Editorial

Abstract

This issue concludes my work as Editor-in-Chief of World Leisure Journal (WLJ). The consolidation of more than nine years of work, with an output of 36 issues of the journal, cannot be done within one editorial. Yet, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on this period. In my first editorial back in 2013, I wrote: “I feel excited and honoured to assume the role of editor of the World Leisure Journal”. Well, looking back, I still feel excited and honoured that I have been able to undertake such an important role and to make my humble contribution to the study of leisure and of course to World Leisure Organization. Upon reflection on those nine years of editorship, I feel that I have achieved the aims I set for the Journal and for myself. From the very beginning, I aspired to widen the scope of the journal and increase its internationalization. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of contributions by scholars from across the globe and from different disciplines. It was a satisfying process to present the world map with additional dots representing distinct geographical places as part of my annual reports to World Leisure Organization Board of Directors indicating a huge increase in WLJ’s global reach. We now have submissions from six continents. Apart from reaching out to scholars, I can also attribute the increase in submission rate to the Journal’s acceptance into Scopus in 2016, signifying an important milestone in its development. As stated by the reviewer: “Excellent journal, excellent, well-crafted, well-cited, interesting and informative papers. It was a pleasure to review this journal and an even greater pleasure to welcome it to Scopus!” Indeed, WLJ continues to be a popular scholarly outlet with an increased number of citations and global recognition. I also felt excited to be able to celebrate the Journal’s 60s anniversary making it the longest standing journal of leisure studies. All those achievements were the results of a heavy workload and harmonious collaborative process, and here I wish to extend my sincere thanks to members of the Editorial Board and International Editorial Advisory Board, our dedicated reviewers, the guest editors, World Leisure Organization Board of Directors and Secretariat, and Taylor & Francis team for their ongoing cooperation and support. It has been a great pleasure working with you all. My heartful thanks go to Eugene, our highly dedicated editorial assistant who has been with me in this long and at times challenging journey. Thank you, Eugene, for your great support and meticulous job all these years. Even though it is my last piece as an editor-in-chief, I will continue to support the Journal and World Leisure Organization in their efforts to scale new heights. Turning now to the contents of this issue, we have six research papers and two contributions to the News and Notices section. The issue starts with a paper by Tony Veal and Atara Sivan who have been leading the recent revision of World Leisure Organization’s Charter for Leisure and are the co-Chairs of the newly established Special Interest Group (SIG) on Leisure and Human Rights. In their analysis, the authors indicate how despite the recognition of leisure as a human right, it has been neglected in the United Nation’s mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating