International Day of Play and the Karnataka connection

International Day of Play is the latest addition to the United Nations days of special observance. On March 25, with the support of 140 countries, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution earmarking June 11 as the International Day of Play, an effort to protect children’s right to play, clubbing it with other fundamental rights.

International Day of Play is the latest addition to the United Nations days of special observance. On March 25, with the support of 140 countries, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution earmarking June 11 as the International Day of Play, an effort to protect children’s right to play, clubbing it with other fundamental rights.

This endorsement signals a major moment for a group of children from the Udupi and Vijayanagara districts of Karnataka. These children participated in a significant worldwide exercise to chisel out the guidelines of the Day. The exercise, involving children from various countries, had been initiated by the Child and Youth Friendly Governance Project. The Project had brought these children on board through NGOs in their respective countries. In India, The Concerned for Working Children (CWC) was among the NGOs it had coordinated with.

With these children weighing in with what they felt the Day should signify as well as it should not, a set of guidelines under what is titled Children and Young People Call to Action was born. Focus group discussions have been taking place online since last year. Of the 10,000 children from across the globe that participated in these discussions, more than 400 were from Karnataka.

Five children were nominated to be members of the Children and Youth Advisory Group (CAYAG), says Deepti Colaco, Networking and Engagement, The Concerned for Working Children.

This motley group was nominated by the children themselves. This included members of Makkala Sanghas (a collective of school-going children and out-of-school children) and of Bhima Sangha (Working Children Union), says Deepti.

Besides calling for a UN Day to promote children’s right to play, the call to action is an attempt to remind various stakeholders including parents, school management and governments about the role they can play in protecting this right.

The call to action highlights play as a right for all children, especially those with special needs, those living in poverty and in conflict-ridden countries, says Deepti, adding that they were the only non-profit from India to be involved in this initiative. Other supporting organisations include Save the Children International, Eurochild, International Play Association, BRAC, Play in Education, Development, and Learning (PEDAL) the University of Cambridge and The LEGO Group.