The next time you watch a child kick a ball around, consider the fact there are children around the world who don’t even have access to a safe place to play tag.
Play is recognized by the United Nations as a fundamental human right for children all over the world -- a right that isn’t being met.
The Canadian based organization Right to Play has launched a national campaign called Level the Field. The campaign is being used to create awareness about the importance of play around the world.
Parents in Canada understand the positive impact playing can have on the development of their own children. But according to a survey commissioned by Right to Play, parents don’t think play is as important for children in under-developed countries.
“I believe people feel that health-care issues and education issues are so dominant and important that they feel play is a luxury,” said Johann Olav Koss, CEO and founder of Right to Play.
“Play is a major contributor to improving educational outcomes for basic life skills,” he said.
Koss said play is critical in early childhood education and the development of language skills, intellectual skills, motor and social skills and teaches kids empathy.
“In the later years we see that children are learning values and establishing their inner self and what choices they can make in the future,” he said.
Level the Field has paired influential Canadian parent bloggers with Right to Play Athlete Ambassadors who will mobilize Right to Play programs.
“Children in other countries love to play but don’t have access,” said Koss. “In Canada we have access and should bring forward the opportunity to play.”
Right to Play currently has sport-based programs in over 20 countries affected by war, the organization uses elements of sport and play as learning tools for basic education and child development.
Koss said games are aimed at teaching children how to protect themselves from diseases, encourage creative thinking, literacy, conflict prevention and understanding rules through play.
“In African countries children are still dying from Malaria,” he said. “We developed a game about Malaria based around tag.”
Koss said the games are also aimed at taking away the stigma of diseases like HIV.
In 1994, the Lillehammer Olympic Organization created Ambassadors of Olympic Aid. The program was a fundraising effort which supported war-torn countries and areas of distress around the world.
Four-time Olympic gold medal winner, Johan Koss was the lead Athlete Ambassador who donated a large portion of his winnings to Olympic Aid.
In 2000, Olympic Aid became Right to Play and by 2001 sport and play programs were created in refugee communities around the world.
“Play helps children recover from the extraordinary trauma caused by war, poverty and disease,” said Koss. “Play-based learning gives children in any community the potential to lead and most importantly, enact change.”
