Since 2021, the development of child-friendly cities has drawn significant attention across various sectors of society. As children represent the future of urban communities, their environments and opportunities for growth are directly tied to the sustainable development of cities. Currently, the “China Child-Friendly Cities” initiative, led by the China National Children’s Center, and the “Tonglianmeng” program, operated by the Tonglianmeng Child-Friendly Development Center, serve as both official and non-governmental platforms for promoting child-friendly cities, actively contributing to this cause. There is a growing need for more extensive engagement from both traditional media and new media outlets to report on child-friendly city development, disseminate child-centered concepts, and foster a strong environment that prioritizes children and encourages their participation.

Media play a crucial role in shaping societal influence and communication. The collaboration of official and new media can support the development of child-friendly cities in the following key areas:

1. Raising Public Awareness
   Widespread media coverage can enhance public understanding of the concept and significance of child-friendly cities, increasing overall awareness and cultivating a supportive societal environment for child-friendly city development.
2. Facilitating Policy Development
   Media reporting and public oversight can encourage governments and relevant departments to pay greater attention to child-friendly city initiatives, expediting the formulation and implementation of relevant policies and advancing the progress of such developments.
3. Sharing Best Practices
   Media can serve as a platform for disseminating exemplary experiences and practices from both domestic and international efforts to build child-friendly cities, offering valuable insights for other cities and fostering the overall enhancement of child-friendly urban development.

To more effectively promote the development of child-friendly cities, both official and new media are called upon to engage in comprehensive reporting, disseminate the principles of child-friendliness, and foster a strong culture of prioritizing children and encouraging their participation. The following approaches may be adopted:

1. Feature Coverage
   Official and new media outlets can establish dedicated sections to regularly cover progress, showcase successful cases, and share experiences in the development of child-friendly cities. Such coverage can delve deeply into the key achievements and challenges faced in this field.
   In January 2024, reporters from “Liaowang Oriental Weekly,” under the Xinhua News Agency, conducted in-depth field interviews in Shenzhen, examining the first Child-Friendly Expo, child-friendly urban communities, child-oriented libraries, and various public service facilities. A special report entitled “Child-Friendliness: Shenzhen in Action” was published, highlighting Shenzhen’s advancements in building a child-friendly city, aiming to ensure that the benefits of social reform and development are more equitably distributed among all children.
2. Public Awareness Campaigns
   Through the production of promotional videos, public service announcements, and other media, platforms such as television, the internet, and social media can be utilized to broadly disseminate information and increase public awareness and participation in the construction of child-friendly cities.
   During the June 1st, 2024 International Children’s Day celebrations, the Beijing Office of the Working Committee on Women and Children leveraged multiple media channels to spread the child-friendliness concept. Collaborating with Beijing Radio & Television Station, child-friendly city advertisements were broadcast on seven different radio frequencies, including traffic, news, music, arts, city life, sports, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei channel. Additionally, on the Listen FM app, focus images were featured, while “Beiguang Headlines” and BRTV Listen FM aired child-friendly promotional videos, effectively creating a tangible and perceivable social atmosphere that emphasizes child prioritization and friendliness.
3. Interactive Engagement Activities
   Both online and offline interactive activities, such as themed essay contests, photography competitions, and quizzes centered on child-friendly cities, can be organized to involve a wider audience, particularly children, enhancing their identification with and involvement in child-friendly city initiatives.
   In 2024, the Hangzhou Office of the Working Committee on Women and Children partnered with Zhejiang’s prominent news outlet, “Chao News,” to launch the themed activity “#Discovering My Favorite Child-Friendly Playground Nearby#”. This initiative encourages children to share their observations through the Chao News app—be it visually appealing spots, interesting experiences, or unique local features. Selected contributions may lead to follow-up interviews by journalists for more in-depth coverage.

Media play a pivotal role in not only raising public awareness through coverage and promotion but also in advocating for community, family, and child involvement to further propel the development of child-friendly cities.

1. Highlighting Community-Based Initiatives
   Media can uncover and report on child-friendly initiatives within communities, showcasing tangible practices and achievements in the creation of child-friendly environments. These narratives can inspire other communities and demonstrate to a wider audience the real-world impact of child-friendly city initiatives.
   Since 2023, the Wanrong Community in Liangxi District, Wuxi City, has launched the Children’s Friendly Newspaper, a monthly publication designed to shift children’s focus from popular electronic devices to traditional quality media. The newspaper effectively “bridges” the relationship between children and their community, as well as between families and society, making children’s involvement in community governance more vivid and flexible. Media outlets can take inspiration from such efforts or support these community stories in becoming part of the broader social dialogue.
2. Encouraging Family Involvement
   By covering the role that families play in child-friendly city development, media can motivate more families to become actively engaged. As the fundamental unit for child growth, family participation is crucial to the success of child-friendly city efforts.
   Between June and August 2023, the Foshan Women’s Federation, in collaboration with the City Media Center and other departments, organized the creative short video contest, “Friendly Foshan: Children’s Dreams for the Future—My Ideal Child-Friendly City.” With support from their parents, contestants used cameras to portray, from a child’s unique perspective, harmonious family scenes and child-friendly environments, effectively illustrating the boundless potential and promising future of child-friendly cities.
3. Fostering Child Engagement
   Media can play a dual role by, on one hand, spotlighting various activities where children are involved in social matters, and on the other, fostering young reporters who can document child-friendly city developments, thus empowering children to actively participate in the reporting of child-friendly initiatives.
   In June 2024, during Hangzhou’s empowerment and development activities for child-friendly social organizations, the Zhejiang Youth Reporter Team participated in dedicated coverage. In addition to interviewing guest speakers, they also spoke with members of the Hangzhou Children’s Observation Group present at the event. This initiative sparked greater public interest and awareness of child-friendly city development.

“Diverse Participation and Collaborative Efforts” are core principles driving the advancement of child-friendly cities, and “Strengthening Communication and Promotion” is a key strategy in organizing and implementing these initiatives. Conducting public awareness campaigns on child-friendly cities, increasing public recognition and engagement, and disseminating the principles of child-friendliness across society are fundamental responsibilities of the media.