ITRA: International Toy Research Association

3^rd ITRA World Congress, London 19, 20, 21, 22 August 2002
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The Congress Programme can be found here.

Conference Theme

The themes of the conference were the uses and effects of toys, games and media; toys as media, and media as toys. A wide range of approaches were encouraged from the biological, psychological, and social sciences.

Papers, workshops, and symposia were designed to explore any of the conference themes; topics included:

Historical analyses of children’s toys and media
Aesthetics and cultural identities in children’s media
Children’s patterns of media use
Globalization of children’s culture
Uses and interpretations of computer games
Applications of media to health, education, science
Media literacy
Comparative studies of toys and other media
Television games
Toy inventories at home, in schools
New entertainment technologies

Venue

The 3^rd World Congress of the International Toy Research Association was held in conjunction with the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth & Media, University of London Institute of Education. The Centre acts as a focus for research and consulting, and for networks of practitioners in the field. Current projects focus on the uses of educational media in the home; migrant/refugee children’s uses of the internet; children’s responses to sexual content on television; and media education in secondary schools and in youth/community work settings.