BARCELONA: At the Smart City Expo, Barcelona – held from 5 to 7 November 2024 - an unknown organisation from Ahmedabad did India proud. aProCh-The Riverside Education Foundation walked away with the innovation award (which it shared with global giant Aramco) during the 2024 edition of the annual World Smart City Awards.

The annual World Smart City Awards is an  international competition that seeks to recognise pioneering projects, ideas and strategies making cities around the world more livable, sustainable, and economically viable. A record-breaking 429 entries came in from 64 countries worldwide for the 2024 edition.

The innovation award, according to the World Smart City Awards, is given to to projects with the potential of contributing to the successful transformation, adaptation or response of cities to current challenges or others that may occur in the future.

aProCh, according to the jury, is a “groundbreaking initiative transforming cities into child-friendly spaces. By reclaiming and reimaging public spaces, it empowers children to be active participants, fostering physical, mental, and social development, creating a more inclusive and sustainable future.”

According to project head Kirit Zala, aProCh (a Protagonist in every child), the idea was born in 2007 as a community project in Riverside School, Ahmedabad  to  create a child friendly city where they could explore, have fun, opportunities in a safe environment. Various initiatives were designed and implemented – street smart, moving experiences, parents of the park, city on cycles, and city as my landscape through which children became sensitised towards cities and their role as emerging citizens of the future.

Today, it has spread across 13 cities in India and has impacted more than a million school children.

The project has more than 400 partners with citizens being involved directly. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corp is the main supporter for various aProCh initiatives.