Our Vision:
LOCAL PLAY, EVERY DAY
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Our purpose is to promote, enable and protect the right Australian children have to play, especially where they live. We exist to amplify child's voice regarding their play, we will advocate for children and their play, and we will influence conditions for children to play.
We operate with three core values; childism, a playful approach and checking the adult agenda at the door. Evidence demonstrates that play is many things to children, including an intervention tool for health, wellbeing, efficacy and life satisfaction. The organisation aims to secure child-led free play to build resilience and wellbeing for and with children, where play is not a privilege.
Mission
We influence opportunities and elevate conditions for children’s play and voices where play is not a privilege.
Today children’s opportunities for play are in decline. When children start to disappear from or are marginalised from spaces that make up everyday life in our society – it is of deep concern. The causes are diverse and complex, societal and receive interdisciplinary attention reaching into areas such as education, health, psychology, environment, geography, design and sociology.
Consequently, serious cardio-metabolic disorders and mental health issues such as depression have been on the rise in adolescence and in early adulthood.
If we are collectively committed to creating a healthier society and a sustainable future for all, we need to accommodate space, time and permission in everything we do to allow children to develop to their full potential.
Logan's Play Map
Structure and Management
Australian Institute of Play is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) governed by a Board of Directors. The AIP executive board is made up of seven Directors who oversee the organisation and meet monthly. Since AIP currently has a Logan focus, it is appropriate that majority of the Directors are Logan-based to better understand and overcome challenges with local knowledge.
The board heeds knowledge from the 20 general members, which are made up of Logan residents and play related professionals. AIP is also supported by an advisory committee made up of relevant experts working in the play realm. With a city-wide focus, population scale approach, Day to day operations are carried out by a Chief Executive Officer and a Project Operations Manager.
AIP is operationally guided by the Four Play Pillars and committed to the 2022 to 2025 Logan Play Action Plans, a co-designed and co-created plan to make Logan the Most Playful City in the World!
AIP has an eye on the scalability and transferability. We predict there will be a continued success across Logan, and we believe that this approach could be implemented with similar successes in other locations.