From Penny Wilson
Inspired by the playwork team of Assemble Play, I have been asking how we as playworkers can speak out against the hideous conflicts ripping through our world at this time.
Even if we had a real-world location, I would not use it to post banners and slogans about specific wars. An adventure playground, for example, should be a neutral safe place where children can spend time away from the pressures that war brings even when it is happening many miles away.
However, a lack of an open gesture, a specific social media post or a banner, does not mean that we as Playworkers do not feel outrage and revulsion against war.
Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is “Every child has the right to life”.
Playwork Principle 4: “For playworkers, the play process takes precedence and playworkers act as advocates for play when engaging with adult led agendas”.
As an individual Playworker, I feel the need to make some sort of stand on behalf of children killed and injured by adult agendas of war.
This does not apply to one theatre of war only.
I cannot say how I think each conflict should be resolved.
It does however imply that I should care enough to try to understand the situations where children are being killed and see what useful actions I can take to ameliorate each of them. This may be a financial contribution to a trusted organisation, and sharing trusted charities and sources of information when I find them. It may mean going on protests or signing petitions or running events…
Because I am a Playworker I would not want to tell people what to do or how to do it, but I would like to make the connection between my responsibilities to children which my work is founded upon and a larger statement, say ‘Playworkers for Peace’?
I can march beneath that banner.
I can hold that banner high.
At first the idea seems rather weak.
I cannot believe that Netanyahu is sitting there, waiting for a declaration from the Playworkers of the world for him to stop pursuing his current course of action. However, if it helps us as a sector feel that we can share our various thoughts and research and ideas and actions, then it has an intrinsic value, even if we are not sure what that may be.
We above all people are happy not to try to control things tightly. We know the strength of seeing what emerges.
I remember standing in a deserted street during the Iraq war with a group of playworkers. We had all been attending training together and without much conversation, went outside at midday to mark 5 minutes of silent protest. Ian held a banner above his head with the name of the adventure playground we were studying in high above his head.
No one saw us.
But we did it, because we could.
The children and families subject to that war, could not do what we had done.
Perhaps that in itself counts for something. It drew us together, it was unforgettable.
It spurred us on to other things.
On the side of the shipping container at Glamis Adventure Playground it said:
“These are our Rules.
There is no war here.
We are all different, and that is fantastic”
Which sort of sums it up for me.
So,
I propose:
Playworkers for Peace.
It is a way for us to have a voice without adulterating our play settings with our political opinions.
I don’t propose a consensus of opinion beyond this statement.
I propose a sort of a free-form concept rather than a constituted group.
Each of us might feel differently affected by different conflicts, affiliated through our heritage, faith, kinship or just a shared humanity.
That’s ok.
Our differences are a wonderful resource at our disposal in a quest for peace.
Anyone in?
Check out Penny’s new piece of art communicating Playworkers for Peace based on Lorraine Schneider’s original:
This article was written by Penny Wilson of AssemblePlay and a Trustee of The Playwork Foundation. These views are her own personal views and not necessarily those of AssemblePlay and/or The Playwork Foundation
The Playwork Foundation 
