How does a child who measures 95cm see the city? How can children fully paticipate in a rapidly urbanizing city like Dakar, Senegal? ImagiNation Afrika, with the support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, will gather the data to answer these questions and advocate for better access to healthcare, quality education, public play spaces and a cleaner environment for Dakar's child citizens. Help us today to ensure that children in Dakar grow up with the tools to solve Africa's biggest challenges.
Dakar, a rapidly urbanizing city in West Africa with a population of nearly 3,000,000 inhabitants suffers today from poor and failing infrastructure. One of the biggest challenges facing each of the 19 communes is how to create sustainable urban spaces that support, promote and facilitate the learning and development of young children. This project will gather actionable data that parents and caregivers can use to hold municipal authorities accountable.
This project will: -Begin a public dialogue on the ability of public spaces to support young children's development as well as their caregivers. -Use participative research methods to gather and share data on the state of three urban communities in Dakar. -Create, inspire and develop advocacy for urban spaces that respond to the needs of children (ages 0-3) and their caregivers in urban cities in the region through an open source toolkit.
Our expected impact: -Long-term media engagement in advocacy efforts for better quality of life services for children 0-3 and their caregivers. - Comprehensive mapping of the early childhood ecosystem of 3 municipalities in Dakar to be used in decision making. - An exhibition based on data collected from the project to engage the wider public around the issue of urban spaces for children. - An open source advocacy toolkit specifically for Francophone West African cities to use in lobbying.
