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Child Friendly Cities Initiative

"Every child has the right to grow up in an environment where they feel safe and secure, have access to basic services and clean air and water, can play, learn and grow and where their voice is heard and matters." – UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative

The Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) is an effort led by Alton Forward and its partners to improve the livelihood of every child that calls Alton home. The CFCI is a UNICEF-supported program to encourage cities to become more child-friendly by recognizing that the voices, needs, priorities and rights of children are an integral part of public policies, programs and decisions.

Alton Forward is working closely with the City of Alton, the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine's Department of Population Science and Policy, and other organizations in Alton to be recognized by UNICEF as a Child Friendly City. But the recognition is only where the work begins. Alton Forward will continue to support the CFCI in Alton to make sure children's voices are heard in the city that raises them.

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Alton Forward aims to bring together partners working in each of these fields and we will invest in programmatic efforts guided by community input and support. These projects will be coordinated in partnership with other civic stakeholders and local and state government, as we want to meet capacity gaps and needs. 

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