International Day of Play
Next: June 11, 2027
Put the phone down. Go and play.
The story
Where it comes from
The International Day of Play is one of the UN's newest days. On 25 March 2024 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 78/268 without a vote, proclaiming 11 June a day to celebrate play. The draft was carried by six countries, Viet Nam, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Jamaica, Kenya and Luxembourg, with well over a hundred co-sponsors, and it invites UNICEF and UNESCO to help the world observe it. The first International Day of Play was held on 11 June 2024. Its message is simple: play is not a break from learning and growing up, but part of it.
How it's celebrated
UNICEF shares ideas and guides for parents on playing with their children, including how to keep play safe when it happens online, and schools, parks and community groups around the world hold play events. The best way to join in costs nothing: pick up a ball, a skipping rope or a pack of cards, teach someone a game from your own childhood, and play for an hour.
Did you know
- Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises play as a right of every child.
- Viet Nam introduced the resolution at the General Assembly on behalf of the six countries behind it.
- In one survey quoted by the UN, 71% of children said play matters because it makes them happy.
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