LEGO Foundation announces Build a World of Play Challenge winners

The LEGO Foundation has announced the five recipients of its Build a World of Play Challenge to fund impactful solutions focused on early childhood. A total of DKK 900 million (approximately AUD$ 189 million) is being awarded to support organisations that make substantial contributions to the lives of children from birth to six years of age with the intention of sparking a global movement to prioritise early childhood development.

 

The Challenge was conceived to fund innovative projects “that make a real difference for global childhood development and give young children a better start in life,” Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, Chairman of the LEGO Foundation Board of Directors explained. 

 

Significant funding was made available for the Challenge as part of the Foundation’s commitment to help build a better world for young children to thrive, made as part of the brand’s 90th anniversary. 

 

Three grants of DKK 200 million (or approx. AUD$ 42 million) each and two grants for DKK 100 million (or approx. AUD$ 21 million) each were presented to the awardees. The grants will help in furthering their projects which promote the well-being of children, their caregivers, and their communities, using culturally relevant and sustainable approaches.

 

The three higher amount awarded projects were:

 

• Akili Family: Localised Play-Based Learning for African Families & Communities : Ubongo International will scale Akili Family, educational entertainment multi-channel programmes that air in several African languages, to support at-home learning for children and their caregivers.

 

• GogoPlay: Ecosystems of Play for Children in Rural South Africa: IRD Global will build ecosystems for early childhood development in rural South Africa by upskilling women, especially grandmothers, in play and well-being within villages and co-creating centralised playhouses.

 

• Reclaiming Indigenous Children’s Futures through Home-Visiting and Intergenerational Playspaces: Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health and partners worldwide will scale culture-based home education and intergenerational play spaces for Indigenous children and families.

 

The remaining awardees were: 

 

• Catalysing REAL Fathers across Uganda for Early Learning and Play : Impact and Innovations Development Centre and partners will teach positive parenting and non-violent discipline to reinforce positive fatherhood norms.

 

• Empowering Disabled Children to Play via Early Assistive Technology Access : Clinton Health Access Initiative will empower disabled children to thrive, by supporting sustainable and community-led government programmes that provide early screening and life-changing assistive technology in eight countries.

 

 The LEGO Foundation partnered with Lever for Change a non-profit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, to manage the Challenge process.  

 

The Challenge received a total of 627 valid proposals from 86 countries, from which ten finalists were selected. Applicants were evaluated by experts from across the world based on four criteria: whether they were impactful, feasible, community-centred, and sustainable.

 

More details about the Challenge can be found here.