Play is an essential part of child development and when children play, they learn. But not every child gets the time or the opportunity to play and learn as they deserve.
work with parents, teachers, caregivers, policymakers, academics, businesses, grassroot organisations, NGOs and governments, all over the world.
In 2022 we exceeded previous years’ donations, committing a total of DKK 3,181 million in donations to programmes around the world.
That is where the LEGO Foundation comes in.
From our origins in Denmark, we work globally to make learning through play a priority for every child.
It is a significant ambition, which calls for systemic change. To get there, we fund research backing education initiatives, and work with partners who have the power to influence children’s lives. We
Together, the LEGO Foundation and partners are promoting the incredible potential in every child – by giving them the opportunity to learn as they play.
As part of the commitment to give children better opportunities to reach their full potential, the LEGO Foundation has been entrusted with 25% ownership of the LEGO Group and it is primarily through this ownership that the foundation funds its activities.
I am particularly proud of how we, in 2022, have supported children affected by the war in Ukraine and the organisations that made it to the final in our Build a World of Play challenge, which marked the 90th anniversary of the LEGO® brand.
My hope is that we one day reach every child in the world with learning through play.
In 2022 we exceeded previous years’ donations, committing a total of DKK 3,181 million in donations to programmes around the world.
The LEGO Foundation is a Danish corporate foundation set up in 1986 by the founders of the LEGO Group, the Kirk Kristiansen family. We own 25% of the LEGO Group, meaning a portion of the profit dividend of the company goes to funding the LEGO Foundation’s partnerships, activities and research.
We are here to secure and support the companies within the LEGO Group. And, in common with the rest of the LEGO group, we
We aim to: In 2022 we...
• raise the quality of education
• lower inequality
• increase inclusion
• and make life for children all over the world more joyful and meaningful
We do it by partnering with:
• charities
• not-for-profit organisations
• governments
• research experts
• various members of the LEGO eco-system, such as Ole Kirk’s Fond, LEGO® House and The LEGO Group
... committed 97 grants to 64 partners with a record high total value of DKK 3,181 million to give children across the world opportunities to play and learn – at home, at school and in communities.
... reached millions of children directly through programmes funded by the LEGO Foundation. And we reached millions more indirectly through media and campaigns.
... supported and partnered with 117 organisations globally to help children reach their full potential through play.
share one mission: To inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.
We want to reach millions of children around the world who do not already have access to learning through play. That’s why we collaborate with organisations that train teachers, implement development programmes for early years education and invest in research that helps us advocate for more playful learning systems.
We are 125 LEGO Foundation colleagues based in Denmark, Mexico, South Africa, Ukraine and the United States of America. Our colleagues have 27 different nationalities, but one shared passion: to make children’s lives better by making sure that everyone – from policymakers and school leaders to teachers and families – understands the fundamental value of play and gives children the time and chance to play and learn.
Check out our charter
Koldingvej
Holding and investment company owned by the LEGO Foundation
The purpose of the LEGO Foundation is to secure and support the basis for the continued existence and development of the companies within the LEGO Group and to provide support to education, research and children. (See page 23 in the Annual Report for details)
Private holding and investment company owned by the Kirk Kristiansen family
When children play, they learn. They explore and discover the world while learning about themselves, what they can do and what is important for them.
Play is one of our favourite ways of learning. Play lets us explore, practice and try out ways of tackling different situations. Playing involves a constant “try, fail, and try again” - helping us develop and fine-tune our creative and critical thinking skills. When children play, they hone ways of thinking, creating, working together and testing ideas – all skills they need to thrive throughout their lives.
One of the great things about play is that children can do it anywhere. We love seeing children enjoying LEGO bricks. But with a bit of
imagination, you can turn everyday items, such as cardboard boxes and plastic bottles into toys too. Play is for all. And anything can be a plaything.
When a child is guided by an adult who believes in learning through play and knows how to put it into practice, anything is possible.
Today we have discovered so much about the benefits of play for children everywhere. We know learning through play has the power to change children’s lives and we have research and experience that demonstrates how.
Explore the research
When children play, they hone ways of thinking, creating, working together and testing ideas – all skills they need to thrive throughout their lives.
