The international conference “What City for Children?” took place in the Hélder Pita Auditorium at ISEC Lisboa on October 17. Co-organized by ISEC Lisboa's School of Education and Human Development, where director Rui Fonseca was present at the opening session, and by the Urbanologist, Madalena Corte-Real, who was represented at the conference. The conference was also sponsored by UNESCO, as part of the activities of the Chair “The City that Educates and Transforms”, led by ISEC Lisboa. This action consisted of an exchange of knowledge, with room for debate, with the aim of contributing to a better city, focused on the children, by understanding the child citizen in a holistic way, as well as the relationship between the children and the city.

The morning began with a discussion on the theme: Child-Friendly Cities. Participation as a children's right was followed by a presentation of the Urban 95 Project. The importance of autonomy, exploring the city in childhood and children's mobility in the city were also important moments of information on this wide-ranging topic. The importance of children having a public space was presented as both a right and a necessity, where safety has to be a priority, and occupied space on the agenda until the end of the morning.

In the afternoon, there was a debate on children's playgrounds in cities and, once again, the need to supervise and maintain playgrounds. The idealization and display of nature-based playgrounds, albeit in an urban environment, in Nordic countries was given as a good example of how it is possible to extend children's playgrounds, with an awareness of landscape design and the organization of a more comprehensive, healthy and natural urban space. The school playground was also discussed, with comparisons and presentations showing the contrasts between countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom, among others. The day ended with the presentation of the topic that had been on the agenda for most of the day, as expected - Childhood, Education and the City.

This conference was attended by various organizations and personalities who have distinguished themselves by choosing children and the environment as the focus of their work and as a research topic, whose presentations and sharing of knowledge enriched everyone present.