Statement says children should benefit from nature - wherever they live, learn and play
Salzburg Global Fellows have called on leaders to ensure all children enjoy the right to safe, free play in a nature-rich space within a 10-minute walk from home.
The call to action was included in a Salzburg Statement published as a result of discussions at Session 574 - The Child in the City: Health, Parks and Play.
It was the third session of the Parks for the Planet Forum, which was supported by Parks Canada and Korea National Park. The Forum is held in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It advances work to implement the Promise of Sydney and the Sustainable Development Goals.
During a five-day program held in March, 52 experts in urban planning, childhood development, conservation, environmental policy, and health considered how green spaces could better meet the needs, and be accessible for, children.
Participants asked themselves what the benefits of these spaces were and how they could be maximized. They considered the implications for urban planning, design and management if the needs of the child were placed at the center.
On the final day of the program, participants agreed a small working group would build on the ideas shared by producing a statement outlining a shared set of principles and recommendations.
The Salzburg Statement on The Child in the City: Health, Parks and Play recommends several policies, practices and investments. It also contains eight actions which can transform cities for children.
These eight actions are:
View the Salzburg Statement on the Child in the City: Health, Parks and Play on Issuu
Download the Salzburg Statement in full by clicking here
The Salzburg Global program The Child in the City: Health, Parks and Play is part of the multi-year Parks for the Planet Forum, a series held in partnership with the IUCN and Huffington Foundation. The session is being supported by Parks Canada and Korea National Park. It is being sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. More information on the session can be found here: www.salzburgglobal.org/go/574 - You can follow all the discussions on Twitter by following the hashtag #SGSparks