THE CHILD’S RIGHT TO PLAY WORDS JILL RICE, PLAY AOTEAROA
A
rticle 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRoC) is ratified by New Zealand and Australia, along with 196 countries around the world, and places responsibilities on governments to promote and encourage children’s play. UNCRoC is a multilateral human rights treaty that promotes the rights of all children worldwide to develop physically, mentally and socially to their fullest potential, to express their opinions freely, and to participate in decisions affecting their future.1
of children and young people, local government contributes to the fulfilment of the child‘s “right to play” as set out in Article 31 and in the supporting General Comment 17 of UNCRoC, which explains clearly what these benefits are.
HOLISTIC AND INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO PLAY Organisations responsible for play in Australasia generally agree that children engage with more than play equipment in their play and that we need to think of providing “play spaces” rather than just playgrounds.
A broad view of play was demonstrated at the May 2021 Recreation Aotearoa conference, Green Pavlova, including discussions around the benefits of nature play, loose-parts play and indigenous perspectives on play, as well as what we now consider to be “traditional” play (ie equipment-based play). One of the recurring themes from the input of indigenous Kaiarahi Tākaro (play advocates) is that children deepen their connection with Te Ao, the natural world, through play. Protecting and exploring connections with the environment is therefore a vital part of the mahi (work) of those in local government and impacting on the play system. The value of involving children and their communities in the design and decision making around play opportunities and environments is largely understood. Children are also capable of post-investment evaluation of play provision to help direct asset management and future funding decisions in order to optimise their own environments for play. While landscape architects, urban designers, asset managers and elected representatives all have a role to play in facilitating that input, children who are consulted need to include children from groups that most often miss out on play opportunities. Such groups have been identified by Sport NZ and others as girls and young women, disabled people and those living in higher deprivation communities.3 General Comment 17 of UNCRoC specifically mentions the right to play of girls, children living in poverty, children with disabilities, children living in institutions, children from indigenous
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN MAKE PLAY HAPPEN Playgrounds are what usually come to mind when thinking about how local government contributes to play. This is the most visible aspect of the play system delivered by local government. However, they have a much wider role in protecting, promoting and providing for play. In New Zealand, the roles and responsibilities of city, district, regional and unitary councils are outlined in the Local Government Act 2002. While Article 31 is not specifically referenced in the Act, the purpose of the Act2 is to provide for local authorities to play a broad role in promoting the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of their communities, taking a sustainable development approach. By recognising and promoting the benefits of play to improve the cognitive, physical, social and emotional wellbeing
Local government systems interact with the play system at a variety of levels, including:
SYSTEM
AREA OF INFLUENCE
Regional and district planning systems
How children participate in decisions relating to them. Setting the rules for the design and location of housing, private open space, parks, schools and infrastructure.
Transport planning
Street and road hierarchy. Provision of footpaths, cycleways and pedestrian crossings. Setting road speeds. How children access places to play. Play along the way
Street design
Footpath and street surfaces, furniture location, tree planting, lighting.
Parks and reserves
Park locations, park design, park infrastructure, playground locations, and maintenance practices.
Community facilities (community centres, libraries
Community facility locations, design, operating hours, provision of facilities for children.
Funding
Funding decision-making based on outcomes for infrastructure, assets, maintenance and programmes
16 AUSTRALASIAN PARKS AND LEISURE | Spring 2021