Playing well is our core. The LEGO brand was created 90 years ago as an amalgamation of two Danish words that mean Play Well – LEG GODT.
The world is facing multiple global threats like climate change, which need urgent and creative solutions. These challenges hit low-income economies the hardest. But we are all connected: what happens in one area of the world affects another.
So unleashing the full potential of our future thinkers and leaders is key to a sustainable and better future for everyone.
We want every child to have the joyful, playful experiences they need to thrive, now and in the future. Learning through play allows children to practise the essential skills they need to be lifelong learners. It taps into the natural ways humans learn to nurture capable, confident children who become adults ready to take on the world.
More about play and skills
TOTAL NR. OF NEW GRANTS COMMITED IN 2022
97
TOTAL NR. OF ACTIVE GRANTS
199
TOTAL VALUE OF NEW GRANTS COMMITTED IN 2022
3,181 MILLION
Every one of the 97 grants we committed to in 2022 has a powerful story to tell. We would love to tell you about them all. But for now, we have asked our colleagues to choose a handful that illustrate the diversity of our 2022 grants.
WHERE Africa (Ethiopia)
GRANT
2022-2027 - DKK 127 million
BRINGING LEARNING THROUGH PLAY TO…
... children aged from three to six plus in emergency contexts, improving early learning and holistic development outcomes.
PARTNERS
Save the Children Federation, Inc; USAID (co-funder)
WHERE Europe (Scotland)
GRANT
2022-2023 - DKK 3 million EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF USING LEAR NING THROUGH PLAY…
... with LEGO® Braille Bricks on visually impaired children’s learning and skills development.
PARTNER
The University Court of the University of Edinburgh
Play this summer!
WHERE Latin America (Mexico)
GRANT
2022-2023 - DKK 12 million
BRINGING LEARNING THROUGH PLAY…
... to millions of parents, caregivers and children through a campaign using national mass media, public service announcements, gameshows, play expert videos and community activities encouraging children to make toys and games from things they find at home.
PARTNER
Fundación Televisa A.C.
WHERE Europe (Denmark)
GRANT
2022 - DKK 2 million
BRINGING LEARNING THROUGH PLAY…
... to centre stage through the Children’s General Assembly. Held in Billund, the event gives young people a platform to share their voice in debating the world’s challenges.
PARTNER
CoC office A/S (CoC Playful Minds A/S)
DKK 110 million PARTNERS
Denmark’s Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs; Save the Children; UNICEF; 300 educational institutions in Ukraine
More than 12 years ago Ukraine decided to give this generation of children the opportunity to learn through play to develop the skills that would equip them for the future. In partnership with the Government of Ukraine, the LEGO Foundation has reached over 80,000 teachers and 1.5 million students, by working with 300 preschools, all public primary schools, 35 pedagogical universities and colleges, and all 25 in-service teacher training institutions.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put a stop to much important work, but even a war could not stop teachers in Ukraine. Throughout the year, LEGO Foundation colleagues have collaborated closely with
teachers across Ukraine to support ongoing training sessions that focus on how to use play activities to support social emotional learning and provide psychosocial support to children.
We are watching with deep concern as the terrible situation in Ukraine continues. Throughout the year we have been reviewing our own programmes as the situation has developed, and we have provided emergency assistance through our trusted partners.
“Learning cannot be put on hold, because every day is important in the development of a child. As a teacher, I clearly understand that now is not the time to leave learning exclusively to parents, because every family experiences the war in different ways.
It is extremely important for a child to communicate with peers and a teacher. When I organise educational activities, I think through interactions so that children have the opportunity to play more, communicate and switch from daily problems to positive and joyful emotions.
The war has changed our lives, caused many challenges and we were not prepared for it. Now, teachers must constantly look for ways to overcome the challenges. It is extremely important to continue learning and sharing our experiences with like-minded colleagues. Every day we learn new ways to interact with children, change priorities, look for new resources and the most effective approaches in education. And, most often, it is the children who help us find the best ways forward during our engaged interactions with them.
Right now, every teacher understands our important mission – to nurture little Ukrainians – the future of our country.”
