received the KLA Award for Main Level 6 times in a row from the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA).

Fourth, the collaboration of Hexahelix, which is a multi-sector collaboration involving government, academia, community, business, media, and international organizations to support child-friendly policies and programs, including the Association of Friends of Children Companies in Surabaya City and Friends of Children Journalists.

“The fifth step is strengthening KLA institutions and policies with the issuance of two new Perwali, namely Perwali No. 61 of 2024 concerning Mechanisms for Implementing Child Friendly Cities and Perwali No. 62 of 2024 concerning Procedures and Mechanisms for Providing Special Protection to Children,” he said.

In addition, Surabaya City Government also facilitates children through innovative programs, such as the Surabaya Child Friendly City Information System (Si TALAS) which allows children to be directly involved in the development process in Surabaya City from planning, implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

“This recognition is also a reminder of the Surabaya City Government's ongoing commitment to continue to protect and promote the welfare of children in the future,” he said.