 Commission on Children & Youth
Purpose, Goals and Objectives The overall purpose is to enhance the leisure experiences of children and youth worldwide by working for their right to have equitable access to leisure.
This purpose will be pursued through the following objectives:
- Support and encourage relevant research.
- Identify and catalog important data related to children and youth.
- Facilitate dissemination of research findings and other useful data.
- Develop networks and partnerships with other international organizations.
- Advocate on behalf of families and local communities who seek to nurture children through leisure.
- Serve as a resource for other organizations or entities.
- Provide a context where experts may share their knowledge and support each other.
- In general, serve as a voice for leisure in those situations where the well being of children is in question.
Membership
Current members of World Leisure may indicate their interest in Children and Youth by e-mailing the World Leisure Secretariat at secretariat@worldleisure.org. Former members and other non-members may join World Leisure and indicate their interest in Children and Youth on the Web site at worldleisure.org. Members of World Leisure may become active in Children and Youth by contacting the Chair, E. William Niepoth, at bniepoth@csuchico.edu.
Executive Committee
E. William Niepoth (Commission Chair)
Emeritus Professor
Department of Recreation and Parks Management
California State University , Chico , US
bniepoth@csuchico.edu
Caldwell, Linda (Commission Secretary)
Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
Additional appointment in Human Development and Family Studies
The Pennsylvania State University , US
Bryce, Joanne
Director of Research, Cyberspace Research Unit
School of Psychology
University of Central Lancaster , UK
Ekesa, Timothy
Executive Director
Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children (KAACR)
Nairobi , Kenya , Africa
Lee, Kwan Meng
Youth Programme Development Consultant
International Youth Centre (IYC)
Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia
Lyons, Kevin
Senior Lecturer in Leisure and Tourism Studies
School of Economic, Politics and Tourism
University of Newcastle , NSW, Australia
Pereira, Beatriz
Professor, Institute of Childhood Studies
Department of Arts and Physical Education
University of Minho , Braga , Portugal
Sharma, Veena
Chairperson
Prajna Foundation for Cultural Interaction and Studies
New Delhi , India |
About World Leisure > Commissions > Children & Youth >
Consistent with the Commission's intents to serve as a resource, we periodically will post literature reviews and information about selected organizations related to children and youth. We will change the postings periodically, and will archive the replaced material in a retrievable form.
Book Review - Play for Change - Play, Policy and Practice: A review of contemporary perspectives
By Stuart Lester and Wendy Russell
Published by National Children's Bureau (UK) 2008
Reviewed by Valerie Fronczek*
Communications Officer and PlayRights Magazine Editor,
International Play Association: Promoting the Child's Right to Play (IPA)
Play for a Change is an impressive compilation of current research and literature on children's play. It was commissioned by Play England with the intention of its findings being useful in the development of social policy and public provision for play. While the sections on policy and programs specifically describe the U.K. experience, much wisdom can be extrapolated by planners worldwide, and the sections on the importance of play in children's lives and on children's play patterns should be required reading for all those involved in play advocacy...Download full review
*This review was written by Valerie Fronczek who is currently the Communications Officer for the International Play Association: Promoting the Child's Right to Play (IPA) and in that capacity is the Editor of the organization's magazine “PlayRights”. For twenty-three years Valerie was Executive Director of an NGO child advocacy organization based in Vancouver, Canada, which produced ground-breaking material, and leadership, in relation to compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and assessment tools for Child Friendly Communities. Since retirement Valerie has concentrated on the topic of the child's right to play, and the promotion of article 31 of the UNCRC, which she believes to be the most fundamental of children's developmental rights.
Organizational Section
IPA is a non-governmental, voluntary organization founded in 1961. It has members in more than 40 countries and active groups around the world. IPA is an interdisciplinary organization bringing together people from all professions working for and with children. For many decades the International Play Association has been actively promoting the importance of children's play and in the 1980s played a significant role in ensuring that the child's right to play was included in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. IPA has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
  
In this era of global interdependence, peaceful relationships between the cultures of the world are essential. The perpetuation of violence to solve our differences no longer works. This is why Play for Peace® exists. Simply put, Play for Peace creates leaders and communities for peace. Their mission is to bring together children, youth and organizations from communities in conflict, using cooperative play, to create laughter, compassion, and peace.
