Ever since I started PLAYbynature, this website, this blog, I have been singing the praises of the U.K. model, the work of the last 25+ years of organizations such as PLAY England, PLAY Wales and PLAYLINK, to name a few, that have developed play provision into a reflective profession that protects children’s freedom and right to play.
PLAY Wales has been a leader in this movement from the very beginning, in the U.K. and globally. Their executive director, Mike Greenaway sits on the Board of the International Play Association, IPA World, and was a key influencer of the U.N. comment on the right to play that came out in 2013. This official Comment from a global agency re-iterates that play is a human right for children, a natural right and that our policies and plans for bigger and better subway systems, world class conference centres and intensified neighbourhoods need to include consideration of children at play.
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