Are you a city government in a secondary city in the Global South? Join the S²Cities Network to make your city safer for young people!
The S²Cities programme aims to improve young people’s safety and wellbeing in urban environments. It brings local governments, institutions, community actors and young people together to co-create and implement solutions for safety and inclusivity challenges. The programme also establishes a global learning network of cities, thought leaders, and practitioners to foster better understanding of urban safety for young people.
Initiated in two secondary cities in Indonesia and Colombia, the programme now aims to expand to more secondary cities across the Global South. The programme targets:
- Secondary cities in the Global South
- Urban environments (including municipalities and city neighborhoods)
- All socio economic segments (including informal settlements)
How does it work?
The S²Cities is an open and iterative programme that works with cities to:
- Better understand urban systems and their influence on safety and wellbeing.
- Build capacity within these systems.
- Enable youth innovation to solve key challenges for safer urban environments.
We engage local governments, institutions, the private sector, community actors, and young people in cities to support implementation of the programme.
Participating cities in the pilot phase
The programme launched in Bandung, Indonesia, and Envigado, Colombia, two growing secondary cities where young people and their wellbeing feature prominently in the national and local agenda. Through our collaboration with ICLEI Regional Offices, we have formalized engagement with the local governments and mobilized a strong network of local actors with expertise in grassroots level impact in both cities.
Anggia Rahma Kania, representative of the Youth and Sport Agency of Bandung City Government, expresses hope for every young person from Bandung to be an important contributor and inspire more people globally. She adds, “I believe the youth have a lot of potential. Young people through their independent activities and as part of NGOs and their own communities are positively contributing to improve the built environment.”
Aida Aristizabal from the Environmental Agency of the Municipality of Envigado sees the S²Cities Programme as an avenue for change in Envigado. “We want to build capacity for officials of the Envigado municipality to establish a relationship with the young people who are part of this urban movement. We hope that the programme will promote a relationship of trust between the young participants and the government.”
Make your city an S²City
The S²Cities Programme will support your city to improve urban safety for young people. The programme will create an exciting way for city officials to engage with young people, enabling better understanding of urban safety and what needs to be done to improve it.
Participating governments will receive the following support:
- Establishment of a youth hub.
- Expert analysis of urban safety status quo.
- Training and capacity development of city staff in understanding urban safety and youth engagement.
- Participation in an annual youth innovation challenge and award programme.
- Access to a global learning network.
