Polotsk applies for the status of "Child-Friendly City"
Polotsk intends to receive the status of "Child-Friendly City", the correspondent was informed by BELTA at the UDO "Polotsk District Center for Children and Youth".
In September of this year, a representative of UNICEF and the National Coordination Council will visit Polotsk to present a certificate awarding the honorary title for creating conditions favorable for children's life and development.
Local authorities have no doubt about receiving the status, as the city has consistently implemented the planned activities of the initiative implementation program since 2012 and can confirm this with documents.
In particular, the Regional Coordination Council, which includes representatives of all interested services and departments, has prepared a relevant report and calculated the preliminary child-friendliness index of the city. It includes seven parameters: children's participation in public life, living environment, child safety in the city, health protection and healthy lifestyle, education and development, leisure and culture, assistance in difficult life situations. According to all criteria, Polotsk meets the status it is applying for.
The city demonstrates particularly high indicators in education and development, as emphasized at the Polotsk District Center for Children and Youth. A multifunctional network of preschool educational institutions is in operation. Its new forms are represented by 15 "mother schools", 4 seasonal playgrounds, 9 short-stay groups for unorganized children, and 1 weekend group. An open educational space has been created for young Polotsk residents. Young men and women participate in the development and implementation of city projects and programs for civic-patriotic education and the formation of a healthy lifestyle. Students of the Polotsk District Center for Children and Youth have won 10 awards in international competitions, 58 in republican competitions, and 406 in regional competitions over the last three years.
High achievements have been made in ensuring child safety and health protection in the city, as well as in creating an accessible environment. Br340.6 million were spent in Polotsk to implement the regional program for creating an accessible environment for physically challenged individuals, designed until 2015. Works on equipping the accessible environment were carried out at 56 social infrastructure facilities. The city has fulfilled other mandatory conditions for obtaining the status: its own children's self-governance structure has been formed – the city youth parliament.
The "Child-Friendly Cities" project emerged in Europe in the mid-1990s. Its core principle is the aspiration to protect children from dangers such as domestic violence, environmental instability, social isolation, and involvement in criminal life. Currently, about 900 cities worldwide are implementing the program, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vilnius, Munich, and London. In Belarus, the project has been implemented since 2006, and Novopolotsk and Pinsk have been named child-friendly cities.