Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts

Tuesday 8 November 2022

UNICEF: Over 27 million children at risk as devastating floods set records across the world

From UNICEF

 

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 8 November 2022 - As COP27 gets underway in Egypt, UNICEF warns this year has brought overwhelming flooding to at least 27.7 million children in 27 countries worldwide. 

A large majority of the 27.7 million children* affected by flooding in 2022 are among the most vulnerable and are at high risk of a multitude of threats including death by drowning, disease outbreaks, lack of safe drinking water, malnutrition, disruption in learning, and violence.  

“We are seeing unprecedented levels of flooding all around the world this year, and with it, an explosion in threats to children,” said Paloma Escudero, head of the UNICEF delegation for COP27. “The climate crisis is here. In many places, the flooding is the worst it has been in a generation, or several. Our children are already suffering at a scale their parents never did.”  

The aftermath of floods is often more deadly for children than the extreme weather events that caused the flooding. In 2022, floods have contributed to the increased spread of major killers of children, such as malnutrition, malaria, cholera and diarrhea:  

  • In Pakistan, more than 1 in 9 children under five admitted to health facilities in flood-affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan were found to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition. 
  • In Chad, 465,030 hectares of farmland were destroyed, worsening the already dire food insecurity situation. 
  • In Malawi, torrential rains and flooding by tropical storm Ana in January 2022 caused extensive damage to water and sanitation systems, which created the perfect conditions for a cholera outbreak. The outbreak has claimed the lives of 203 people, out of which 28 are children. To date, 1,631 children have been infected with cholera. 
  • Together with other climate shocks and conflict, floods have caused the projected number of children in South Sudan facing high levels of food insecurity to surpass the rates seen during the conflict in 2013 and 2016. Additionally, the United Nations recently warned that some communities are likely to face starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained and climate adaptation measures are not scaled-up.  

In addition to threatening the lives of millions of children, the flood waters have disrupted essential services and displaced countless families:  

  • The recent floods in Pakistan damaged or destroyed nearly 27,000 school buildings, forcing 2 million children to miss school. 
  • In South Sudan, 95 UNICEF supported nutrition sites have been affected by floods, hampering the delivery of life-saving and preventative malnutrition services for 92,000 children. 
  • An estimated 840,000 children were displaced by floods in Nigeria in recent months.  
  • Heavy rains and flooding in Yemen triggered floods causing extensive damage to shelters in displacement sites. Up to 73,854 households were affected, and 24,000 households were displaced.  

“COP27 provides an opportunity to chart a credible roadmap with clear milestones for finance for climate adaptation and solutions for loss and damage,” said Paloma Escudero. “Young people from the most affected places on Earth are drowning in climate inaction. Enough is enough. Lives are on the line – children need action now.” 

As well as pressing governments and big business to rapidly reduce emissions, UNICEF urges leaders to take immediate action to protect children from climate devastation by adapting the critical social services they rely on.Adaptation measures, like creating water, health and education systems that stand up to flooding and drought, will save lives. 

Last year, developed countries agreed to double support for adaptation to $40 billion a year by 2025. At COP27, they must present a credible roadmap with clear milestones on how this will be delivered, as a step to delivering at least $300bn per year for adaptation by 2030. At least half of all climate finance should flow towards adaptation. 

UNICEF also urges parties to find solutions to support those who will face climate losses and damages beyond the limits of what communities can adapt to. UNICEF is calling on governments to close the finance gap for addressing these irreversible changes for children. 

AT COP27, UNICEF CALLS ON ALL PARTIES TO:  

  1. PREVENT. Revisit their national climate plans to cut emissions drastically and urgently to prevent a climate catastrophe. 
  2. PROTECT. Secure clear action on adaptation that protects every child from the accelerating impacts of climate change through the Global Stocktake and Global Goal on Adaptation 
  3. PREPARE. Advance climate change education and meaningful participation to prepare children and youth through the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Action Plan 
  4. PRIORITIZE. children and youth by accelerating climate finance investment in climate-resilient social services that reach the most at-risk children, and unlock progress on loss and damage 
  5. Commit to child-sensitive climate action by aligning with and operationalizing the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action  

UNICEF’s immediate humanitarian response to flood affected countries is wide-ranging across all sectors: health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, and education. A lack of funding, however, has hampered the response in many countries. For instance, the funding gap for the humanitarian response in Pakistan currently stands at 85 per cent.  

