The Child Friendly Cities Initiative is launched by UNICEF and UN-Habitat to act on the resolutions passed during the second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), which declared that the well-being of children is the ultimate indicator of a healthy habitat, a democratic society and good governance.

With the expansion of CFC activities, municipalities increasingly express the need to share experiences and lessons learned. Informal exchanges gradually develop into regional and national networks that mobilize a wide range of partners including government bodies; civil society organizations; national and international agencies; experts and academic institutions; private sector and the media; and, most importantly, children and youth groups.

CFCI Secretariat is created and hosted in UNICEF’s Office of Research – Innocenti in Florence to serve as a focal point and provide a common reference for the CFCI. A CFC Secretariat supports the CFCI work until 2004.

Municipalities and communities around the world use the CFCI framework to inform their work on building child-friendly cities and communities. Some work directly with UNICEF, others use the framework as inspiration.

Support for the CFCI is reinvigorated at UNICEF Headquarters with the launch of the Child Friendly Cities and Communities Initiative Toolkit for UNICEF National Committees and a new internal Community of Practice. The initiative is also included in UNICEF’s global urban strategy.

The original CFCI Framework for Action is launched, outlining nine building blocks that make up a child-friendly city or community.

UNICEF launches the Child Friendly Cities Initiative Handbook with updated guidance.

A movement of child-friendly municipalities begins to flourish in a number of low, middle and high-income countries, and an increasing number of cities promote and implement initiatives to realize child rights.