Maternal Gift Economy: Breaking Through -
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Salon #45 - THE GIFT OF PLAY

May 13, 2023

Featuring Meera Patel & Juliette Liebi

In this salon, Meera & Juliette will be speaking about a recent project they carried out through their charity, RSP, in a region in Gujarat, India, that aimed to improve play opportunities and spaces for children in that community, and build awareness and engagement on the importance of play in the wider community.

Play is children’s natural language and central to their development and that of the society around them. Play is also enshrined in Article 31 of the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) that has been ratified by every government in the world (apart from one) and governments have thereby committed to providing the means with which children can access this fundamental right. As adults we are often entrenched in a static way of perceiving our world and from this viewpoint require un-learning to find innovative solutions to the problems we face in our society. Imagine a world where children have the space and time to play, imagining, exploring and developing their natural talents in a compassionate and gifting way that can be transferred to the real world. What would such a world look like?

Meera Patel and Juliette Liebi have worked together for the past 8 years on various projects and initiatives that aim to embody the practicalities of the gift economy. They are co-founders and trustees of charity, RockStone & Pebbles (RSP), founded in 2018, which aims to support children in accessing their fundamental right to play, and raise awareness on the importance of play in children’s lives and the wider society. RSP is a small charity, run on a fully voluntary basis by Meera & Juliette. They are both also accountants who work as professionals in large charities, like British Red Cross, Comic Relief, Action Aid, to name a few, on short term contracts as senior operations and finance consultants. In addition to this, they are life partners and carry out other initiatives that aim to build collaborative communities and friendships, spend time restoring their land in Spain, and are committed in their journey of finding ways to live by and share the value of the gift economy in practical ways.


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