KUCHING: An international forum centred on children’s city councils is set to take place before the end of this year.
Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, said the initiative is part of the Sarawak government’s ongoing efforts to promote child-friendly cities across the state.
She said that Sarawak envisions establishing child-friendly cities in each of its major divisions.
“We know that in Peninsular Malaysia, Petaling Jaya has been awarded as the first child-friendly city in Malaysia, and we wanted to emulate that.
“We wanted to make sure that Sarawak also has child-friendly cities.
“But, we are also ambitious. We want not one, not two, not three, not four, but five (targeted child-friendly cities,” she said.
Fatimah said this in her speech after welcoming a delegation from Women Parliamentarians of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (WAIPA) at Wisma Wanita here today.
She also noted that her ministry is working closely with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and that progress is already underway.
Regarding the upcoming forum, Fatimah said that children’s city councils from other regions will also be invited to participate, allowing for shared learning and collaboration.
“We learn from children, and we want to hear their voices as well,” she said.
