The German city of Regensburg has for years been a shining example of how municipalities can develop sustainable child-focused quality standards that can withstand crises β even a pandemic.
One key individual who has been at the heart of developing its robust policies is youth and welfare planner, Anna Schledorn.
Anna Schledorn: I am the youth welfare planner of the department of municipal youth work of the city of Regensburg. I have been working in this position since February Besides planning our youth services, I am in charge of the family friendliness and child friendliness of the city, as well as youth participation. I have been managing our child-friendly city program from the very beginning in In fact, our city was the first city in Bavaria and one of the first ones in the country when it was launched in Germany.
How does society begin to approach the issue? In many cities it is approached with projects and unfortunately is very dependent on the goodwill of the people in charge. That means that when somebody is in charge, who is pro- child rights, then good projects can be done. However, as soon as the person in charge changes, often the projects are cancelled. I believe that projects can be a good approach to try something new.
This is different in my city than in many other communities. So already 30 years ago the city was starting to invest time and money to start its journey towards more family and child friendliness. Over the years, the city, the politicians, as well as the city administration learned what works well, what to take into consideration and how to approach the topic. CiTC: What particular, or unique challenges, did Regensburg face as it began its journey to develop the standards, regulations and processes that have delivered the positive results?