UNICEF is working to strengthen resilience of communities and health infrastructure to withstand disaster-related hazards, and increasingly linking our work on humanitarian response and longer-term climate adaptation.

Thursday 4 March 2021

Coles Green Tennis Academy returns on April 1st

 

We are delighted to announce we are reopening the club from 1st April and our coaching providers from Tennis Icon UK have put together their summer course programme. We offer lessons from 4 years of age upward and for all levels. All of our courses are designed to be Fun, Educational & Inspirational helping to give you ‘The Winning Game’. We offer group courses, private lessons, competitive team tennis and social tennis too and pride ourselves on being a super sociable and friendly community club. You would be more than welcome to join us for a trial lesson before signing on as a member. To book a course visit https://www.tennisiconuk.com/coles-green-academy/ or contact our head coach, James Barry via email james.barry@tennisiconuk.com. We look forward to hopefully seeing you on court very soon!


Tuesday 26 January 2021

NEU launch 'Help A Child to Learn' campaign alongside the Daily Mirror with an initial £1million donation

Help a Child to Learn campaign

The National Education Union (NEU) is today launching a campaign to Help a Child to Learn at home during the pandemic. 

With our partners, the Daily Mirror and Viking, we are pledging a million pounds to help schools provide the pens, pencils, and paper some children need to help them learn at home and are encouraging others to donate.

Click here to donate to our Help a Child to Learn appeal.

Throughout the pandemic, the NEU has fought to ensure the safety of our members. We have also launched an online resource hub to help members teach remotely. And later this week, we will be publishing our education recovery plan to outline what we need to reopen our schools safely and well.

However, in a survey last week, you told us the lack of resources means a great many children are struggling to learn at home – not just in terms of access to laptops or broadband, but also pens, pencils, paper, and art materials.

We want to do all we can to support these children so that they can learn from home.

So, the NEU is pledging £1 million to be distributed to selected schools to help buy the stationery needed for pupils to work at home.

Contributions will range between £500 and £1,500 depending on school size.

The Daily Mirror will help publicise our campaign and raise awareness of the needs of children and families by talking to our members about the challenges they face every day.

We know that far more than £1 million pounds is needed so we are also asking members to sign this petition calling on Government to provide the funding our children need. Click here to sign the petition.

Sunday 29 November 2020

'Finding your Brave' - Brent's Children's Poems for Children's Mental Health Week

The theme of Children's Mental Health Week was 'Funding Your Brave' and many Brent children entered poems for a competition. LINK Their many entries are displayed in Wembley Park opposite the Premier Inn, between the LDO and White Horse Bridge, on full size billboards. It is well worth spending some time reading them and appreciating the level of insight and empathy on display.

These are the three winning entries:

 

 





Monday 21 October 2019

Roasting marshmallows & making bug hotels at Welsh Harp Centre October 23rd and 24th


From Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre

Join us at the Welsh Harp Education Centre for a wonderful morning in the woodland roasting marshmallows, making a bug hotel and exploring the woods.

10am-12pm, Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th October.
£4 per child per activity session.
Limited spaces so book now!

What you need to know for this activity:
 
An adult must attend & supervise children throughout activities.

Places are limited and booking is essential, please contact us to book and also let us know if you need to cancel your booking.

Marshmallows (regular and Halal) and skewers are provided. Please bring vegetarian marshmallows if you wish.

Please pay in cash on the day. £4 per child per activity session.

Activities suitable for children aged 5-11 years. Children aged 4 and under who are not participating in activities are free of charge.

