In the Beginning

Before ATB meets PBT in Macau, a prologue...

So, 

I was back in Macau, my hometown after a gap of four years.

And I gathered it’s time to call for a reunion of sorts,

to see how the children have grown up*,

perhaps beyond recognition.

And how everybody’s been doing or coping. 

It’s some surreal times we’re living in.

If we do share the same passion 

to prepare a better world for our children...

How may we gather strength for the next?

How may we become allies to one another

and reimagine a shared future together?

So together

for a good part of the day

we shared, played and created**

It was a lot of fun.

The children were amazing, as always.

I wasn’t expecting to receive a revelation of course.

It was only just to pick up from where we have left off.

In the weeks that followed,

I began to get back in sync with a city disenchanted.

I felt relieved that somehow I had decided 

not to introduce The Galactic Train*** 

as a game at the PlayCamp.

Because I realised that the Galaxy does not point towards 

an infinite world of imagination and dreams.

Here in Macau, the Galaxy is a casino group. 

And I was told that some young children have never been to the sea.

*children participants of Macau House of Childhood from 2018 to 2020

**PlayCamp.mo  7 January 2024

https://houseofchildhood.wixsite.com/macau/camp

*** taking inspiration from Night on The Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa

An Idea

So 

There’s much work to be done, isn’t it?

Or

Maybe less work, but more space?

Space

for children to be who they are

for life to unfold naturally

for worlds to simply become

Space

for children to speak

and we the grown-ups to listen

Space

for children to lead

and we the grown-ups to follow

Space

for children to experiment

to make mistakes

to be different

and to discover

Space

for children to feel free

to be silly

or sad or whatever

and it’s still okay

Space

where children need not be like someone

when children can be with themselves

be anything

and content with the sweetness 

of doing nothing in particular

A Wish

I hope that you’re still with me 

Remember the dots

and the lines? ****

We are living networks

Individually and collectively we have much to offer

We simply need to step out 

Where and when one of us names a wish

Those with matching capabilities gravitate towards the wish and answer

Shall I make a wish first?

**** an activity of PlayCamp.mo which seeded the A Floresta network [pw: wtf!]

https://houseofchildhood.wixsite.com/afloresta/about