The Conference on the Value of Play
February 6th-9th, 2011 at The Conference Center and Inn at Clemson University in beautiful Clemson, SC.
Dr. Joe Frost has described many of the problems that arise when people are deprived of opportunities to play. He indicated that the solutions to these problems are complex and will "require massive, coordinated effort." The Conference on the Value of Play is designed to provide a venue through which people and organizations can come together to learn from each other and to coordinate efforts to bring play back into the lives of people of all ages.
Who Should Attend?
If you value play then we want you to be with us for this important conference! US Play Coalition members include academics and professionals in fields including parks and recreation,
education, and health, as well as parent advocacy groups and international organizations which advocate for the right to play. We also look forward to opportunities to partner further
with landscape architects, government entities, and others who can help make play available to all. Collaboration is a key to our success, so we encourage everyone to attend and to bring
with you your expertise and your own knowledge about the value of play.
Purpose of the Conference
Attendees at last year’s Summit on the Value of Play developed specific action steps to bring play back and to help people of all ages have opportunities to play.
The US Play Coalition was born from one of these action steps and it is our goal to provide a venue for organizations and individuals who value play to gather and work together—the Conference on
the Value of Play is one such venue. Summit attendees also called for an accessible body of research and information in support of play. This conference will allow attendees to share their own research
and to learn together. The Conference on the Value of Play will emphasize the health and educational implications of play while still focusing on the role of parks and recreation in facilitating play for
all. More information, including a call for proposals, will be posted in the program information tab to the left. Watch this tab for more information on how to qualify for a $3,000 seed grant for future research.
National Kids to Parks Day! - May 19 - "The vision is simply to remind adults to take a child in their lives to a park - where they can hike a trail, visit a national historic site, or even canoe on a river. American adults live busy and pressure-filled lives - why not give them a reason to take the time to connect a child with an American treasure – a park?"
26th International Council for Children's Play (ICCP) World Play Conference - June 17 to June 20 - The 26th ICCP World Play Conference will be held in Tallinn, Estonia on the 18 and 19 June 2012, organised in co-operation with Tallinn University and the Estonian Union for Child Welfare. Children need time and space to play as part of their everyday lives. 'Play' is provided and organised in many different forms, from educational activities for pre-school children to childcare services for school-aged children; from playwork settings to youth services; from outdoor play to play in the virtual environment for children of all ages; from sports and leisure activities for young children and teenagers; and many, many more. This conference will explore what can be learnt from research about the provision of play by adults in the light of the widely-held view of children's need for undirected time and space in their lives from a practical, philosophical and historical perspective.