‘Respect our rights’: young people lead event as Manchester prepares for UNICEF child-friendly city status
Young people living in Manchester urged researchers, policy makers and community workers to respect, protect and realise their rights at an event on UNICEF World Children’s Day – sharing their unique role in preparing to make Manchester a UNICEF child-friendly city.
Also marking the first anniversary of Manchester Met’s Institute for Children’s Futures (ICF), the Children’s Rights Conference took place at HideOut Youth Zone in partnership with Manchester City Council (MCC) and included speeches and panel discussions from leading child-centred researchers, policymakers and practitioners, alongside the young people themselves.
The ICF’s collaboration with MCC in their work to make Manchester a UNICEF child-friendly city formed a panel discussion including Dr Haridhan Goswami (ICF) and Dave Naraynsingh (MCC), who shared progress and updates on the accreditation.
Titled Respect, Aspirations, Safety, and Hope: Realising Manchester as a Child-Friendly City, the event focused on four key themes – respect, aspirations, safety, and hope. It included insights from world-leading ICF academics on their research into urgent issues affecting children today, including children’s rights in the city, safeguarding and community wellbeing, and how to support children at risk of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).
Leading discussions on the rights of children in Manchester, 16-year-old Moyege said: “Every child should have access to education, they should all be able to go to school and they should also feel safe everywhere they go.”
Alongside contributions from Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of MCC, and Tom Stannard, CEO of MCC, the event included leading voices from Greater Manchester Police, Manchester United Foundation, Youth Leads UK, and local schools.
Held one year on from the launch of Manchester Met’s ICF, it also celebrated the achievements of its academics who are working to improve the lives of children and young people through world-leading research, industry collaboration and community engagement.
Within the last 12 months they have delivered impactful research including protecting children with SEND from criminal and sexual exploitation, uncovering racial bias in the justice system and furthering safeguarding policy to prevent serious harm of the most vulnerable children.
Professor Saul Becker DL, Founding Director of the ICF and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Manchester Met, said: “On World Children’s Day it was wonderful to hear from young people, professionals, youth workers, Manchester City Council and a host of other organisations committed to working within a children’s rights framework to improve the rights of young people in Manchester and the region.
“Hope is a driver for change and to move forward we must become part of the solution by working collaboratively and making sure children’s voices are at the centre of everything we do to improve the lives, experiences and futures of children and young people.”
The conference coincided with UNICEF World Children’s Day, a global occasion dedicated to promoting and celebrating children’s rights as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
It concluded with a shared vision and call to action, reinforcing Manchester’s commitment to becoming a truly child-friendly city and outlining how it will further empower young people to shape the future in 2026 and beyond.
Maddie, aged 15, added: “It’s important for young people to have their voices heard because there are a lot of issues now, especially surrounding technology and AI that I think young people understand better than older people.”
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Whilst children and young people are of course our future, here in Manchester it isn’t though just about looking ahead – we’re very much focused on the here and now. For us, our children and young people are a vital and important part of our city now, not just in a decade or two’s time.
“Our children, their needs, their rights, their views, their abilities, and their wellbeing, all matter to us today. And that’s very much what our journey towards being recognised as a child-friendly city has been about – our determination to believe in and invest in our children and young people right now and to ensure they’re at the heart of the city’s decision-making and city life today, not just tomorrow.”
