Since its founding in 1961 IPA has held eighteen (18) International Conferences
1961 – Copenhagen
1964 – Zurich
1967 – London/Liverpool: Recreation and Play
1969 – Paris: Creative Play
1972 – Vienna: Play and Creativity
1975 – Milan: Adventure Playgrounds and Children’s Creativity
1978 – Ottawa: Play in Human Settlements
1981 – Rotterdam: Growing up in an Adult World – Beyond Play & Recreation
1984 – Lubljiana: Innovation – Participation – Action
1987 – Stockholm: Creativity through Play
1990 – Tokyo: Play and Education
1993 – Melbourne: World Play Summit
1996 – Espoo: Dimensions of Play
1999 – Lisbon: The Community of Play
2002 – Sao Paulo: Culture and Play in Urban Spaces
2005 – Berlin: Play: Learning for Life
2008 – Hong Kong: Play in a Changing World
2011 – Cardiff: Playing into the Future – Surviving and Thriving
The IPA Declaration of the Child’s Right to Play was produced in November 1977 at the IPA Malta Consultation held in preparation for the International Year of the Child (1979). It was revised by the IPA International Council in Vienna, September 1982, and Barcelona, September 1989. It should be read in conjunction with Article 31 of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted by the General Assembly of the U.N., November 20, 1989), which states that the child has a right to leisure, play and participation in cultural and artistic activities.
WHAT IS PLAY?
CHILDREN are the foundation of the world’s future.
CHILDREN have played at all times throughout history and in all cultures.
PLAY, along with the basic needs of nutrition, health, shelter and education, is vital to develop the potential of all children.
PLAY is communication and expression, combining thought and action; it gives satisfaction and a feeling of achievement.
PLAY is instinctive, voluntary, and spontaneous.
PLAY is a means of learning to live, not a mere passing of time.
ALARMING TRENDS AFFECTING CHILDHOOD
IPA is deeply concerned by a number of alarming trends and their negative impact on children’s development.
- Society’s indifference to the importance of play
- Over-emphasis on theoretical and academic studies in schools.
- Increasing numbers of children living with inadequate provisions for survival and development.
- Inadequate environmental planning, which results in a lack of basic amenities, inappropriate housing forms, and poor traffic management.
- Increasing commercial exploitation of children and the deterioration of cultural traditions.
- Lack of access for third world women to basic training in childcare and development.
- Inadequate preparation of children to cope with life in a rapidly changing society.
- Increasing segregation of children in the community.
- The increasing numbers of working children, and their unacceptable working conditions.
- Constant exposure of children to war, violence, exploitation and destruction.
- Over-emphasis on unhealthy competition and “winning at all costs” in children’s sports.
PROPOSALS FOR ACTION
The following proposals are listed under the names of government departments having a measure of responsibility for children.
Health
Play is essential for the physical and mental health of the child.
- Establish programmes for professionals and parents about the benefits of play from birth onwards.
- Ensure basic conditions (nutrition, sanitation, clean water and air) which promote the healthy survival and development of all children.
- Incorporate play into community programmes designed to maintain children’s physical and mental health.
- Include play as an integral part of all children’s environments, including hospitals and other institutional settings.
Education
Play is part of education.
- Provide opportunities for initiatives, interaction, creativity and socialization through play in formal education systems.
- Include studies of the importance of play and the means of play provision in the training of all professionals and volunteers working with and for children.
- Strengthen play provision in primary schools to enhance learning and to maintain attendance and motivation.
- Reduce the incompatibilities between daily life, work and education by involving schools and colleges, and by using public buildings for community play programs.
- Ensure that working children have access to play and learning opportunities outside of the system of formal education.
Welfare
Play is an essential part of family and community life.
- Ensure that play is accepted as an integral part of social development and social care.
- Promote measures that strengthen positive relationships between parents and children.
- Ensure that play is part of community-based services designed to integrate children with physical, mental or emotional disabilities into the community.
- Provide safe play environments that protect children against abduction, sexual abuse and physical violence.
Leisure
Children need opportunities to play at leisure.
- Provide time, space, materials, natural settings, and programmes with leaders where children may develop a sense of belonging, self-esteem, and enjoyment through play.
- Enable interaction between children and people of all backgrounds and ages in leisure settings.
- Encourage the conservation and use of traditional indigenous games.
- Stop the commercial exploitation of children’s play, and the production and sale of war toys and games of violence and destruction.
- Promote the use of co-operative games and fair play for children in sports.
- Provide all children, particularly those with special needs, with access to a diversity of play environments, toys and play materials through community programmes such as pre-school play groups, toy libraries and play buses.
Planning
The needs of the child must have priority in the planning of human settlements.
- Ensure that children and young people can participate in making decisions that affect their surroundings and their access to them.
- When planning new, or reorganizing existing developments, recognise the child’s small size and limited range of activity.
- Disseminate existing knowledge about play facilities and play programmes to planning professionals and politicians.
- Oppose the building of high-rise housing and provide opportunities to mitigate its detrimental effects on children and families.
