TIE’s association members invest resources in promoting how important play is at the national level.
UK: ‘Make Time to Play’
In 2010, the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) launched its ‘Make Time to Play’ campaign in association with Play England, a national charity that campaigns for children to have more opportunities to play throughout childhood. This campaign, which promotes the essential benefits of play for child development, is aimed at parents and encourages them to allow their children more time to play.
Parents can get more ideas and join in discussions through Facebook and Twitter and will be able to view the ads and viral videos on YouTube.
Further information is available on the ‘Make Time to Play’ website: www.maketime2play.co.uk
Germany: ‘Spielen macht Schule’
In an effort to make learning easy for school children, the Transferzentrum für Neurowissenschaften und Lernen in Ulm (ZNL) (Transfer Centre for Brain Science and Learning) and the organisation Mehr Zeit für Kinder (More Time for Children) created ‘Spielen macht Schule’ (‘Play makes school’) in 2007. This campaign is sponsored by the German toy association, the Deutscher Verband der Spielwaren Industrie (DVSI).
The intention is to sensibly integrate playing into lessons and offer the possibility for playful learning outside school hours. The campaign is based on the idea that playing offers the perfect learning conditions.
Primary schools can enter a competition to have a playroom in their school equipped for free. To do this, they must submit an original concept for a playroom. Only toys that have a high pedagogical value suitable for primary school children and that encourage children’s development and contribute to their successful learning are used in the playrooms.
Further information is available on the ‘Spielen macht Schule’ website: www.spielen-macht-schule.de
Spain: ‘Dale tiempo al juego’
The Spanish toy association, the Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Juguetes (AEFJ), launched a ‘make time to play’ campaign in 2011: ‘Dale tiempo al juego’. The purpose of this initiative is to raise awareness in families about the importance of play in children’s education and development.
AEFJ also created an Observatory of Children´s Play, a group of international experts, with the aim of monitoring, examining and supervising the application of the right to play.
AEFJ has also produced numerous short (15 minutes) TV reports about making time to play. These are aired on Spanish public TV and explain the benefits of playing, toys and games. This campaign also promotes the use of toys as tools to improve learning and development and encourages parents to make time to play with their children.
Further information is available on the ‘Dale tiempo al juego’ website: www.daletiempoaljuego.com
France: ‘Jouer, c’est la Vie!’
The French toy association, the Fédération Française des Industries Jouet-Puériculture (FJP) joined forces with two other French organisations in 2009 to launch the ‘Jouer, c’est la Vie!’ campaign, which aims to promote the value of play.
The French Ministry of Education and the French toy association introduced ‘espaces ludiques’ (play spaces) in schools in 2010. The aim of this project ‘Espaces ludiques en milieu scolaire’ is to provide specific areas in schools that are available to pupils outside school time and that can be used for playful activities. This project has contributed to reduced school violence and has helped struggling pupils to gain confidence and become more cooperative.
Further information is available on the ‘Jouer, c’est la Vie!’ website: www.jouercestlavie.fr