Children and adults should wear comfortable outdoor clothing that may get dirty.
To book, contact Deb Frankiewicz on:
Phone: 07711 701 694
Email: welshharpcentre@thames21.org.uk

Saturday 21 September 2019

London Global Climate Strike video: These young people means business - and it's not business as usual!




The sheer verve and vitality of the children and young people at Saturday's Global Climate Strike demonstration was exhilarating. I've captured just a few moments here and included a few frames of  some carefully disposing of their satsuma peel - just to prove how carefully they look after the environment!


Monday 6 August 2018

Children's holiday activities at Welsh Harp Centre

Join us at the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre woodland for:

9th Aug     Natural jewellery & art creation
16th Aug   Bushcraft tool use
23rd Aug   Fire making & outdoor cooking
30th Aug   Bow & arrow firing range
10am – 12pm each date

Address: Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre, Birchen Grove, NW9 8RY
Suitable for children aged 8 – 12yrs
Costs £3.50 per child
Booking essential – contact Edel on welshharpcentre@thames21.org.uk / 07734 871 728

Children and adults should wear comfortable outdoor clothing that may get dirty.
• Visits must only be cancelled in extenuating circumstances and Thames21 must be notified in advance.
• Thames21 reserves the right to cancel a visit if weather conditions are deemed unsafe or if adult to child ratio is not met.
An adult must attend & supervise participating children throughout all activities making sure that:
• Supervise children at all times and are responsible for their behaviour.
• Minimum ratio of 1 adult to 5 children
• Will need to provide any specific medication for children or have the child’s parent attend the visit.

Tuesday 10 April 2018

Thumbs up for Shakshuka at the Roundwood Park cafe


I popped into the Roundwood Park Lodge cafe for lunch today with a friend. There was a warm welcome and time taken to describe the dishes on offer. The cafe serves a mixture of traditional meals, with a special children's menu, and Middle Eastern dishes prepared by the Egyptian chef.

We chose the shakshuka which was freshly prepared and very tasty:


There is plenty to tempt you if you are just popping in for tea or coffee:


The cafe has had a makeover but still attracts families. Children are able to use the attached play area or the toy corner in the cafe while their parents relax and chat.


Highly recommended!

Wednesday 20 December 2017

Brent kids can be 'Super Heroes' - lessons from the St Raph's Movie Fun Day



I think readers will enjoy this video showing the Brent community at its best with children and adults from all communities having fun together with a serious intent behind the fun.

Sunday 10 December 2017

Brent Movie Fun Day for children Saturday 16th December


Venue St Raphael's Chidlren Centre, Rainborough Close, London, NW10 OTS (Near IKEA)

Tuesday 28 November 2017

Sufra Foodbank launch Christmas Giving Calendar for children

From Sufra NW London Foodbank

Do you want to teach your children how to give and experience charity?

This year, we are publishing our Xmas Giving Calendar that is perfect for parents to encourage their children to give regularly to charity during this festive period.

Download a copy here after completing the form.

Before December, prepare a large cardboard box for your children.

Throughout the festive period, fill the box with the food items, clothing and toiletries listed on the calendar. At the end of the month, deliver your box of donations to Sufra NW London’s food bank.

We will send a certificate and present to every child who fills a collection box!

Tuesday 17 October 2017

Brent childen's mental health - forum tomorrow



From Brent Clinical Commissioning Group


You are invited to the Health Partners Forum to input into the development of mental health services for children and adults in Brent.

Children Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Brent are presently undergoing a period of transformation as set out in the Local Transformation Plan.  The overall objective of the plan is to support improved mental health and wellbeing for children and young people in Brent. An important part of the plan is incorporating a new approach and thinking into CAMHS, which is known as the THRIVE model. 



Involving residents and service users in this on-going work is an integral part of our continued commitment to developing CAMHS services.

