In slums and shantytowns across the globe, children and youth make up large proportions of the residents—often more than 50 percent. Their productive and creative potential is key to developing strategies for livable and sustainable cities.
To mobilize efforts on behalf of these children, the CYE Center is preparing a book about children living in poverty in cities around the world. The book will educate the public about the capacities of the urban poor by illustrating the active roles of children in improving their living conditions. It will also describe policies and programs that support children’s efforts. Its provisional title, The Place of Children, has a double meaning: it refers to children’s actual living environments as well as to their role in community development.
The book aims to focus attention on the challenges remaining after the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006) and strives to make a contribution to the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
Featuring first-rate photography, profiles of children and documentary text based on archival records and field interviews, the book may also lead to several collateral projects, including CD-ROMs, exhibits, calendars and greeting cards. Children selected for inclusion in the project will be actively involved in community improvement activities.
To support the first phase of this project, UN-Habitat has awarded $15,000 to CYE. The book has been endorsed by Childwatch International and Save the Children Sweden. CYE organized a session with project participants at the World Urban Forum III, in Vancouver, Canada, June 19-23, 2006. Work at the first four sites was completed in 2007 (Ankara; New York; Nairobi; and Rio de Janeiro).
For more information, contact Willem van Vliet: willem@colorado.edu