News from the Play Australia team...

It has been just a month since 56 Aussies represented Australia at the Triennial World Conference in Glasgow! We all left feeling inspired and energised, and exhausted!

By head of population, Australia had the most delegates outside of the UK and they did us proud!! In this and coming eNews editions, we have some of our delegates sharing their impressions and inspiration from the conference. In addition to the wonderful Aussie presentations and our legendary friendliness, the event also saw Play Australia CEO Robyn, re-elected for a third term to the role of International IPA World President and Play Australia win an IPA World “Right to Play Award” for our 1000 Play Streets Project. It was quite a week!

Back at home we have also been inspired by wonderful news that included celebrating the awarding of an AM in the Kings Birthday Honours to former Director of Play Australia, Barb Champion!!! We are looking forward to sharing with you the photos from the ceremony which will take place in October.

Play has been taking a higher priority across a range of areas in 2023. The Early Years and Middle Years learning frameworks are an example of this high priority with the emphasis on play increasing. We are also working with other stakeholders across the country offering advice and support for their play initiatives, whilst our 1000 Play Streets program gets bigger and more widespread every day!

In coming months, we will be sharing more news of these new initiatives, but for now enjoy the update on what is happening and please, keep us updated on your own advocacy and engagement activities that seek to build a healthier Australia through play.

Yours Playfully,

Robyn, Kieran, Joanne, and Pete.

WA Family fights for a play space – and Play Australia gets to remind people about importance of play!
https://www.watoday.com.au/perth-news/streets-should-be-for-people-says-advocate-after-perth-city-s-verge-play-decree-20230620-p5dhz0.html

Our Colleagues at Playing Out in the UK are taking the campaign to the streets!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/11/outdoor-play-campaigners-uk-traffic-curbs-protect-children

Release of NEW International Standard sets the bar for more adventurous and risky play!

The new ISO standard on benefit-risk assessment for sports and recreational facilities, activities and equipment are out!

Released in the first week of July it is a huge step forward in supporting children to access play that meets their developmental needs.

Here are a few quotes from the introduction of the standard, to show how this international standard is being interpreted:

 "There is an expectation in sport and recreational activities that the user is making an implicit trade-off between the benefits and the inherent risks of the activity."

"Participation in sport and recreation involves exposure to risk which is not necessarily a bad thing and can be of benefit to the public good. Exposure to risk in daily life can reduce fear and improves the development of human competency."

"Even in the case of children's play provision, it is now widely recognized that children seek risky situations. Graduated challenge provides opportunities for children to develop internal hazard references."

"It is common to conduct a benefit-risk analysis that explicitly brings together the consideration of benefits as well as the risks of sport and recreation to a single evaluation. This immediately separates sport and recreation from the world of occupational health and safety where the goal... is generally seen as one of eliminating or minimizing risk."

"Taking risks brings rewards but also dangers."

Tim Gill, Chair, UK Play Safety Forum shared these thoughts on the release of the standard,

“This is a global landmark in the creation of a balanced, proportionate approach to safety - in children's play, and many other related sectors. I suspect its impact will be felt long into the future. We owe a huge debt to David Ball for engaging with the process so doggedly, energetically, and effectively, and to colleagues in BSI, CEN and beyond for supporting this effort, and feeding into the process.”

Three Cheers for the international recognition of adventurous play!

In June, the Global Play Community celebrated our Triennial Conference and what an amazing time our Aussie delegates had! We have asked our Play Australia members to share their points of inspiration with the conference and will be sharing these in the E-News over the coming weeks. Kim Moroney and Daniel Burton, two of our dedicated Play Australia members share their thoughts in this edition!

GOLDEN TIME: 
A Reflection about International Play Association’s
Triennial World Conference, Glasgow, June 2023.
Kim Maroney

As I reflect upon the experience of attending and presenting at the Play: Rights and Possibilities Conference I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. The conference provided much needed food for the soul where like-minded child right’s advocates from all corners of the globe connected as family in the wise and ancient land of Glasgow, Scotland.

The conference provided a sense of belonging, a welcome to time and place and a further resolve to a common moral imperative to walk alongside children, to learn, to listen, to be, and to PLAY with joy and abandon.