At the Health Partners Forum we will:

·       Summarise plans for services for Brent to improve outcomes for children and young people
·       Update you on where we are with creating more joined up services
·       Summarise what we have heard from you during community engagement so far
·       Work with you to help shape the next phase of transforming services

Your attendance and participation at this event is therefore cordially requested as follows:

Date:       Wednesday 18th October, 2017
Time:       6-8pm (registration of hot buffet from 5:15)
Venue:    The Sativis Patidar Centre, Forty Avenue, Wembley
Park, Middlesex, HA9 9PE

Please register at: http://bit.ly/2wAKzEx



Further information on the subject

Please visit the following links for further information on local plans for supporting and improving children and young people’s mental health in Brent:


SEND reform key document is here:



Monday 24 October 2016

"If the community sees [PREVENT] as a problem, then you have a problem”


Image for earlier report by Rights Watch LINK

Earlier this month Brent Council organised a public discussion on Extremism at which the majority of the audience appeared to be opposed to the Prevent Strategy - not because they were in favour of 'Extremism' but because they saw the strategy as sterotyping the Muslim community and being implemented in a top-down way which excluded community organisations. Additionally it threatened free speech in schools and colleges and had a corrosive effect on good community relations.  Overall it was likely to be counter-productive.

Now Open Society has taken up many of these issues in a report entitled Eroding Trust: The UK's PREVENT Counter Extremism Strategy in Health and Education LINK

Concerned organisations in Brent has set up a Monitoring Group on Prevent on Facebook which can be found HERE.

As a contribution to the Brent debate I publish below the Executive Summary of the Open Society Report:
“I’ve never felt not British. And this [Prevent experience] made me feel very, very, like they tried to make me feel like an outsider. We live here. I am born and bred here, not from anywhere else”.
“It could have gone the opposite way if I wasn’t thinking straight, if I were the type who was being brainwashed. The way they went about it, [Prevent] could have made me do exactly what they told me not to do. I associate with Prevent negatively, it is not helpful at all”
 Executive Summary and Recommendations


The UK’s Prevent strategy, which purports to prevent terrorism, creates a serious risk of human rights violations. The programme is flawed in both its design and application, rendering it not only unjust but also counterproductive. 
Launched in 2003, the Prevent strategy has evolved against the background of increased public fears over the threat of “home grown” terrorism. The strategy in its cur- rent form aims “to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism”. In 2015, legislation created a statutory Prevent duty on schools, universities, and NHS trusts, among other public sector entities, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This requires doctors, psychologists, and teachers, among other health and education professionals, to identify individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism (including violent and non-violent “extremism”) for referral to the police-led multi-agency “Channel” programme (for England and Wales) or “Prevent Professional Concerns” (for Scotland), both of which purport to “support” such individuals. 
This report analyses the human rights impact of Prevent in its current form in the education and health sectors. It focuses on these sectors because they are critically dependent on trust and have particular care-giving functions that have not traditionally been directed towards preventing terrorism. Under Prevent, doctors and teachers who have a professional duty to care for their charges are now required to assess and report them for being at risk of “extremism”, which is defined as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”. Because the conscription of these sectors into preventing terrorism is part of a growing trend, the report’s principal findings, listed below, not only apply to the United Kingdom, but are relevant and instructive for other governments grappling with these challenges. 
First, the current Prevent strategy suffers from multiple, mutually reinforcing structural flaws, the foreseeable consequence of which is a serious risk of human rights violations. These violations include, most obviously, violations of the right against discrimination, as well the right to freedom of expression, among other rights. Prevent’s structural flaws include the targeting of “pre-criminality”, “non- violent extremism”, and opposition to “British values”. This “intensifies” the government’s reach into “everyday lawful discourse”. Furthermore, Prevent’s targeting of non-violent extremism and “indicators” of risk of being drawn into terrorism lack a scientific basis. Indeed, the claim that non-violent extremism – including “radical” or religious ideology – is the precursor to terrorism has been widely discredited by the British government itself, as well as numerous reputable scholars. Prevent training, much of it based on unreliable indicators, appears to be largely unregulated. Moreover, the statutory duty creates an incentive to over- refer. This incentive is reinforced by the adverse consequences associated with non-compliance with the Prevent duty and the lack of adverse consequences for making erroneous referrals. The case studies and interviews in this report confirm the tendency to over-refer individuals under Prevent. The fundamental nature of these defects makes them unlikely to be cured by a mere renaming of Prevent to “Engage”.

