A Model for Participatory Playground Development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Kym Simoncini

Abstract

This field report compares two playground projects in Papua New Guinea that adopted participatory approaches to playground design and construction. The report compares the lessons learned from the 2015 playground project at Koiari Park outside of Port Moresby to the 2016 project at Sonoma, a rural school in East New Britain province. The participatory approaches involve school support, community consultation, playground design and planning, and playground construction. Both projects used local materials and volunteers to build the playground. Children’s participation and the inclusion of local topography and locally available materials were easiest to achieve in both projects, while school support, parent participation, and securing funding were more difficult to realize in the Sonoma project. The report concludes with a model for future participatory playground development in Papua New Guinea and other Pacific nations.