Annauma is proud to share the participants of our first-ever Free to Play consensus granting cohort. Each of these organizations shares a commitment to creating spaces where children across Nunavut can move freely, connect to the land, and play — in ways rooted in Inuit traditions and ways of knowing.
This year’s participants include:
- Hamlet of Kinngait – providing youth leadership and wellness activities through the Rise Up Youth Gathering
- Hamlet of Naujaat – connecting children to land-based play and education through year-round programming
- Ilitaqsiniq – piloting a child-led outdoor play program in Ranking Inlet
- Pairivik Child Care Society – developing a tundra-based outdoor learning program for young children
- Recreation and Parks Association of Nunavut (RPAN) – expanding community-led summer and winter youth camp programs across Nunavut
During the cohort meetings, participants arrived from across Nunavut to build something together — a shared vision for what free play can look like in a northern context. As Ilitaqsiniq’s Executive Director, Adriana Kusugak explained: "Inuit children are very naturally strong, physical beings. In a culture where you need your physicality to be able to support yourselves and your family, especially out on the land where it can be more dangerous — we need them to play. We need them to be active."
After two days of deep sharing and listening, it was a statement that brought everything into focus – that Inuit children carry an incredible capacity for being outdoors and deserve every opportunity to play.
We look forward to watching these projects come to life season by season, and to sharing the stories that emerge along the way.