Second, Prevent’s overly broad and vague definition of “non-violent extremism” creates the potential for systemic human rights abuses. On the basis of this definition, schools, universities, and NHS trusts, among other “specified authorities” subject to the Prevent duty, are required to assess the risk of children, students, and patients being drawn into terrorism and report them to the police-led Channel programme where necessary. By the government’s own admission, thou- sands of people have been erroneously referred to the Channel programme. Individuals (including children) erroneously referred under Prevent experience the referral as inherently stigmatising and intensely intimidating. They also fear continued surveillance and the creation and retention of Prevent records, which may taint them and lead others to view them as “extremists” in the future. 
Specifically, the targeting of non-violent extremism raises serious concerns about possible violations of the right to freedom of expression. Children in schools have been targeted under Prevent for expressing political views. University conferences relating to Islamophobia and Islam in Europe have been cancelled, raising questions of possible breaches under the Education Act (1986) and article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. More generally, the case studies and interviews in this report suggest that Prevent has created a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression in schools and universities, and undermined trust between teachers and students. This risks driving underground, removed from debate and challenge, conversations about controversial issues such as terrorism. In addition, as indicated by the large number of interviewees for this report who requested anonymity, there is a genuine and intensely held fear among some that public criticism of Prevent will trigger retaliation. This fear is particularly acute for parents who fear that their children will bear the brunt of the retaliation. 
Third, the Prevent duty creates a risk of discrimination, particularly against Muslims. Frontline professionals have broad discretion to act on their conscious or unconscious biases in deciding whom to report under Prevent. Current and former police leads for Prevent recognise that currently, Prevent operates in a cli- mate marked by Islamophobia. Significantly, between July 2015 and July 2016, Islamophobic crime in London rose by 94 percent. This climate creates the risk that Muslims in particular may be erroneously targeted under Prevent. All of the case studies relating to the targeting of individuals under Prevent raise serious questions about whether they would have been targeted in this manner had they not been Muslim. Relatedly, in some case studies, Muslims appear to have been targeted under Prevent for displaying signs of increased religiosity, raising questions about the violation of their right to manifest their religion.
Fourth, by requiring the identification and reporting of individuals at risk of violent and non-violent extremism, Prevent creates a risk of violations of the right to privacy. Many of the case studies describe individuals being intrusively questioned under intimidating conditions about their religious and/or political beliefs. One case study raises troubling questions about the collection (apparently without informed consent) of names and political opinions from Muslim children for the Home Office.

Fifth, there are serious concerns about the treatment of children under Prevent. Although the government describes Prevent as a form of “safeguarding” (a statutory term which denotes promotion of welfare and protection from harm), the two sets of obligations have materially different aims, particularly with respect to children. In contrast to the Prevent strategy, for which the primary objective is preventing terrorism, the primary objective of the duty to safeguard children under domestic legislation is the welfare of the child. This reflects the obligation under article 3(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to make the best interests of the child a primary consideration in all actions relating to children. Accordingly, while compliance with safeguarding obligations would only permit referral to Channel while prioritising the best interests of the child, the Channel duty guidance does not specify that as a mandatory or even a relevant consideration. All of the case studies in this report relating to children – including one in which a four year-old child was targeted– appear to be instances in which the best interests of the child were not a primary consideration. 
Sixth, the Prevent duty risks breaching health bodies’ duty of confidentiality towards their patients and undermining the relationship between health professionals and their patients. The standard for disclosure of confidential information under Prevent appears to be much lower than that warranted by the common law duty of confidentiality enshrined in the NHS confidentiality code of practice and the General Medical Council’s confidentiality guidance. Specifically, requiring a medical professional to report to the police-led Channel programme an individual who is at “risk of being drawn into terrorism”, including “non-violent extremism”, appears to be a much lower standard than requiring the medical professional to report (under the GMC guidance) the individual only when failure to disclose confidential information would expose others to a risk of death or serious harm. This could generate breaches of the confidentiality duty along with violations of the right to private life under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Finally, there are serious indications that Prevent is counterproductive. The case studies show that being wrongly targeted under Prevent has led some Muslims to question their place in British society. Other adults wrongfully targeted under Prevent have said that, had they been different, their experience of Prevent could have drawn them towards terrorism, and not away from it. Government data reveal that 80% of all Channel referrals were set aside, implying that there were thousands of individuals wrongly referred to Channel. This in turn risks under- mining the willingness of targeted communities to supply intelligence to law enforcement officials which could be used to prevent terrorist acts.
 
