UNICEF HK has put forward policy suggestions for Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan and 2026 Policy Address, aiming to build Hong Kong into an internationally recognised Child Friendly City, protect children's growth and enhance long-term urban resilience.
UNICEF HK recommends incorporating the UN Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) into Hong Kong's five-year blueprint. Launched in 1996, CFCI protects child rights under international conventions and includes children's voices in public governance, with over 3,000 cities worldwide joining the programme. Matching national 15th Five-Year Plan arrangements, Hong Kong targets official UN child-friendly city accreditation by 2030, improving youth welfare and deepening global urban cooperation.
The organisation also advises embedding mental health support and social-emotional learning into school curricula, building safe zero-violence campuses and evaluating related service efficiency regularly.
On digital child safety, UNICEF HK urges anti-online exploitation strategies, legal updates against AI deepfake risks, bans on abusive data monetisation and harmful platform designs. It also calls for labour protections for child online creators and wider digital literacy education at schools.
Investing in children secures Hong Kong's long-term future. Amid low birth rates and demographic shifts, child-centred policies will upgrade local talent resources and social stability. UNICEF HK hopes its proposals will be adopted officially, helping Hong Kong develop into a leading child-friendly sustainable metropolis across Asia.
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