En grupp av vuxna kvinnor leker tillsammans med ett par artister

The Laughter and play methodology

Clowns Without Borders is committed to spreading joy and emotional relief through laughter and play to children and communities in crisis worldwide. We believe that play is essential for a child's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development and overall well-being. In our experience, laughter has a unique power to unite communities. However, during humanitarian crises and disasters, opportunities for play and laughter are often scarce. Our mission is to reintroduce these crucial moments of joy and connection where they are needed most.

Clowns Without Borders and Plan International have a global partnership for collaboration in supporting children and adolescents in crisis settings through play and creative arts.

The Laughter and Play manual has been developed by Clowns Without Borders Sweden in collaboration with Plan International. The games and exercises in the manual have been chosen and curated specifically for adolescent girls and boys between the ages of 10 and 19 years, who are living in emergency and protracted crisis settings. The manual is designed to be used alongside Plan International’s Life Skills for Adolescents in Crisis Settings package but it can also be used as a stand-alone resource for group-based activities in safe spaces, youth groups and broader adolescent programmes. The Laughter and play methodology is available to download for free in the following languages:

English

Spanish

French

Arabic Egypt

Arabic Jordan

Polish

Romanian

Russian

Ukrainian

Gams and exercises videos

Below there are links to a selection of videos showing examples of games and creative exercises from the Laughter and Play manual. The videos are a part of a Training of Trainers (ToT) conducted by Clowns Without Borders Sweden.

Additional resource:

Laughter & Play Training Overview