All children need to play!
Over sixty children gathered today at 17:00 h at the DTV Partizan sport hall to play together.
Indeed, playing does sound like the most natural thing a child would do, but when it comes to children with disabilities the situation is different: only two years ago, 48% of the citizens in Serbia thought that it was children with the disabilities that should adapt to the life in society, and not vice versa. Encouraging change was this Play Day, which sought to send the message both to parents and communities at large that, with or without a disability, all children should play together.
The Play Day, as a part of the “Various Wishes, Same Needs” campaign, gave the opportunity to children to play together and through fun and playing learn to accept each other, change and adapt their communication to the peers, and learn different skills from each other. It also gave children with disabilities the opportunity to be seen in positive perspective by their peers and to have interesting common experience. All children need to play to develop, and there is a lot of non-discrimination learning involved in it.
The Play Day was animated by professional performers and clowns who played a wide variety of games for children to encourage them have fun and interact with each other.
The main organiser of the event was Pancevo-based NGO VelikiMali, under the framework of the nation-wide Social Inclusion of Children with Disabilities Awareness Raising and Media Campaign led by Bernard Brunhes International. This project is funded by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and managed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. The overall objective of the project is to improve public knowledge and understanding of the benefits of promoting the social inclusion and rights of children with disabilities in Serbia. In addition to events like this one, the campaign will broadcast on national coverage TV stations a series of documentary films that will substantiate various good practices in allowing children with disabilities become active players in the social life and education of their communities.
For additional details, please contact Ms Olga Belosavic Milanovic, Communication Officer, Bernard Brunhes International: tel. 011 412 6837, 062 755 497, fax 011 324 9076, e-mail: olga.belosavicmilanovic@bbi.rs
