CLEMSON, S.C. — The US Play Coalition ended its second international gathering of play enthusiasts at Clemson University by getting serious about scholarship. The coalition awarded $9,000 in grants for scholars to purse projects that will advance understanding of the value of play.
Recipients were:
The conference attracted more than 200 participants from around the world, ranging from internationally acclaimed experts on playground design to parents concerned about growing inactivity among children.
A slate of keynote addresses and breakout sessions focused on the causes and effects of an increasingly inactive population, especially children.
Clemson University President James F. Barker opened the conference by welcoming attendees. He said the childhood time he spent building forts and tree houses can be credited for his career as an architect and ultimately his leadership of the university. He cautioned against overlooking the value of play in today's challenging economic environment.
"Play is the foundation for imagination. Imagination is the foundation for innovation. And innovation is the foundation for America's economic future," he said.
Conference speakers covered topics such as how to recapture recess and how the medical profession views play. Education sessions ranged from female perspectives on hunting to advocating for play on the local level to inspiring play spaces for everyone. Keynote speakers included Dr. Toni Yancey, professor and co-director of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity; Penny Wilson, a playworker for the Play Association at Tower Hamlets in East London; Dr. Michael Suk, orthopedic surgeon and former White House Fellow serving Interior Secretary Gale Norton; and Joe Frost, Centennial Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin and an international expert on playgrounds.
"Our second international gathering on play attracted a broad spectrum of people who share concerns about the play deficit in our children," said Fran Mainella, visiting scholar at Clemson University and co-chairwoman of the US Play Coalition. "We learned a lot from each other on how to bring back play in the lives of children and adults."
The US Play Coalition ( http://usplaycoalition.clemson.edu/ ) is housed at Clemson University in the department of parks, recreation and tourism management ( http://www.hehd.clemson.edu/prtm/ ).