Vol 14, No.2 (2004)
ISSN 1546-2250
The International Play Association (IPA): Promoting the Child’s Right to Play
Valerie Fronczek
IPA Communications
The International Play Association (IPA) is a vibrant organization active in many countries around the world. Its main purpose is to protect and promote the child’s right to play. IPA is unique in maintaining a focus on children’s play and providing a forum which spans a wide range of disciplines and sectors. The organization’s main vehicles for promoting children’s play are its international and regional conferences, its website, and its journal PlayRights. On a national basis, branches are continually involved in activities such as policy development, training, demonstration programs, and a variety of public education initiatives as well as organizing national conferences, newsletters, and cooperative events with other countries.
The Birth of IPA
The history of IPA is rooted in Scandinavia where emerging barriers to children’s play were recognized as early as the 1930s. To counteract the effects of increasing urbanization and motor traffic, specific areas with trained play leaders were designated for children’s play. In 1937 there were nine parks with play leaders in Stockholm and in 1945 adventure playgrounds—which allowed children to build their own habitats—came into being in Denmark. Interest in providing quality play opportunities for children gradually increased, and in 1955 representatives from ten European countries came together for a seminar on playgrounds and leadership. In 1961 in Denmark, IPA was born.International Scope
The United Nation’s International Year of the Child in 1979 injected IPA with great vigor and became a “defining moment” in its development. Since holding its first triennial conference outside Europe (in Canada), the organization gradually expanded to become truly international with an impressive membership base. World conferences have been held in England, France, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Finland, Portugal and Brazil. The 2005 conference will be held in Berlin, Germany. IPA works in close association with a number of international organizations and is recognized by the UN Economic and Social Council and by UNICEF as a non-governmental organization with consultative status.Emphasis on Children’s Rights
A second “defining moment” in IPA’s history was the adoption by the United Nations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 31 of the Convention pays tribute to the importance of play in child development and provides an important tool for play advocates around the world. It reads,1. every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and
recreation activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate
freely in cultural life and the arts.
2. member governments shall respect and promote the right of the child
to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage
the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic,
recreational and leisure activity.
Article 31 is not the only one with direct implications for children’s play. For example, other articles address such issues as the child’s right to be heard (12), preventive health care (24), a broad range of child development areas (29), children with disabilities (23), culture (30), prevention of harm (19); and all articles are encompassed within the over-arching principle of the best interest of the child (3).
These examples illustrate one of the greatest strengths of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: its articles are interrelated and indivisible. The significance of the inclusion of children’s play in this document is not only an acknowledgement of the importance of play in the fabric of children’s lives, but represents a shift from seeing play as a need to accepting it as a right.
The Need to Promote Children’s Play
IPA’s mandate, to promote the child’s right to play, is arguably more important today than it was in the mid-twentieth century. Barriers to free play still include the quantity and quality of playspace and play workers (i.e., the need for trained “animateurs” or facilitators rather than “supervisors”) but now include a wide variety of other issues such as over-emphasis on formal learning, children’s isolation, lack of access to play opportunities by children with disabilities, competition of entertainment pastimes and consequent shrinking of time for play, as well as a range of safety issues.IPA maintains that play is not only about providing safe playgrounds for children. It is fundamentally about protecting their right to be free to explore and discover the physical and social world around them. This spontaneous behavior of children is fundamental to all aspects of child development and is a key component of preserving community and culture in the broadest sense.
IPA welcomes individuals and organizations to join its international
network and participate in the promotion of children’s play around
the world.
IPA 16th Triennial Conference: Berlin, July 2005
PLAY: LEARNING FOR LIFE—Education with Creativity and Diversity
Conference website: www.ipa2005.de
Valerie Fronczek
IPA Communications
Ipacommunications@shaw.ca
Website: www.ipaworld.org