2022 Build A World Of Play Challenge

Overview

<p><strong>The Obstacle</strong></p> <p>The LEGO Foundation CEO stated, “We are currently facing the biggest global early childhood emergency that the world has ever seen… We must start building a world that puts the youngest in society first: building cities, education systems, healthcare systems and solutions to save our planet, at the forefront.”</p> <p>Between March 2020 and February 2021, 167 million children in 196 countries lost access to early childhood care and education services. Pre-primary students were the least likely to have access to remote learning, resulting in 120 million children. Between 2018 and 2020, an average of between 290,000 and 340,000 children were born into a refugee life per year, which means nearly a million children were born as refugees.</p> <p><strong>Overview</strong></p> <p>The LEGO Foundation introduced the Build a World of Play Challenge, a global $143M competition, to address the organization’s concern for a loss of access to services and support for children from birth to age six.</p> <p>The ongoing crisis faced by young children touches various areas such as: access to quality early childhood education and care, adequate nutrition, eradication of toxic stress in homes and communities, reduction of violence in homes and communities, protection from pollution, and supporting the social and emotional well-being of the whole family. Solutions should make a substantial contribution to the lives of children from birth to six years old, and spark a global movement to prioritize early years development.</p> <p><strong>The Challenge</strong></p> <p>The Challenge seeks solutions designed to meaningfully impact the well-being and holistic development of young children (birth-to-six) in a sustainable way. It asks the question: what if the needs of the world’s youngest children, their families and their communities were a driving force in everything from the way societies design care and education systems, plan health systems, design cities and infrastructure and tackle the climate crisis?<br>Organizations from around the world are invited to apply with ideas that transform early childhood experiences while addressing global social issues to ensure that all young children grow up in safe, nurturing, and stimulating environments – where they have everything they need to thrive. The Challenge is seeking ideas that connect with and can be integrated across systems and sectors, that are contextually relevant and that resonate within the communities who will ultimately own and sustain them.</p> <p></p>