Building a Better Normal

The last 19 months have been a strange and disrupted period for us all, but perhaps for none more so than the world’s children. Put simply, the effect of the pandemic on education has been cataclysmic. Globally, 90% of children have had their studies interrupted, with COVID-19 restrictions, school closures, and lack of access to learning opportunities commonplace. While the lost learning is of course significant, we do not yet know the full impact on children of being deprived of the chance to develop socially and emotionally together. What we do know is that the pandemic has widened existing inequalities and increased the insecurity of the most vulnerable. 

The Power of Play

What we also know is that the time to act is now. Unless those that have the biggest influence on children’s lives work together, the futures of millions of children worldwide hang in the balance. Significant, coordinated investment is required to prevent today’s children becoming a lost generation; or to be more positive, we have before us the opportunity to together make a great difference in the lives of many. The LEGO Foundation has recently announced a new $150M USD donation to support children and families globally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that donation, we have allocated $80M to partners supporting children’s access to play-based learning opportunities, as we try to improve their everyday lives.

The importance of learning through play cannot be understated. It is the most natural way for children to gain a breadth of skills, and to develop physically, socially, and emotionally. Now, as children struggle with unprecedented levels of anxiety and isolation due to the pandemic, the role of play has become even more crucial, for its ability to reduce stress and build resilience. 

Improving Vaccination Equity

While some developed countries can now talk of returning to normality “Post-COVID”, for much of the world that point is still far beyond the horizon. It is the poorest nations that face the gravest challenge in acquiring and rolling out COVID-19 vaccines. This is a children’s rights crisis! To help combat this, the LEGO Foundation is donating $70M USD to UNICEF towards access to vital vaccines and health supplies benefitting parents, teachers and caregivers in vulnerable communities around the world.  

Responsibility and Opportunity

 At the LEGO Foundation we believe in the power of partnership. It is only by working together that we can seize this great opportunity. Both funding and action must be priorities for the international community; governments, philanthropic organisations and the corporate world must come together to invest in the best possible future for as many as possible. The recovery starts here; the responsibility rests with every one of us.