Sharjah shows its child-friendly spirit at Abu Dhabi book fair

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Sharjah Child Friendly Office (SCFO), an affiliate of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFO), has marked its first participation at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF 2022). The entity is showcasing its innovative strategies and programmes to strengthen the emirate’s status as a child- and family-friendly city to the book fair’s global audience.

The Office is leveraging ADIBF’s international platform to highlight the leading efforts it has undertaken to safeguard child rights and build a nurturing environment to promote their wellbeing. SCFO will also be showcasing its journey of success in improving family-friendly policies in the emirate through its adoption of international best practices, which resulted in Sharjah being honoured with the prestigious Unicef Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) Inspire Award twice.

At ADIBF 2022, which runs until May 29 with the theme ‘Inspire. Innovate. Enrich’, SCFO is exhibiting at booth #12D22, and will be inspiring and enriching the fair’s global guests and visitors by sharing its vision and goals, which are critical to shaping safe, inclusive and nurturing environments for children and families, and subsequently, will enable sustainable growth and development.

A report earlier this year says the Sharjah Child Friendly Office (SCFO), an affiliate of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, has strengthened Sharjah’s status as a child, youth, and family-friendly city in 2021 by implementing 30 initiatives and campaigns, and through its participation in local and international events. SCFO also announced that its endeavour in 2021 included 14 new activities that targeted 426 participants from various organisations and institutions.

SCFO won the prestigious Unicef Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) Inspire Award, one of the most prestigious global awards given to innovative and inspiring initiatives of child-friendly cities. SCFO brought the laurel home by showcasing excellence in its Sharjah Child Friendly City Project, which was launched in 2016 guided by the vision of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, to protect and elevate the rights and wellbeing of children of all ages in Sharjah, without discriminating on gender, nationality or ability. It is tasked with creating joint child-friendly strategies in cooperation with more than 30 relevant entities.

SHARJAH FAMILY FRIENDLY PROJECT: In June and July, SCFO carried out field visits to eight destinations in the emirate to prepare for accreditation as a Baby and Family Friendly City. In October, SCFO launched the ‘Sharjah Principles for Child-Friendly Urban Planning’ at Expo 2020 Dubai. The pioneering design guide, which puts children at the heart of urban planning, was developed by SCFO’s Child Friendly Urban Planning (CFUP) project in strategic partnership with Sharjah Urban Planning Council (SUPC), Unicef and UN Habitat.

It has also launched a campaign themed ‘Vote for Sharjah, Vote for UAE’ between November 5-15, followed by a promotional campaign for World Children’s Day between November 18-25.

On December 13, SCFO showcased its bold vision for the future of education at RewirEd, a global education summit held at Expo 2020 Dubai, with the unveiling of a comprehensive set of standards that align with global best practices and are designed to transform schools and nurseries in the emirate into child-friendly centres of learning and growth.

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION: In early 2021, SCFO participated in a discussion session attended by 10 Unicef experts, to review the Unicef global strategic plan for child protection and strengthened global efforts to fulfil children’s rights in the digital environment. In May, SCFO participated in the Biennial of Public Space held in the Italian capital, Rome.

From July 7-8, SCFO participated in the inaugural edition of ‘Play 2021’, a global conference on children, play and space, held at the University of Birmingham, UK.

To bolster partnership and cooperation with Unicef, SCFO brought together representatives of Unicef and SCFA. They also met with the Education and Science Adviser/ Chancellor at the Embassy of Finland in the UAE.