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Young architects are being invited to participate in a design competition for Tipat Halav – early years centres – in Israel. “Between the Drops” is a collaboration between the Israeli Ministry of Health, the Bernard van Leer Foundation and the Department of Architecture at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, open to fourth- and fifth-year students and recent graduates in Israel and beyond.
Tipat Halav reach 97% of Israel’s families with health services, and we have been working with the Ministry to build the capacity of Tipat Halav nurses to provide parenting support. As part of our Urban95 work, we are now asking how planning and design tools can help the centres to enrich interaction between infants and toddlers and their caregivers, and be a welcoming focal point for the local community. The Ministry has agreed to integrate ideas and principles from the competition winners into the design of well-baby clinics across the nation.
NAGPUR: Nagpur is one of the 25 cities in the country shortlisted for the ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge’. Through this three-year challenge, the cities will scale ways to improve public space and support childhood-friendly neighbourhoods under the government’s Smart Cities Mission.
The initiative is a joint collaboration between the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) and Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and World Resources Institute, India.
The first stage of the challenge, which was held recently and involved open applications from cities, saw participation of 63 cities across the country which submitted applications proposing neighbourhood-level pilot projects in public space, mobility, access to services to enhance the physical and psychological health of young children and their caregivers.
Today s children will be known as the Covid Generation . Their health, nutrition, education, protection and overall wellbeing will be profoundly influenced by the impacts of the global pandemic. The next decade could see a huge reversal in children s rights or be a significant moment in the fight for a world where all children can grow up to realise their potential. It will depend on the decisions we make today. Are we willing to build back a better world for children? If yes, we have to make children a priority and they have to be part of mainstream development discourse and social conversations. Is that the case in Bangladesh? It does not seem so. Let me give an example.
Dr Vicky Johnson has over twenty years of experience as a researcher and consultant in social and community development, both in the UK and internationally.
She is Principal Investigator for Youth Uncertainty Rights (YOUR) World Research in Ethiopia and Nepal, funded by ESRC-DFID Poverty Fund (2016-2019). Recent research she has led includes: steps for engaging children in research (Bernard van Leer Foundation); Social protection and education for street connected girls in Nairobi (UNGEI); and Youth Sexual Rights (IPPF). Vicky has designed and led academic training on ‘Creating Impact in Social Sciences’ and has advised on the ethics on carrying out research with marginalised and vulnerable children and youth.