Our partners, Together for Play, launched a new intervention for communities around Brazil in September. This initiative, titled “Play-friendly Communities,” aims to support parents, caregivers, and children in vulnerable communities by creating public spaces that foster learning through play. So far, two installations have been launched for families in urban areas around Brazil. The first transformation is located in an unused public space in the Paraisópolis favela of São Paulo and officially opened on September 16th, 2021. The success of the Paraisópolis installation followed them to their second installation, this one in Rio de Janeiro, which opened in late October.
During a year-long research venture, Together for Play spoke with caretakers from all corners of Brazil to learn about barriers to play. In Paraisópolis, the site of the premier installation, 96.9% of respondents agreed that they would play more with their children if they had an appropriate space for that in the community. PLLAN worked with Together for Play to design these installations, which provide a space for children and caretakers to play and learn together.
Locating these sites in the favelas of Brazil is incredibly important to expanding equitable access to playful learning. Reginaldo Lima, a community leader from Rio de Janeiro, states that “the act of play is constantly violated” whether it be to the physical surroundings or resources available to them. By promoting playful learning spaces in these, we move one step closer to a playful learning world.
In addition to the new installations, Together for Play developed PLLAN’s new Playbook in Portuguese. The Portuguese Playbook, available on both the Together for Play and PLLAN websites, joins the English and Spanish versions in providing a roadmap for Playful Learning Landscapes across the world.
