The Christen Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V) party has launched a month-long campaign aimed at encouraging children and young people to spend less time in front of screens and more time outdoors.
The ‘May Screen-Free’ campaign kicked off on Wednesday with a playful championship of ‘screen throwing,’ a symbolic gesture to highlight its goals.
Party chairman Sammy Mahdi stressed the importance of creating more spaces where children can play and fostering physical interactions among people.
Just about 34% of Flemish children play outside, research shows
He warned against becoming addicted to screens, criticising technology companies for promoting addictive behaviour. “We need to be stricter about this,” Mahdi said.
CD&V points to research highlighting a sharp decline in outdoor activity among Flemish children over the years. According to the ‘play index,’ the percentage of children playing outside fell from 75% in 2008 to just 34% projected for 2024.
To address this, the party proposes making sure that every child in Flanders has at least two hours of outdoor playtime daily.
This includes creating more play areas, opening schoolyards after lessons, and providing additional Flemish support to local governments investing in child-friendly neighbourhoods.
CD&V wants new social planning projects to cater for children's safety
CD&V also wants new spatial planning projects to systematically consider children’s safety.
Mahdi recalled a time when children could play safely on the streets without worrying about traffic. “Today, many parents are understandably concerned,” he said, emphasising the need to prioritise safe spaces for play in urban planning.
Flemish legislator Gilles Bultinck hopes to make the campaign a recurring initiative. He suggests holding a monthly ‘outdoor play alarm’ every first Wednesday afternoon, where broadcasters halt programming to encourage children to head outdoors.
The party is also calling for stricter regulations on social media platforms and technology companies that, it says, deliberately design addictive screen applications targeting young audiences.
