A new chairman signals new era for CITC

Published on 13-12-2023 at 15:03

The new year will mark the start of a new era for the Child in the City Foundation, as chairman Johan Haarhuis is retiring after more than 20 years of service.

Since co-founding the organisation in 2002, Johan (pictured below) has presided over dozens of high profile Child in the City conferences, seminars and events, which have brought together the finest children’s experts from across the world.

“The time is right for me to finally step away from Child in the City, and I am very proud of everything that we have achieved,” said Johan. “In handing over the reins to Hans, I know that the organisation has a strong future – he has already been a member of the board since earlier this year, and has extensive experience of organising conferences with a background of activities in local communities,” added Johan.

His successor will be Hans Migchielsen, who is also vastly experienced in organising national and international conferences focused on youth work and youth matters. Hans was also one of the founding fathers, some 10 years ago, of Intercity Youth (ICY), which had its last conference in Ljubljana in June 2022.

‘It’s been an honour to perform this role’

“I am proud and delighted to be taking over the role of chairman of the Child in the City Foundation,” said Hans (below). “I have a background in government and worked for 17 years for the for the municipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands and about for years for the Association of Dutch municipalities (VNG).

Johan, together with scientist Dr Jan van Gils, co-founded the Child in the City Foundation in 2002, and recently completed the 11th edition of the Child in the City bi-annual conference, which was held in Brussels in November.

“It has been an honour and my privilege to perform this role for Child in the City, which I am proud to say has become an influential voice on the world stage in promoting and championing the interests of children in cities everywhere,” said Johan.

“I know that under Hans, it will continue to be a strong advocate for children,” he added.