The Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is implementing an exemplary practice by seeking the ideas of children living in the city in services that directly or indirectly affect them. The Izmir Children's Assembly that was established provides a platform where young people can freely express their thoughts about the city and participate in decision-making processes. Children who brainstorm on various issues through the committees established within the assembly convey the decisions they make to the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality authorities and experience the happiness of seeing their ideas put into practice.
Children's Ideas Are Valued and Turned into Projects
The operation of the Izmir Children's Assembly encourages children's active participation in city management. Assembly members share their ideas about the city in committee meetings and express their expectations from the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. The Child Studies and Education Supports Branch Directorate carries out a coordinated study with the relevant departments to archive these ideas and put them into practice. While the decisions of the children are conveyed to the authorities through the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Child-Friendly City Coordination Commission, feedback on projects concerning children in the city is also provided directly to the children. Seeing some of the ideas they produce being put into practice as projects, the children of Izmir express that they feel valued and happy.
“A Very Important Step in Child Participation”
Deniz Kesimler Çakal, Head of the Children's Rights Unit of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Social Services Department, states that the Izmir Children's Assembly committee meetings are held regularly and that children freely share their ideas about the city. Çakal says, “We archive the children's ideas and carry out joint work to implement the children's decisions under the coordination of our department. We forward the children's decisions to the relevant departments and the departments directly give feedback to the children. In this way, children have the opportunity to meet services that match the decisions they make.” Emphasizing that the children are very happy with this feedback, Çakal states that the Konak Metro Library project was one of the children's ideas and that this situation makes them very happy. He also states that they determine the content of the food packages by getting the children's ideas about the nutrition problems in schools and that this type of feedback is a very important step in children's participation.
Children Say “It’s Great to Be a Child in Izmir”
One of the assembly spokespeople, 9-year-old Nil Tarakçı, while explaining the assembly's decision-making processes, said, "Here, we tell our ideas to our teachers and they take notes. Some of our ideas are put into practice. We are happy when we hear these. We talked about what should be in the lunch boxes. Then they distributed these boxes to the students. I was very happy when we heard that. I think being a child in Izmir is a very nice thing. We have a council. Even though it consists of children, this is a council. Everyone gets excited here. Our meetings are great. I love Izmir very much," she said, expressing her feelings.
Assembly member Zeynep Talay, 12, stated that the feedback on the ideas they conveyed made them feel valuable, and said, “There are certain problems of both children, the city and nature. We state these here. We receive feedback on ideas that are feasible. Being a child in Izmir is a wonderful thing. It is a wonderful thing to have a Children's Assembly here. Because we convey the problems in our city. Work is being done on that issue. Our problems do not remain as problems, solutions are found.”
Council member Bedirhan Bilal Aslan, 11 years old, also emphasized that they look at the problems in Izmir through the eyes of children and convey their ideas and that these ideas can be implemented by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, saying, “This situation makes people happy and excited. There is also a slight stress in the job. This is a serious job because we do not make decisions only for ourselves. There are other individuals living here. Their ideas are also important. Being a child in Izmir gives a sense of happiness.”
Children Listened to Projects That Matched Their Ideas
In the meeting held by the İzmir Children's Assembly Nature and Ecology Commission, ideas such as digital games on recycling and separating packaging waste at home were produced. İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Climate Change and Zero Waste Department personnel who attended the meeting gave feedback to the children about their ideas and suggestions and conveyed the municipality's projects that matched these ideas. The children also had the opportunity to learn while having fun what needs to be done to prevent the climate crisis by using VR glasses.
This application, implemented by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality through the Izmir Children's Assembly, allows children to actively participate in city management and allows their voices to be heard. The fact that children's ideas are valued and that they come together with projects increases their self-confidence and offers new and creative perspectives for city management. The little assembly members who say "It's great to be a child in Izmir" are already taking responsibility for a more livable Izmir of the future.
