Rights in Play (In gioco i diritti): Thirteen events in ten days in Reggio Calabria focused on sport, participation, and inclusion

Thirteen events over ten days. A dynamic and inclusive educational initiative promoting a new vision of sport centred on youth agency, inclusion, and participation.
This is the Rights in Play Festival (In gioco i diritti), organised by the local committee of the Italian Sports Centre (CSI) Reggio Calabria in collaboration with UNICRI, non-profit organisations, and public institutions. Timed to coincide with World Children's Day, the festival running from 18 to 28 November will transform Reggio Calabria into an open-air laboratory, engaging 11 schools and various entities in a series of unique events.

The festival features a rich programme of inititatives, beginning on Monday, 18 November, at the "Raffaele Piria" Science High School in Rosarno. The opening workshop, The Spaces We Want: Passing the Ball to the Youth!, will be followed by a multi-sport student tournament. In the afternoon, the festival caravan moves to Reggio Calabria, where activities will take place at the mafia-confiscated property-turned-sports facility, Campetto Don Carlos.

On 19 November, the festival continues at the Gioia Tauro Municipal Library with the presentation of the book Urban Guerrilla Handbook for Kids Who Want to Know and Defend Their Rights (Manuale di guerriglia urbana per bambine e bambini che vogliono conoscere e difendere i loro diritti). This will be followed by a co-design workshop, Ideas on the Field: Playing is a Serious Matter!

Key Highlights on the International Day of the Rights of the Child (20 November)

The festival reaches its peak on 20 November with several events to mark World Children's Day. The day begins at the Sant'Eufemia-Sinopoli-Melicuccà Comprehensive Institute (Piana Reggina area), where students will participate in a theatrical workshop titled Free Play: A Right for All, Leaving No One Behind.

In the afternoon, the Modenelle sports field in Arghillà Nord will host the opening match Arghillà in Colour vs. Reggina. Afterward, the Reggio Calabria Fire Brigade Sports Centre will host the presentation of the Sport Educational Network, a social initiative promoting the right to play for children and youth.
Simultaneously, in San Luca (Locride), a roundtable discussion titled Living Honestly: Reclaiming the Rights of Children and Adolescents for a Future of Hope will take place at the Oratorio San Giovanni Bosco, a facility situated on a mafia-confiscated property.

Additional Highlights
On 21 November, the "Libro Amico" bookstore in Reggio Calabria will host the workshop Well-being is a Right, featuring a yoga experience for children to foster inclusion and social interaction. Later that evening, the PalaCSI sports hall (Gallina) will stage the Peace Game, an opportunity to explore restorative justice in sport.
On 22 November, Arghillà Nord will once again take the spotlight with The Checkerboard of Rights, a creative reinterpretation of a traditional street game.

The Grand Finale
The festival concludes on 28 November at the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria under the guidance of the DIGIES Department. The seminar Convention on the Rights of the Child will provide an in-depth exploration of the challenges and opportunities facing children, offering a moment of reflection for all involved.

A Unique Initiative with a Bold Vision
"This is truly an inspiring programme," said Paolo Cicciù, President of CSI Reggio Calabria. "It places children and their right to play at its core. It's a unique initiative for our local area, involving the entire metropolitan community and addressing environments often marked by significant youth challenges and educational poverty. It takes courage to face reality head-on and strive to change it."

About the World Children's Day
By resolution 836(IX) of 14 December 1954, the General Assembly recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children. It recommended that the Day was to be observed also as a day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the UN Charter and the welfare of the children of the world. The Assembly suggested to governments that the Day be observed on the date and in the way that each considers appropriate.
The date 20 November marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
The Convention, which is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty, sets out a number of children's rights including the right to life, to health, to education and to play, as well as the right to family life, to be protected from violence, to not be discriminated, and to have their views heard.
On the basis of the Convention and joint efforts by all the countries and regions, let us promote and celebrate children's right on the World Children's Day, and continuously build up a friendly environment for children in the world through dialogue and actions.

"On World Children's Day, we celebrate the youngest members of our human family. But today is also a moment to recognize the enormous challenges children face in our deeply divided, tumultuous and often violent world." UN Secretary-General António Guterres

_{Source: United Nations}