Child Friendly Cities working group charts next steps for children and young people

Improving accessibility in local playgrounds and teaching children about food security were flagged as priorities at the Child Friendly Cities and Communities (CFCC) Working Group’s first meeting for 2026.

Facilitated by Ararat Rural City Council (ARCC), the working group brings together experienced early childhood educators, health professionals, disability support workers, social researchers, and community members with diverse cultural perspectives and lived experiences.

“Accessibility was an important topic to explore at our first working group meeting for the year,” said nominated Committee Chair and ARCC Children and Youth Programs Coordinator, Nerissa Gee.

At the March meeting, members discussed Council’s responsibilities under the Charter, approaches to embedding children’s participation in planning and design, and thinking about an action plan that includes sharing best-practice consultation tools, as the example provided in a published version of a Council's Children and Young People Consultation Framework.

Ms Gee said the group emphasised the importance of including children’s voices in decision-making, particularly in Council policy and procedure development.

“Members also recognised that every municipality has its own unique characteristics. In our regional Victorian community, families come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and lived experiences,” said Ms Gee. “This highlights the importance of ongoing, inclusive community engagement to ensure initiatives reflect local needs and support our goal of becoming a better child-friendly city.”

“Group members also discussed the fact that every municipality is unique and for a regional Victorian town, we have families from lots of different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds,” said Ms Gee. “Therefore, it’s especially important that the group consults with the community along the way to make sure we are on track with initiatives aimed to help make our city ‘Child Friendly’.”

Mayor Cr Bob Sanders added that he was pleased that the second meeting by the CFFCC Working Group generated such enthusiastic discussion around priorities to make the municipality the best place for children to live, learn and thrive.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have such a high calibre of expertise in the working group, from childhood educators to nurses, clinical psychologists and people who work in disability,” said Cr Sanders. “What a great mix of experience we have on board to help us deliver an action plan for delivery, together. I’m really looking forward to seeing these ideas take shape.”

The next meeting of the Child Friendly Cities and Communities Working Group will be held on Wednesday 20 May 2026, from 4 pm to 5 pm, at the Ararat Rural City Council offices, with an option to attend online. For those who wish to participate, please contact [email protected] and (03) 5355 0257.

ARCC is a signatory to the Child Friendly Cities and Communities (CFCC) Charter.