A research study on child-friendly towns and villages was launched on Wednesday by Commissioner for Children Pauline Miceli.
Miceli stressed that children themselves should be involved in the study from beginning to end, so as to ensure that children's rights are placed at the forefront of urban planning since they are also part of the community.
As a result of this research, Hamrun will be benefit from the first pilot project, where the aim is to bring positive change through the co-creation of green recreational spaces.
The research is a joint initiative between the Office of the Commissioner for Children, the Environment and Resources Authority, and the Centre for Resilience and the Socio-emotional Health within the University of Malta.
This research explores the views of children, parents and community stakeholders on ways in which Maltese villages and towns can improve their community by providing more child-friendly spaces.
The aim of this study seeks to promote the initiative of low traffic town centres which improves the air quality, to develop an understanding of children's needs for their future surroundings and to equip children with environmental education which will further strengthen their aspirations for the environment.
The whole project consists of three parts, a survey with school children, parents and stakeholders; focus groups with young adults, children and stakeholders; and an applied case study where children are the leading participants in bringing about a positive change, especially in their locality through the development of green and child friendly recreational spaces.
For the sake of this launch only the survey was presented, forming only a third of the whole project, it still presents encouraging evidence on its own said Carmel Cauchi, Director of the European Centre for Educational Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health.
The survey consisted of a sample from parents, stakeholders and children and was used to discover what areas could be improved upon when creating such spaces. Such areas include safety and security; recreation and play; social spaces for children and young adults; nature; cleanliness and inclusive spaces.
A total of 1,060 children and young people participated in the survey, where primary school years were represented by children between Year four to Year six and Secondary school children were represented by children between Year nine and Year 11. Such children came from state, Church and independent schools around Malta and Gozo.
In total, 92 primary and 45 secondary schools were invited to participate, where 28 primary schools and 29 secondary schools accepted. The survey was conducted through an online questionnaire.
From the total of 651 responses coming from primary school children, 51.6% were male, while from the total of 412 secondary responses 66.4% were female.
When the representatives of primary school children were asked about their play time areas, it resulted that Gozitan children are more likely to go to a playing field or a football ground at least once a week. It also resulted that males are more likely to frequent such areas whereas females are more likely to go to a swimming pool. non-Maltese children have been found to visit playing fields and public parks more frequently than Maltese children.
When primary school participants were asked where they like to play the most, participants coming from the Western region of Malta ticked the 'open field' selection more frequently than those coming from other regions, where participants from the Northern region ticked this box the least. A total of 56.7% of non-Maltese who participated indicated that they mostly like to play in public parks or gardens, unlike Maltese who prefer to play on football grounds.
When primary school participants were asked whether they walked or cycled in the area where they live, it was discovered that participants from the Northern Harbour region are more likely than those from other regions to tick 'never', whilst a quarter of participants in the Northern region ticked 'always.' All in all, the most to walk or cycle frequently in their neighbourhood are girls, with a total of 28.8% indicating so.
When the children were asked if there was a garden, park or natural open area close to their home, it was Maltese participants who affirmed the most. It resulted that participants from the Western region go to green areas on foot more often than those coming from other regions, while those coming from Gozo go by bicycle more frequently.
Asked about the cleanliness present in current open spaces, Gozo scored the highest, whilst those primary school children coming from the Northern region scored the lowest. Gozitan primary school children were also at the forefront with the highest score when asked whether they participated in projects that take place in their town or village.
Participants from Gozo appear to be the most satisfied in most of the areas available for them to play, which include parks, gardens and open areas. They are also the most satisfied with the opportunities to participate in what happens in their hometown.
When asked about the areas in which they would like to see more improvement, children coming from the Southern Harbour indicated that they would like more safety from cars and traffic.
In the second part of the survey, dealing with secondary school children, it was discovered that only 39.4% believe that they have enough spaces to play. On the methods on how these young people prefer to reach their play areas, non- Maltese were the most likely to use public transport. Female participants were reported to going to play areas on foot more often than males, whilst males were dominant in going to play areas by bicycle.
When asked if they had enough places where they could meet their friends, the majority believe they do, where they majority were from Gozo. When these young people were asked what they would like to change in their locality, the majority indicated that they want a healthier environment, with a decrease in cars, construction, pollution and noise.
The survey closes with several recommendations, such as that there are national indicators for the presence of child-friendly towns and villages which need development; that there should be designated members in local councils responsible for policy actions as to how we can make villages more family and child friendly and to establish formal procedures on how to include the voices of children and young people in projects for children; to strengthen green and eco initiatives such as pedestrianised zones and hubs, the opening of recreational areas and parks in the community for children and families, streetscaping, better cleanliness and more improvement in the regulation of building construction.
Michelle Piccinino, who is an architect and CEO for the Environment and Resource Authority, said that the research is important as it aligns with the National Strategy for the Environment, for which there was also the 'Wellbeing First: A Vision for Malta's Environment 2050', published last November.
Michael Falzon, Minister for Social Justice and Solidarity, the Family and Children's Rights closed the event by saying that such studies shed light on the needs of children, some of which might be forgotten by the adults present in their lives.