I was inspired by SO many, too many to acknowledge in this reflection. Some powerful provocations that have consumed my thoughts since the conference include:

• Professor Philip D. Jaffé describing the world needing a “child right’s reset”, creating a play culture of child participation, children as play agents and defenders of human rights,
• Dr. Sudeshna Chatterjee highlighting global principles and the need for budget allocation to tilt toward children,
• Dr. Adam Burley’s entertaining and compelling presentation about the impact of adversity and trauma on trust and play as a second language,
• the opportunity to listen to the intellect of Tim Gill and Wendy Russell,
• the beautiful acknowledgement of Juliet Robertson, fittingly gathering around her under the Glasgow sun,
• renewing friendships and making new friends from around the world,
• the exceptional dedication, support and assistance of the conference organisers and volunteers and
• gems of insight throughout the conference such as: children as the first thought, not the afterthought; culture has strategy for breakfast; we can’t let our guard down in relation to advocacy; and playing outside is an equity-based approach.

Finally, I was privileged to attend “Exploring the Prospects of a UN World Day of Play” led by Robyn Monro Miller and Phillip Jaffe in conversation with children from St Mirin’s, Glasgow. It was inspiring and exciting to be part of a such an important collaborative and respectful discussion which unpacked the possibility of a United Nations World Day of Play and the process of advocacy required for such a declaration to be successful. I’m all in and will happily contribute in any way I can to make this a reality. Of most significance to me throughout this session were the intuitive, insightful, authentic, and profound contributions from the children. Throughout the conversation it became apparent that the children refer to play as GOLDEN TIME! How beautiful and meaningful! I will carry the concept of play as GOLDEN TIME with me forever and feel honoured to have encountered the sacredness of the children.

For me, GOLDEN TIME also perfectly describes the conference! Beautiful and meaningful!

Translating the research on play

by Daniel Burton, CEO and Co-Founder of Educated by Nature

An international conference that gathers passionate play professionals from all around the world - what’s not to love about that concept? The prospect of being part of this global network and world-wide conversation on play was one we couldn’t pass up, and being provided the opportunity to present two workshops at the conference made the experience even more rich and rewarding. Fay Baudains and I represent Educated by Nature, a Western Australian-based organisation with a mission to work with schools, early learning centres and families to champion play, particularly play that helps us connect with the natural world. To say the International Play Association World Conference for 2023 was inspirational would be a huge understatement!

This conference provided a chance to fuel the fire in our bellies and to enliven our deep passion to continue advocating for the child’s right to PLAY (and everyone’s right to play for that matter). It was a reminder that play is more than a right - it’s a biological imperative! Setting aside time and space to highlight the incredible work happening around the world, and in our own backyard, drew focus to the crucial role of advocacy. The overarching call of the global movement and research shared at the conference was to ensure the child is central to decisions being made when it comes to play affordances in schools, communities, public spaces, and programs and not left as an afterthought! Dr Adam Burley, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Edinburgh Access Practice and one of the keynote presenters at the conference, reminded us that Pablo Picasso stated that, ‘it takes us a long time to grow young!’

A reflection shared by the researchers and academic professionals working to gather data on the importance of play in children’s lives is one aspect of the conference that has had a significant impact on me. The response provided by Dr. Mariana Brussoni, Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership, and a founding member on the board of Outdoor Play Canada, in her panel session entitled ‘Controversial Topics in Outdoor Play’ to the question, ‘Why bother developing interventions to get children outside?’ was profound. Her response challenged the way different societies around the world are connecting the ever-growing body of research on the importance children’s play to the practical application of that research. This discussion has caused me to reflect on the ways research is being translated by ‘on the ground’ programs in our community.

Current research on the impact of play on mental health, physical development, risk aversion, resilience and the current state of childhood sits at the core of the work we do at Educated by Nature. We aim to develop our programs, professional training, and incursions around the current research. Often though, the people we work directly with (teachers, educators, parents, and administrators) don’t necessarily have the time or access required to deep dive into these oceans of research. This conference has inspired us to continue to support educators and administrators within schools and early learning centres to see the importance of play by supporting the interpretation of the research into hands-on, practical experiences. It’s organisations, like ours, that need to be the translators of the research into a language that permeates the societies in which we work, live and play. To lather the experiences, we provide in the essence of the research will support our communities in deepening the understanding of just how crucial play is for children. This is not a role we do alone, but rather humbly alongside others with feverous passion and pride.

We feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend this international conference and to be a part of the movement! These experiences provide us with the chance to connect (and re-connect) with the people who inspire the work we do, to network and build the relationships and bonds that strengthen the Play movement.