Coaches Across Continents Launch Global Day of Play
August 27, 2021
Today, long time Beyond Sport partner and past Global Award winner, Coaches Across Continents (CAC) launched the first-ever Global Day of Play. Celebrating the positive impact of play, they are asking individuals, organisations and communities to take the #PledgeToPlayEveryday and hold an hour of safe, fun and inclusive play with people in their communities.
The area of "play" has been studied for decades and is well evidenced to support healthier lifestyles, increase happiness and is key to children and young people's cognitive and physical development. According to CAC, research shows that young people are playing less, with one of the barriers to participation being a lack of time. A recent study from The Aspen Institute Project Play showed that time spent on sports play declined by 59% throughout the pandemic. “Play is often seen as ‘silly’ and ‘non-educational’, but as Albert Einstein once said, “play is the highest form of research” and is vital in cognitive, emotional and physical development,” states CAC.
Organisations around the world signed up to celebrate, and 29 organisations from CAC’s global network of 132 countries took the pledge. Groups participating range from an Australian Rules football team in Edinburgh, Scotland to Kusewara (which means PLAY in the Chichewa language) in Malawi.
However, #PledgetoPlayEverday is not just for children and CAC encourages adults to get involved take advantage of play's benefits. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Malaika Foundation hosted a children's event using games lead by young leaders from the community and finished with a large dance session for children, young people and adults.
In Bangalore, India, Sports With a Mission India (SWAM) hosted two events, one for children and young people and one for the adults and seniors. The Spartans Community Football Academy in Scotland is empowering youth with activities including table tennis, football and archery.
Past Beyond Sport Global Award shortlisters Training4changeS in Stellenbosch, South Africa is one of the organisations participating in the Global Day of Play. “We believe Purposeful Play helps children grow as self-directed learners. For the Global Day of Play, our futsal academy players designed and led play sessions with their peers. We’re excited to see what these young leaders come up with,” said International Director, Daniel Thomae.
Thee campaign is also supported by leaders in the sport for social change sector including, Beyond Sport, Aspen Institute, Laureus Sport for Good, Michael Johnson Young Leaders, REMS Brazil, Sportanddev and streetfootballworld.
Another organisation joining the campaign is YFC Rurka Kalan in Punjab, India. Jaspreet Kaur from YFC Rurka Kalan stated that they, “believe young people are the backbone of society and providing play-based activities is crucial to their health and well-being. We are thrilled to be a part of the first Global Day of Play on August 27th and are celebrating with our whole community, including the schools, with lots of different activities and dancing!”
Join the many organisations around the world to celebrate today’s Global Day of Play and take the #PledgeToPlayEveryday. Make sure to tag @coachesacross on social media!