This is a critical review of the activities of countries around the world involved in accreditation and assessment processes as part of their UNICEF child friendly cities program. The purpose of this discussion paper and the review conducted to support it was to look at child friendly cities accreditations programs that countries had constructed in the past decade. The aim of the report is to support discussion and debate about the ways forward for the formalising a registration or accreditation process that are currently being orchestrated at a regional and international level through a variety of organizations, including the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre,. This is particularly timely for the Child Friendly Asia Pacific regional network as it is newly established and now has a number of cities that are seeking to formalize their child friendly status and be recognized for their efforts. This discussion paper is the first in a series of briefing reports that will help to provide a functional model and strategy for moving the Child Friendly Cities Asia Pacific regional network forward.
