Other participation spaces | Ministerio de Juventud e Infancia

Among the programs funded by the Ministry of Youth and Childhood are highlighted:

Child Friendly Cities Program (CAI)

The Child Friendly Cities Program (CAI) of UNICEF Spanish Committee, is an initiative led by UNICEF in more than 30 countries, including Spain since 2004, which supports Local Entities in their efforts to realize their commitment to children's rights. To date, with the collaboration of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, it is present in all Autonomous Communities and has 321 recognized local entities, where one out of every two children and adolescents in Spain already live. For this, it is essential to establish stable structures that guarantee the children's and adolescents' right to be heard on municipal matters concerning them and to have their opinions taken into account.

At the end of 2025, they launched a campaign to highlight the work and achievements of child-friendly cities after twenty years of journey in Spain. The concept revolves around the characteristics of friendship and how these can be applied to a city.

Additionally, they have conducted an Evaluation Report on the impact of the achievements of the Child Friendly Cities in Spain 2012-2023 to assess and understand in a rigorous, external, and critical way the achievements being made and the real impact of the initiative on the lives of children and adolescents. This document presents the main findings and recommendations of this evaluation. Based on several hypotheses, the document includes the evaluation of design, implementation, impact, and results. Additionally, it identifies the main challenges facing the initiative in its aim to continue working for the rights of children and adolescents.

Cibercorresponsales Program, a network of young journalists

The Cibercorresponsales Program, a network of young journalists is an initiative of the Children's Platform since 2010. It is another pillar of this children's right, by offering them a network of blogs and a social network (cybercorrespondents) of under-18 boys and girls who tell the world what they think, feel, worry about, or wish to change. Always participating in groups and through social or educational intervention processes (institutes, associations, municipalities, NGOs...) they want and aim to be heard, facilitating their participation and providing a positive, healthy, and responsible alternative for using ICT.

Commemorative Event of the Universal Children's Day

The annual celebration of the Universal Children's Day, which has been held in collaboration with the Children's Platform, represents the visibility and public exposure of a broad participation process generated each year.

The participatory process of 2025 carried the slogan “I am, you are, we are, and we have rights” and proposed reflecting and dialoguing with boys and girls about the fulfillment of 3 rights: the right to privacy, the right of association, and the right to cultural identity. The process was aimed at groups of children and adolescents from all over the territory.