Taipei City Government

Regarded as a record-setting recreational equipment on public school playgrounds, Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the inauguration ceremony for the Giant Vertical Playground Facility “Maze Paradise” at Taipei Municipal Jianan Elementary School on November 11.
 
The huge structure came at a price of NT$1.5 million and is currently the tallest playground facility on school campuses across Taiwan. Hopefully, the “Maze Paradise” will provide the students of the school with a safe and dynamic playing environment during recess.
 
Ko pointed out that the city government has led the nation in promoting inclusive playgrounds since 2016. Currently, there are 58 inclusive playgrounds across Taipei City, with 16 more to be added next year. Replacing old recreational equipment with newer and more inclusive counterparts will be a focus in future overhaul plans for park and school playgrounds.
 
While the inclusive playground facilities are more expensive and requires more time to install than existing versions, the benefit of these equipment is that they can be used by kids of all abilities. Therefore, discussions with the local community beforehand is important to identify the specifics of recreational equipment meeting local needs. Doing so adheres to the spirit advocated by the Committee on the Rights of Children (CRC) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
 
The mayor also praised the outstanding performance of Taipei’s education policies, which leads the nation in many areas. Citing bilingual education as an example, a total of 28 schools have already implemented the program and expanding to 49 schools next year.
 
Likewise, the policy of smart education has also taken root in the city, with 6,036 smart education future classrooms across 236 schools and over 60% of these classrooms come with 85-inch touchscreens.