As Sir David Omand, the architect of the original version of Prevent, has observed: “The key issue is, do most people in the community accept [Prevent] as protective of their rights? If the community sees it as a problem, then you have a problem”. This report demonstrates that the UK’s Prevent strategy is indeed a serious problem. 
Recommendations

To the UK Government:

1.     Repeal the Prevent duty with respect to the health and education sectors. 

2.     End the targeting and reporting of “non-violent extremism” under the Prevent strategy. 

3.     End the use of empirically unsupported indicators of vulnerability to being drawn into terrorism. 

4.     Establish an independent public inquiry – with civil society participation – into the Prevent strategy and associated rights violations. 

5.     Create a formal and independent complaints mechanism through which individu- als whose rights have been violated by the Prevent strategy can seek and obtain prompt and meaningful remedies. 

6.     Publicly commit to a policy of zero tolerance regarding retaliation against indi- viduals who allege rights violations under Prevent. 

7.     Publicly disclose data on total number of individuals referred to and processed through Prevent, Channel, and Prevent Professional Concerns (PPC), as well a the breakdown of these figures by age, type of extremism, and referring authority. 

8.     Publicly disclose, to the extent it exists, evidence underpinning and data relating to the UK’s Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG) 22+. 


To the Children’s Commissioners for England, Wales, and Scotland:

Conduct an assessment of the impact of Prevent on children, including but not limited to whether the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in Prevent-related actions. 
To the National Association of Head Teachers, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the National Union of Teachers, and other teachers associations: 
Conduct an assessment of the impact of Prevent on teachers and children, including but not limited to the extent to which the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in Prevent-related actions.

To Universities UK:

Conduct an assessment of the impact of Prevent in universities, including but not limited to its impact on academic freedom and freedom of speech. 
To the General Medical Council: 
Review and clarify professional standards relating to the duty of confidentiality as interpreted and applied in Prevent settings. 
To the British Medical Association, the British Psychological Society,
the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and other professional bodies in the health sector: 
Conduct an assessment of the impact of Prevent on the practice of doctors, psychologists and other healthcare professionals, and on patients and patient care, including but not limited to an assessment of how the duty of confidentiality is being interpreted and applied in Prevent settings.

Thursday 18 August 2016

Putting ‘Pokémon Go’ into perspective

Article by Jackie Marsh, from School of Education, University of Sheffield, web page LINK



Already, tales of mythic proportions surround the ‘Pokémon Go’ app. Reports abound of stabbings, robbings, shootings, people falling off cliffsand even finding corpses as they play the game. There are concerns aboutsex offenders targeting children, and children accessing dangerous spaces to get their next Pokémon monster. A New Zealand resident recently quit his job to play the game full-time, and people joined crowds to get to a rare monster in Central Park, fostering anxieties about addiction. Now even the police are using the app to catch fugitives.

The moral panic surrounding the launch of new media titles is not new, as I have discussed previously when comparing the audience response of Disney’s film ‘Frozen’ to that of the Disney ‘Davy Crockett’ film launched in the 1950s, but what is of interest is the speed of this response, given that ‘Pokémon Go’ was only launched a few weeks ago, on July 6th. The rapid take-up of the app has occurred with little direct marketing.

