Events and Conferences
Below is a list of important diary dates happening within the play sector. It would be very wise indeed to check any
details before making firm plans as we are only as good as the information supplied to us! If you wish to add to or
amend this list then please contact us.
2012
10th National Playwork Conference
Eastbourne, UK
Organised by Meynell Games this conference will include; in excess of 60 sessions, 20 debating tables,
exhibitors and the 3rd Annual Playwork Awards.
W: www.playworkconferences.org.uk
Play and Health Conference
TBC, UK
The Play and Health conference will mark the culmination of a Department of Health funded programme
exploring ways of improving the health of children, families and communities through play.
W: www.playengland.org.uk
Playwork Professional Development Seminar: Perspectives on playing: putting the brain back into the body and the world
London, UK
Stuart Lester will present this seminar, which is the second of three organised by
Playwork London working in collaboration with Hackney Play Association and the
Learning Trust. This seminar will provide an exploration of the relationship between playing and
mind/body development. It will pay particular attention to the ways in which playing may shape the
brain, and ways in which the brain may shape playing.
W: www.playworklondon.org.uk
Playwork Professional Development Seminar: Playwork, violence and the politics of space
London, UK
Wendy Russell will present this seminar, which is the third of three organised by
Playwork London working in collaboration with Hackney Play Association and the
Learning Trust. This seminar revisits and expands on Wendy's earlier work on playworking with
'challenging behaviour'.
W: www.playworklondon.org.uk
Spirit of Play
Wales
Play Wales - more details to follow.
W: www.playwales.org.uk
Tallinn, Estonia
Providing Play: Applications for policy and practice from research
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.
Keynote speakers
- Professor John Wall - Rutgers University, Camden, USA.
- Professor Peter Smith - Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
- Professor Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson - University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Professor Aino Ugaste - Tallinn University, Estonia.
Preliminary details
- Sunday 17 June - evening welcome.
- Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 - conference with a mix of plenary sessions, parallel sessions and poster sessions.
- Tuesday 19 - evening farewell party.
- Wednesday 20 - visits to early childhood institutions.
For the full programme please click here.
Special interest groups
Group discussions facilitated by leading researchers: to be defined.
Registration
- Registration is now open.
- The early bird rate of €200 will apply until the 15 April 2012.
- Thereafter, full conference fee is €230 per delegate.
- Estonian nationals have a reduced fee of €120 thanks to the subventions of the Estonian government.
- Accommodation can be arranged
- Conference dinner is available for €55 per delegate.
Please feel free to download the conference flyer and distribute to your contacts and colleagues.
Conference flyer: English
Conference flyer: Estonian
W: www.iccp-play.org
Playday - Get Involved - Celebrate children's right to play!
Nationwide, UK
Playday 2012 is on Wednesday 1 August - what better way to celebrate than by giving children and young
people the chance to play at your very own Playday event?
W: www.playday.org.uk
The Beauty of Play 2012: The Essence of Play
Stone, Staffordshire, UK
A conference with a difference; two days of playful discussion about play and playwork in the open air,
the Beauty of Play has been running since 2003. Themes have covered Beauty, Playing with Feeling, The
Senses, The Elements, Creativity, Wildness and Everydayness.
W: www.ludemos.co.uk
Child in the City 2012
Zagreb, Croatia
6th international conference - no details available yet.
W: www.childfriendlycities.org
| 
