Financing the Future: The European Mayors Alliance for Children

Our Vision

A child-centered city is inherently one that prioritizes their health and well-being through safer mobility, clean air, and opportunities for children to explore and play. By centering the needs of children and caregivers, cities can become more resilient to challenges like climate change while creating vibrant, inclusive spaces where everyone can flourish.

However, small and medium-sized cities often face significant challenges in accessing the funding and resources needed to bring this vision to life. The Alliance bridges this gap by equipping city leaders with the tools, knowledge, and networks to transform their urban landscapes into thriving hubs for children and families.

Why Child-Friendly Cities Matter

Cities that prioritize children create a ripple effect of positive outcomes for everyone:

• Healthier Communities: Safer urban spaces improve physical and mental well-being for children and families. They promote stronger social connections. 
• Climate Resilience: Child-friendly urban design aligns with sustainable, climate-adaptive planning and active mobility.
• Social Equity: Inclusive investments in children lay the foundation for long-term prosperity and economic development for all.

Mayors are uniquely positioned to deliver impactful projects quickly because of their direct connection to local communities and operational flexibility. Particularly in smaller cities, they have the political capital to move boldly. Yet mayors of smaller cities often face two major hurdles:

1. Limited Capacity: Smaller cities frequently need more technical and human resources to design, undertake, and evaluate projects to improve the lives of children and families.
2. Restricted Access to Funding: While significant funding exists from sources such as the EU and multilateral banks, these resources often come with stringent conditions that require substantial capacity and expertise. The application process itself is often complex and resource-intensive.

How the Alliance Supports Cities

The European Mayors Alliance for Children focuses on three core actions to overcome these barriers:

Assess the Funding Landscape

• Map available financing sources across public, private, and philanthropic sectors.
• Identify barriers to accessing these funds and develop solutions to address them.

Advocate for Catalytic Funding

• Mobilize mayors across Europe to advocate for flexible funding tailored to the unique needs of smaller cities.
• Collaborate with multilateral banks, EU institutions, and private investors to design funding models that prioritize child-friendly, climate-adaptive urban development.

Build Capacity through Collaboration and Policy Innovation

• Facilitate partnerships between cities, civic organizations, and technical experts to share best practices.
• Equip city leaders with the skills and resources necessary to implement projects sustainably.
• Share ideas and best practices for implementing innovative policies that create child-centered cities.

Partners & Supporters

FIA Foundation
The FIA Foundation is an international charity that works closely with grant partners to shape projects and advocate for securing change in policy and practice. Their objective is safe and healthy journeys for all, whether the daily walk to school or the final lap of a Grand Prix. Through partners with global reach, FIA Foundation is supporting safer vehicles and highways, clean air and electric cars, safe motorsport, and low-speed streets.

Established as an independent UK-registered charity in 2001 by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the FIA Foundation has worked closely with international agencies, expert technical partners, civil society organizations, and its member FIA clubs to develop a strong track record of results. 

EIT Urban Mobility
Founded in 2019 as an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, EIT Urban Mobility is committed to accelerating the transition to sustainable mobility. It accelerates the sustainable transition by providing established businesses, startups, universities, research institutes, and the public sector access to markets, talent, funding and knowledge. We empower our partners to develop and deploy new solutions that address European cities’ mobility challenges.  EIT Urban Mobility partners with over 250 organizations and collaborates with a network of more than 1,000 organizations across 35 countries. It supports our vision for sustainable and decarbonized urban mobility and more liveable urban spaces.  

Mayor of Bratislava: Matúš Vallo
Mayor Matúš Vallo of Bratislava will chair the Alliance. Matúš Vallo was elected Mayor of Bratislava in 2018 and won a second term in 2022.  Trained as an architect, he was a pioneering urban activist before his mayorship, authoring the most comprehensive publication on solutions for Bratislava entitled Plan Bratislava. He is currently the chair of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth, and is a founder of the Pact of Free Cities alongside the mayors of Warsaw, Prague, and Budapest. In 2024, he launched the Start with Children Summit initiative with the support of Bloomberg Associates, of which the European Mayors Alliance for Children is a core component. 

Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava
The Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava (MIB) is dedicated to architecture, urban planning, participation, and strategic planning. It comprises a team of experts and professionals in these fields who plan for growth and development so that the quality of life and public space rises. MIB’s goal is to promote quality architecture and functional solutions that reflect the needs of Bratislava’s inhabitants in urban projects and plans and in the face of social and environmental changes. 

Capita
Capita is an independent think tank and community. It explores the major transformations of our time—social, demographic, cultural, technological, environmental, and economic—and anticipate their potential impacts on families and their communities worldwide. Capita partners with thinkers and doers across multiple disciplines to uncover new insights and craft policy proposals that meet the needs of diverse audiences. It advises leaders as they consider and implement those proposals to create a future in which families and their communities can flourish.

Join the Movement

The European Mayors Alliance for Children is vital to creating sustainable, inclusive, and thriving cities. Investing in children today ensures a brighter, more resilient future for all.

Learn more about the Alliance and how your city can get involved. Please contact Ankita Chachra: ankita@capita.org