iN FEB 07 the community of Balmain Peninsula surprised themselves with their concerted response to a local young man's passion. Kristian Goodacre is a man with a mission. His early years were spent in Balmain. He really values the privileged care-free upbringing he enjoyed being able to play out and about in safety. Now that he works for NAPCAN , The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and Child Friendly Australia , he realises that not all children grow up with his advantages. Kristian wanted both to capture the creativity of Balmain's community kids whilst raising awareness of the importance that living in a Child Friendly community plays in protecting children Australia wide. What better way than harvesting the ideas of children themselves , through their art and their words , and teaming them up with local businesses.

Kristian set about approaching a number of After-School Care Groups in the area. He asked the childcare workers if they would organise the children (aged 5 to twelve) to paint or draw a picture and write a sentence that answer the question "What makes your community a friendly place?" He then asked the shop owners in Darling Street if they would display the artwork along with slogans publicising the aims of NAPCAN and Child Friendly Australia. Kristian hoped the resulting exposure would allow the children of Balmain to communicate their own ideas about friendly community living both to local adults and to Balmain's many visitors. For this reason he asked the artwork to be displayed in shop front windows over a weekend. Then he contacted two local newspapers who published articles advertising the event.

Kristian himself was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to the project by all parties involved , the ripples of which spread further than anyone could have hoped. The children's output was so prolific that Rozelle Community Centre asked for a batch to display in the local community centre foyer. The local shopkeepers were delighted by the eye-catching quality of their new window displays , which slowed down passers-by and drew them into their shops. "I originally contracted to run the exhibition over one weekend , " Kristian observed , "but most shop owners asked if they could keep the artwork for the rest of the week." As one shopkeeper said , "It's been wonderful watching all the parents & shoppers stop to look & read what the children have to say".

The theme of the art expo was drawn from NAPCAN'S 2006 National Child Protection Week's theme "Ask KiDS What They Really Need". By inviting Balmain kids to speak their minds , the project enacted one of the main criteria for a child friendly community: allowing children to 'Play a Part'. Aside from the benefits of getting their messages across to adults , the store owners & child care centres received certificates of recognition & thanks for their active participation in the project.

Kristian had his own personal agenda for the art expo: "I was interested in finding out whether children today want similar things from a child friendly community as I did when I was growing up , and also how inner city living affects kids' experiences of safety and security. I was delighted to discover that kids today are still interested in playing outside with their friends and their pets. The kids wrote things like: 'Running around the park after school' and 'Playing catch with my friend and dog outside' in response to the question asked. I thought they might prefer to have more places to play computer games. And judging from the mountain of pictures they produced , I think kids still enjoy being able to mess with paint!" He was particularly intrigued when one young contributor wrote: 'The man at the crossing stops cars after school to help me cross.' "I remember him as well! I thought perhaps those wonderful volunteers had been replaced by more mechanical traffic safety devices!" Now Kristian has set himself the goal of running similar art expos in other inner city suburbs.

Tempted to give it a try? Take a look at Kristian's Recipe for a KiDS Art Expohere