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                    Big City – Small Child

                    A small child smiles and jumps up.
                    City of Melbourne is committed to making children’s voices heard, and as part of our planning and policy formation we’re leading a number of activities to engage children and help us see the city through the eyes of a child.

                    ​Big City – Small Child activities included our first children’s forum and a series of Voice Labs in child-friendly spaces.

                    Insights collected through these activities will help us shape the city that children will inherit.

                    Children’s Forum

                    Our first children’s forum was held at Melbourne Town Hall in June 2019.

                    The child-led interactive performances helped us understand the core values of children and hear their bold ideas on things like living well, being safe, reaching their potential and having a say.

                    At the forum, we heard children:

                    • love Melbourne parks, gardens, food, animals and people
                    • worry about climate change and the environment, poverty, homelessness and safety
                    • want to provide practical help for people who are less fortunate, especially those who are homeless
                    • would improve Melbourne by reducing traffic, planting more trees, building more parks and reducing the use of plastic.

                    The Children's Party was brought to you by House of Muchness, Alex Walker and Ben Landau.

                    Voice Lab

                    We worked with Polyglot Theatre to run Voice Lab to gather children’s ideas on topics like living well, being safe and reaching their full potential.

                    Voice Lab is an immersive and creative experience where children are invited one at a time into a beautiful designed dome to participate in a conversation.

                    Through Voice Lab, we heard children:

                    • enjoy where they live because of their community, access to public transports and shops
                    • want more trees, and less rubbish and crime
                    • feel safe at home and school
                    • believe the city is welcoming, safe with lots of fun things to do
                    • believe the city would be more colourful if built by children
                    • feel adults can learn from children, especially in creativity and listening.
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                    Our first Children’s Forum was held in June 2019 at Town Hall.
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