An internationally themed play project that introduces children to games from around the world is one of four groups celebrating in a share of over £750,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

The grants announced today are being awarded across the South of England and are part of BIG’s £16 million Playful Ideas programme, which funds innovative projects that provide a creative and novel approach to play.

The Global Play project led by World Jungle Ltd is using £147,333 to give children and young people in Bristol and Gloucestershire the opportunity to explore a whole new world of play. The globally themed project gives children an opportunity to try out fun and exciting games including manQuimeda from Brazil (a form of tag), Kabadi from India (wrestling games) and Da Ga from Ghana (a musical chase game). Through these activities the project aims to give children an insight and understanding of different cultures and the wider world.  

Ben Ward, Director, World Jungle Limited, said: "This is absolutely brilliant, we are over the moon about receiving this award. We believe cultural diversity is as important as biodiversity. Through play children not only learn about the world around them and themselves but also about the differences in other people. Global Play will provide hundreds of children across Gloucestershire & Bristol with play opportunities that celebrate these differences. It will also support play providers to try out different types of play from around the world and to consider new methods of celebrating other cultures in playful ways.”  

Also in Bristol BIG is working it’s magic for children with an award of £124,051 to fund the Magic Day project led by ACTA Community Theatre.  Children and young people under 16 will benefit as they have the opportunity to explore their creativity and express their individuality through drama, arts and music making. The project in the north of Bristol will work towards an annual Magic Day event that will bring together whole communities and involve children taking part in activities across a number of small venues including colleges, schools, community and health centres.

The Eden Project will be celebrating a BIG award of £249,015 for their new project Changing State of Play…with Mud Between Your Toes, inviting children from Cornwall and further afield to get involved in fun and nature. Encouraging children to explore the natural world and creativity through play, the project will centre around a nature based play area and play routes within Eden, which children, young people and interested community groups will be able to visit free of charge.  

Dr Jo Elworthy, Eden’s Director of Learning, said:  “The Eden Project is delighted to have received a Playful Ideas grant from the Big Lottery Fund.  Play is fantastic fun and it’s also serious stuff because it helps create fulfilled people able to contribute to a positive society.  

“Today many children play less, play alone and stay indoors. Stress and depression are up, and children are less fit.  Our Playful Ideas Project will help put play back at the heart of society. We’re going to create a test-bed for playing in nature, exploring risky play, encouraging playfulness, making dens, getting muddy!  We’re working with groups throughout Cornwall and the South West who are creating play projects in their own communities to test out ideas, to play … vital for all our futures.”

In Southampton The Forest Bus Big Green Play Machine launched by Forest Bus Ltd will be geared up to provide a whole range of active and hi-tech play facilities with an award of £263,417. The project will give youngsters from different backgrounds a real opportunity to come together and get involved in the creation and design of their very own purpose built mobile play centre.

Once up and running, the mobile centre will tour rural and urban areas targeting youngsters who live in rural and urban areas of isolation, who have few opportunities to play in a safe environment. Professional play development and play support workers will also be on hand to help coordinate what promises to be an exciting programme of activities.

Sanjay Dighe, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund’s England Committee, said: “These innovative play projects are fantastic news for children, their parents and their communities. All of these projects will introduce new and stimulating ways to engage children in playful activities, which will benefit their physical and mental well-being as well as making an important contribution to their over-all development.”   

Further information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102 030
Textphone:  0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund rolls out close to £2 million in Lottery good cause money every 24 hours which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
• The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £20 billion has now been raised and more than 280,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.