Play Fest – Learning Through Play Festival, 2nd edition

Bucharest, 6 June 2025. On June 11, Romania celebrates, for the second consecutive year, Play Fest – The Festival of Learning Through Play, a nationwide event that brings together children, parents, educators, and entire communities to celebrate the power of play in early education.

The second edition of the festival is taking place simultaneously in over 100 nurseries, kindergartens, and primary schools in 55 localities across the country, bringing together over 10,000 children around this year's theme: “Color and Community in Motion.”

The activities prepared by teachers include creative workshops, collaborative games, and events held outdoors or in educational facilities. Children are encouraged to explore, create, and play in an environment that equally stimulates their emotional, social, and cognitive development.

Play Fest is organized as part of the “Early Childhood Education and Development in Romania” initiative, run by UNICEF in partnership with the Step by Step Center. As in the previous edition, the event aims to raise awareness of the importance of play in the early years of life, to value the role of teachers, and to strengthen the link between educational institutions and the community.

Play Fest 2025 also marks the celebration of International Play Day, established by the UN on June 11 and celebrated for the first time in Romania last year, on the occasion of the first edition of the Festival of Learning through Play. Romania thus joins the global effort to promote play as a fundamental right of childhood and an essential condition for quality education.

"Play Fest is more than a festival, it is an event that reminds us that every child has the right to learn through play. We want as many children as possible to enjoy the activities that will take place on June 11. Children discover the world through play, which is the basis of quality education, developing the inclusion and values we want for our children," said Anna Riatti, UNICEF representative in Romania.

Carmen Lică, executive director of the Step by Step Center, reiterated that “Play Fest is the only event that brings together children, parents, and teachers to celebrate play as an act of learning and belonging to the community—a moment when we celebrate childhood together and every child’s right to joy, discovery, and a good start in life.”

List of localities where the participating educational institutions are located

Alba Iulia, Arad, Bacău, Baia Mare, Bistrița, Blaj, Borsec, Botoșani, Brașov, Brăila, Bucharest, Călărași, Caracal, Caransebeș, Constanța, Crăciunelu de Jos, Dărmănești, Deva, Dofteana, Fieni, Galați, Gheorgheni, Grajduri, Iași, Lipănești, Livezi, Luduș, Lunca Cetățuii, Mediaș, Miercurea-Ciuc, Moinești, Nana, Năsăud, Onești, Oradea, Orșova, Pipirig, Ploiești, Podu Iloaiei, Poiana Vărbilău, Prisaca, Reșița, Satu Mare, Săcele, Sebeș, Suharău, Șaru Dornei, Târgu Mureș, Târgoviște, Târgu Jiu, Timișoara, Toplița, Tulcea, Tulgheș, Viișoara, Zalău.