For the uninitiated, the free-to-play app draws on augmented reality technology to enable players to capture and train virtual Pokémon creatures, whose images pop up, overlaid on the ‘real’ world, on a mobile device. Augmented Reality (AR) consists of a blend of the physical world and the virtual world. In this blended reality, three-dimensional images or environments are projected onto a physical object or terrain, but users are not immersed in the same way as they are with virtual reality experiences.

This is not the first app to use augmented reality to entice its users. We undertook a research study on under 5’s use of tablet apps in the UK, in which children’s engagement with augmented reality apps was examined. The research team watched as children, enthralled, made the popular charity figure Pudsey bear appear in 3D and dance to disco music using the Quiver app, or played with augmented reality animals that appeared in the ‘AR Flascards’ app. As we stated in a subsequent paper from the study which reflected on play in the digital age, “Contemporary play draws on both the digital and non-digital properties of things and in doing so moves fluidly across boundaries of space and time in ways that were not possible in the pre-digital era” (Marsh et al., 2016). Augmented reality technology is still at an early stage of development, but the hype surrounding it indicates that it has the potential to excite and is a feature that is bound to become more prevalent in the toy and game industry in the future.

The ‘Pokémon Go’ app is notable for its popularity across generations. It appeals to those who collected the plastic Pokémon monsters in the brand’s earlier incarnations, taking them back to a fondly remembered childhood pastime. It could even remind them of previous GPS location-based tagging games they may have played, such as ‘Foursquare’ (whose creator, Dennis Crowley, has said he is not at all bitter about the success of ‘Pokémon Go’).

Such nostalgic media practices are nothing new, as numerous scholars have noted, but what makes this one particularly exciting for its adult fans is the transformation of their childhood monsters into virtual characters that live in their smartphone. The app is also drawing in a new Pokémon audience, one that knows little about the original television animation, video games or toys, launched initially in 1995. It offers opportunities, therefore, for family play, as noted by commentators who are keen to identify the game’s positive elements in the face of all of the media panic. And, as some have asked, shouldn’t we be pleased that the game has got people off sofas and into their local environments?

Of course, this calculated appeal to an intergenerational audience is one that is already paying off, with the app becoming more successful on launch than Candy Crush, and Nintendo, the original creators of Pokémon, estimated to be worth an additional $12 billion because of it. For both Nintendo and Niantic, the company that created the app, the real value of the game may not be in the microtransactions it embeds, with the possibility to purchase in-game features, but in the potential commercial use of the data it collects from the people who play it. This, as scholars of children’s media practices have pointed out in relation to other digital games, raises key questions about data privacy and children’s rights.

It would seem, therefore, that the launch of ‘Pokémon Go’ has resulted in the familiar tropes of panic and hype that surround many launches of new games and toys. The longevity of the app is difficult to ascertain at this point in time. When the excitement dies down, it remains to be seen what the impact of the app will be on future markets for this kind of game.

‘Pokémon Go’ has succeeded because of its combination of GPS and augmented reality technologies, linked to a very popular media brand that already involved collecting items — thus, players enjoy the familiarity of playing with the old alongside experiencing the excitement of engaging with the new. It will be difficult for other game studios to copy that specific dynamic, but no doubt there will be many attempts to do so, and we could see location-based AR games becoming further intertwined with popular culture as people search local communities for virtual representations of toys, musicians, TV and film characters, media icons and more.

In time, apps may be made available that enable user-generated content, so that the general public can leave their virtual wares in physical spaces for others to gather. Given children’s appetite for media content created by other children, that would undoubtedly be a popular type of app, albeit one potentially fraught with all kinds of safety issues. It will be incumbent upon researchers of children’s media use to trace the risks embedded in such developments, but also to identify the opportunities they present for engaging children and young people in digital content creation.

Now, forgive me, but I really have to leave it at that and get ready to go to my local ‘Pokémon Picnic’ — who knows, I might catch an Articuno…

– Jackie MarshProfessor of Education, Chair of the DigiLitEY project.