Manifesto for Children’s Arts launched
23 Jul 2008
The first ‘Manifesto for Children’s Arts’ was launched by Action for Children’s Arts (ACA), an umbrella body for arts organisations at a sell-out conference on 21st July.
The manifesto is supported by a number of high-profile personalities, including Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen – who pre-recorded a speech shown at the conference – author Michelle Magorian and director of rights group Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti.
ACA argues that Britain needs to do more to meet its obligations under Article 31 of the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child. Article 31 states that ‘Every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.’ UN member governments are asked to ‘encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.’
In its manifesto, ACA recommends steps to improve children’s access to cultural and play activities. It is lobbying the Government to adopt consistent long-term policies to support the aims of Article 31, and provide funding to support these policies. Government departments are asked to put creativity, play and the arts at the heart of the curriculum with adequate training for teachers and to ensure that testing of attainment does not constrain children’s learning, as well as providing high quality programmes for children on television and radio.
The manifesto also suggests that schools and early years settings should give children time to play and create, and the widest possible range of cultural experiences. Parents and carers should be encouraged to value their children’s artistic achievements.
The full manifesto can be read on the ACA website
