The Children of Lincoln project is an initiative to progress UNICEF’s international Child Friendly Cities agenda within Lincoln. According to UNICEF, a Child Friendly City is one in which children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are respected and supported, where young people’s needs are considered and catered for, and where children’s voices are heard and contribute to local policy making and services. Children of Lincoln is a collaborative partnership between Lincolnshire County Council, City of Lincoln Council, University of Lincoln and many other local organisations that work with and support young people, working together to make Lincoln a Child Friendly City.

The project was officially launched in November 2017, with an event held at the University’s Isaac Newton Building for children, young people and their families. Over 200 visitors attended the launch, including 100 children, who all enjoyed a range of activities on the day including arts and crafts, virtual reality games and football with Imps in the Community. Local BBC reporters came to take a look and did some filming, including an interview with Sue. They were sufficiently interested in what the team were trying to achieve to build upon this piece for a special themed Sunday Politics show looking at Children’s Rights and Child Friendly Cities. Key to the episode was the participation of children, with the show hosted from Our Lady of Lincoln Catholic Primary Academy rather than from the studio, and with children given the chance to present and to interview local councillors about how child friendly Lincoln might be. Sue was interviewed again by presenter Tim Iredale, as were two University of Lincoln student vloggers who also contributed a short film about the challenges facing young people today.

Since the filming, the team has started work to establish a Children and Young Person’s Steering Group to direct the future activity and priorities of the Children of Lincoln project, and are working in partnership with Visit Lincoln to develop their website as a hub for publicising community events for children and families within the city.