Founded in 1998, Play for Peace is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit corporation, operating its global peace initiative from Chicago, Illinois. It licenses its model and methodology to reputable institutions in countries around the world. The agencies that enter into license agreements with us are identified as Hub Institutions. They administer Play for Peace within an assigned geographic territory and work with local, community-based organizations to implement the process. The community-based agencies with which the Hub Institutions work inside their territories are identified as Partner Organizations. Play for Peace provides hub organizations with access to a range of services that include strategic planning support, contract administration, managerial support, ongoing education and training, operational guidance, marketing and fund raising support, resource mobilization, and Play for Peace global gatherings and symposia.
lay for Peace currently operates in five regions around the globe: In Guatemala, the programs bring together youth from indigenous Mayan and Latino communities. The emphases in India have been on improvements in the areas of child labor, education, and community organization. Middle East programs are designed to prevent violence and improve communication and problem-solving skills for children of different backgrounds. The two regions in the United States focus on creating cross-cultural harmony, combating violence, and developing leadership opportunities. In Northern Ireland, programs deliver non-competitive, team-building games to youth of different religious and ethnic backgrounds. The supportive Hub Institutions for these programs consist of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala, the Shaishav volunteer organization in India, the Jerusalem International YMCA in Israel, Northeastern Illinois University and Illinois State University in the U.S., and three Integrated Colleges in Northern Ireland (Hazelwood, Slemish and North Coast). The regional Hubs and Partner Organizations work together, uniting youths from conflicting cultures to be leaders for peace in their neighborhoods. The Youth Facilitators learn experience-based educational methodologies and models that empower them to be effective in their work. They come together, usually on a weekly basis, to facilitate cooperative, relationship building activities for the community's younger children. They also work to create and lead other local initiatives that promote positive, lasting relationships between their communities' conflicting cultures.
Play for Peace stakeholders within each region are linked via our online community network system. Through this technology, our community members can learn and gain support from each other.
In the past four years, Play for Peace has achieved over 4.1 million participant days. It has been recognized as a “best practices” institution by the State of Illinois, Department of Human Services, and received international recognition from the World Council of Churches and the Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions.
Play for Peace encourages members of the World Leisure Organization, and others with similar interests, to visit our web site at www.playforpeace.org
  
TThe ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict continues to have a devastating impact on the children and young people of the region, with generations of youth growing up against a backdrop of war and bloodshed. The volatile political situation renders little opportunity for Israeli and Palestinian youth to interact and become acquainted.
Accordingly, the Peres Center for Peace places a special emphasis on “Nurturing a Culture of Peace in the Region's Youth”. Established in 1996 by President of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mr. Shimon Peres, the Peres Center for Peace is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that seeks to build an infrastructure of peace and reconciliation by and for the people of the Middle East that promotes socio-economic development, while advancing cooperation and mutual understanding.
Recognizing that creative activities can be employed to impart values of peaceful relations, cooperation, and mutual understanding, the Peres Center utilizes innovative tools such as sport, theater and the arts to bring young Palestinians and Israelis together.
Sport has the capacity to overcome barriers of language, politics and religion, and as such is a powerful tool in the modern day challenge of peacebuilding. Joint sporting activities involving Palestinians and Israelis have been shown to promote cultural integration between the two populations, providing a medium through which to communicate, and an avenue by which social change can be encouraged. Indeed, through values promoted by sport such as teamwork and camaraderie, children and adults alike can learn to join forces for common goals, share struggles and victories, and learn about respect for one another.
The Peres Center's sport projects annually engage over 1,600 Palestinian and Israeli children aged 6 to 14 years through elements such as sport training, Peace Education, inter-language learning and regular joint sport and social activities between the Palestinian and Israeli communities. The programs reach out to numerous indirect beneficiaries, including the youth's peers, coaches and families, spreading a powerful message of peaceful relations and serving to inspire entire communities.
Changes in mindsets and attitudes are a vital element of any reconciliation process, and the medium of culture and arts is crucial for advancing such a shift, allowing children and youth to freely and creatively express themselves, explore their emotions, and properly digest often-times challenging life lessons. Indeed, these media allow youngsters to examine issues of cultural differences and cultural diversity and to gain an understanding regarding the negative effects of stereotyping, in a safe, creative and fun environment.
Over the last few years, tens of thousands of Palestinian and Israeli children and youth have participated in the Peres Center's peacebuilding programs in these fields. The programs range from interactive performances presented by joint Palestinian-Israeli casts, artistic workshops whereby youngsters create their own artwork, and more.
On a daily basis, the Peres Center for Peace provides multiple opportunities for Palestinians and Israelis to meet, interact, and work together for common goals. Recognizing the physical restrictions and emotional barriers to contact between Palestinians and Israelis, the Peres Center's projects provide a unique avenue to encourage communication and interaction, and ultimately, peaceful relations.
or those members of the World Leisure Organization, and others, who wish to learn more abut the Peres Center for Peace, please visit www.peres-center.org
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