On the 7 August Manchester celebrated National Play Day. Lots of partners and organisations came together to see the largest celebrations we have had across Manchester. Over 100 events took place across Parks, neighbourhood teams, galleries, museums and libraries.
It was fantastic to see so many children and young people attending their local libraries to join in the celebrations.
Our flagship event took place at Central Library, with over 300 Children and families attending the play activities throughout the day.
We know that Playing is vital for children’s health, happiness, and creativity and through play:
- children develop a sense of, and value for culture
- cultural exploration is encouraged, fostering an appreciation for diversity
- children work together, negotiate, and build relationships.
- children feel connected to each other and their neighbourhoods
- children create and pass on games, songs and stories.
Manchester is on its journey to becoming an internationally recognised Child Friendly City, a city that celebrates Children’s rights, under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
Article 31 states that Play is every child’s right – on Playday and every day!
Our Head of Libraries, Galleries, Culture, Neil MacInnes says:
“It has been great to see library staff attend our child friendly city training. I would really encourage those who haven’t already done so to sign up to a future date. For Manchester to become internationally renowned as a child friendly city will be an amazing achievement and the Library service is proud to play its part in this moment in history”.
Join child rights experts from UNICEF UK for a practical and interactive introduction to children’s rights as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Hear more about Manchester’s journey towards international recognition as a UNICEF UK Child Friendly City.
- An opportunity as leaders to discuss the meaning and principles of a child rights-based approach in your professional environment.
- Identify the opportunities and discuss the value to your organisation when applying a child rights-based approach to your working environment.