Learning and Leading: The Child-Friendly Surat City Approach to Child Education and Civic Engagement

Urban poor children face unique vulnerabilities that impact their rights to survival, development, safety, and participation. Despite challenges like poverty, migration and limited access to essential services, these children possess inherent capabilities that can significantly contribute to local governance when properly nurtured. The urban context necessitates tailored approaches to children’s education and participation, considering the complexities of city life and emerging challenges like climate change and pandemics. In response, the Child-Friendly Smart City Knowledge Centre (CFSCKC) was launched in 2017 in Surat, India, as a collaborative effort between the Surat Municipal Corporation and UNICEF. This pioneering project, operated by the Urban Health and Climate Resilience Centre of Excellence, aimed to address the unique challenges urban poor children face in Surat, an economic hub with a diverse socio-cultural landscape with heavy in-migration. Over eight years, CFSCKC implemented various practice-based initiatives to enhance children’s education and foster their participation in urban governance. The centre’s approach was rooted in a multi-stakeholder framework of 40 partners, bringing municipal departments, academic institutions, NGOs, and schools together. Innovative initiatives included urban partnerships, shared-learning dialogues, India’s First Children’s Charter of Demands, life skills education programs, inclusive Bal Melas (children's festivals), peer education activities, intergenerational dialogues, participatory mapping exercises, art-based activities and experiential learning visits. Activities constantly addressed central themes like environmental awareness, child rights, mental health, inclusive education, disaster preparedness, healthcare access, safety, and nutrition. A key strength of CFSCKC’s approach was its ability to bridge the gap between theory and practice in urban development, creating synergy between “learners” (those who study urban issues) and “doers” (those who implement solutions). This model demonstrated the power of sustained, collaborative efforts in creating child-friendly urban spaces, empowering children to become active contributors to their urban environment and offering valuable insights for creating more inclusive, child-centred urban communities worldwide.