- Enable children to move easily about the community by providing safe pedestrian access through urban neighbourhoods, better traffic management, and improved public transportation.
- Increase awareness of the high vulnerability of children living in slum settlements, tenements, and derelict neighbourhoods.
- Reserve adequate and appropriate space for play and recreation through statutory provision.
AFFIRMATION
IPA is determined to sustain the momentum created by the International Year of the Child in 1979 to arouse world opinion for the improvement of the life of children, and;
AFFIRMS its belief in the United Nations’ Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which in Article 7 states “The child shall have full opportunity to play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right;” and endorses its belief in Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
RECOGNISES that the population of children in developing countries is three quarters of the world’s total child population, and that efforts directed at the promotion of education and literacy, and the stopping of environmental deprivation would improve the capacities of the poorest.
AFFIRMS its commitment to working with other national and international organisations to ensure basic conditions of survival for all children in order that they may fully develop as human beings.
ACKNOWLEDGES that each country is responsible for preparing its own courses of public and political action in the light of its culture, climate and social, political and economic structure;
RECOGNISES that the full participation of the community is essential in planning and developing programmes and services to meet the needs, wishes and aspirations of children.
ASSURES its co-operation with UN agencies and other international and national organizations involved with children.
APPEALS to all countries and organizations to take action to counteract the alarming trends which jeopardise children’s healthy development and to give high priority to long term programmes designed to ensure for all time:
THE CHILD’S RIGHT TO PLAY.
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Note on the IPA organization. (4 paragraphs)
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(Back Cover)
IPA AND THE UNITED NATIONS
In 1971 the IPA Board decided that it was important to cooperate with the UN organizations. We are recognized by ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) and UNICEF, and work in agreement with their principles. They give a context to our work as follows:
- Our focus on human rights, specifically the Child’s Right to Play as stated in the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child and now embodied in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Our feeling of solidarity with children all over the world.
- Our involvement in peace education. IPA has been appointed as a Messenger of Peace by the United Nastions.
- Our commitment to the development of each individual to the maximum of their potential, the protection and enhancement of their culture, and the importance of the family and the community.
Children’s Right to Play: An examination of the importance of play in the lives of children worldwide
IPA believes that the nature of play and its importance to children’s well-being is not sufficiently understood by governments worldwide.
In May 2008 IPA wrote to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to request that a General Comment be developed on article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This would elaborate on its purpose for the benefit of States Parties throughout the world and increase opportunities for compliance.
While this request was being considered by the UN Committee, IPA undertook a number of strategies to heighten awareness of the importance of play worldwide.
One was the launching of a series of Consultations on Children’s Right to Play in eight cities worldwide. Another was to commission a concept paper which was undertaken by Stuart Lester and Wendy Russell, University of Gloucestershire, UK.
The complete paper as well as a summary of it is available here. (Full paper – Summary):
IPA is most grateful for the financial assistance of the Bernard van Leer Foundation and for their support of our goal to raise awareness of the importance of play in the lives of children throughout the world.
IPA Working Paper on the Children’s Right to Play (Dec2010f)
Introduction
The child’s right to play, leisure and recreation is set out in article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). While the Consultations described in this document acknowledged the importance, and overlap, of each of these elements, an emphasis was placed on the right to play as it is one of the least known, least understood, least recognised rights of children and consequently one of the most consistently ignored, undervalued and violated of children’s rights in the world today.
Early in 2008 the International Play Association: Promoting the Child’s Right to Play (IPA) entered a partnership with seven other international organisations to propose that the UNCRC organise a Day of Discussion and/or develop a General Comment on article 31 for the purpose of elaborating on its meaning and increasing state accountability with regard to compliance. The supporting organisations (now eight) are:
- ChildWatch International
- European Child Friendly Cities Network
- International Council on Children’s Play
- International Paediatrics Association
- International Toy Library Association
- Right to Play International
- World Leisure Association
- World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP).
In order to maintain the momentum and to gather material worldwide IPA and its partners organised the Global Consultations on Children’s Right to Play.
Three specific objectives were set:
- To mobilise a worldwide network of article 31 advocates and to harness expertise to raise awareness of the importance of play in the lives of children.
- To gather specific material demonstrating the infringement of the child’s right to play.
- To formulate practical recommendations for governments with regard to compliance with article 31.
Working with regional and national partners, IPA identified eight Consultation sites worldwide: Bangkok, Beirut, Johannesburg,Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi, Sofia and Tokyo. Following a careful planning and preparation process, consultations were held in these cities between January and June 2010.
Read the Global Consultation SUMMARY REPORT | FULL REPORT now available in the MEMBERS’ AREA
IPA held its 17th triennial conference in Hong Kong in January 2008. Following are the texts of two of the keynote addresses, summaries of which appear in the March edition of the IPA PlayRights Magazine.
– Children and the Right to Play
– Three Generations of Play in Taishido (PDF – Click Here)
(original published in the Intergenerational Journal, Penn State University)
IPA was instrumental in the inclusion of the word “play” in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In a keynotey address at its triennial conference in Hong Kong, Jaap Doek, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for seven years, urged IPA to take action to ensure more effective implementation of article 31.*