Olga GoncharenkoEarly Childhood Development Educator of Sumy Kindergarten 18
More on our emergency grants
EXTRAORDINARY 2022
THE LEGO® PRIZE 2022
DKK 732 thousand
PARTNER
aeioTU / María Adelaida López (Colombia)
Since 1985, the LEGO® Prize has been presented to individuals or organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the lives of children. The 2022 LEGO® Prize was awarded to María Adelaida Lopéz, Executive Director of the Colombian social enterprise, aeioTU. The award recognises her work advocating for, and championing learning through play in early childhood development and for inspiring others to bring learning through play to thousands of children across Latin America. The LEGO Foundation and aeioTU have been collaborating since 2018.
“Having the LEGO Foundation by my side, together creating a better, more playful and more meaningful environment for children, their educators and families, has opened up opportunities for aeioTU to contribute towards ending the cycle of poverty that affects thousands of children. It has allowed us to empower the early educational system in our beloved country, Colombia, as well as in Panama and Mexico.”
EXTRAORDINARY 2022
We celebrated the LEGO® brand’s 90th anniversary with a special commitment to the world’s youngest children. We called for bold and bright ideas to build a world where every child has the chance to learn and play and we received hundreds of incredible suggestions for projects. We chose five outstanding organisations as new long-term partners: Clinton Health Access Initiative, John Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, Impact and Innovation Development Centre, IRD Global and Ubongo International. They all promote the wellbeing of children from birth to six years old, their caregivers and their communities, using culturally relevant and sustainable approaches.
• We received 700 grant applications from 86 countries
• 627 were eligible for expert review
• 30 proposals were selected based on review and scoring by a panel of 300+ external expert reviewers
• 10 finalists each received a DKK 7.4 million capacity and planning grant
• The LEGO Foundation Board selected three organisations to be awarded DKK 200 million and two organisations to be awarded DKK 100 million grants
Learn more about our Build a World of Play partners:
Together with our partners, the LEGO Foundation works to create a lasting, sustainable impact on children’s lives across the world. Many of our grants are multi-year commitments for exactly that reason – to ensure long-term impact.
Playful Learning & Play Lab Scale-up (2020-2026)
Playful Daycare (2021-2023)
PARTNER
Capital of Children – Billund Municipality, Denmark
TOTAL GRANTS
DKK 30 million
In the municipality of Billund, the Capital of Children, all children get the opportunity to learn through play. In schools it’s called Playful Learning, and it is a project-based methodology.
2,000 CHILDREN REACHED IN 2022
When Vestre School used Playful Learning in grade 0 (for children aged five to six), they were amazed. Learning the full Danish alphabet usually takes a full school year. Using playful learning, the class mastered the letters in eight weeks. And a national test showed that they did not just know the letters, they knew how to use them appropriately, too.
“Normally we follow a textbook and it’s common that some of the children leave the classroom as they find it difficult to concentrate. This year we built a whole ‘pirate universe’ around the textbook tasks and the children got to play with the letters, contributing to building their own “pirate universe”.
No children left the class at any point, and I think that’s because they were engaged and motivated in a different way.”
Karina Jensen, Teacher, Vestre SchoolTeach for Mexico
PARTNER
Teach for Mexico
GRANT
DKK 20 million
To give children the opportunity to learn through play, their teachers must be able to teach through play. In Mexico, the LEGO Foundation has collaborated with the Ministry of Education and other government departments to change the attitudes and behaviours of early childhood development practitioners – the youngest children’s teachers.
Through the Playful ECD Centres and Youth Leaders programme, 141 fellows - teaching professionals who are committed and share the vision of a Mexico in which everyone has access to quality
education to achieve the full development of their potential –reached 1,538 practitioners and 9,940 caregivers. All increased their awareness and knowledge of the importance of learning through play, enriched playful learning environments and improved their parenting or teaching practices to allow children to be the active agents of their own learning journeys. As a result, 14,077 children in six states now have learning through play in engaging playful learning environments.
14,077
The LEGO Group, Global
Build the Change is a collaboration with the LEGO Group’s Social Impact and Partnership team. Through a network of partners, we are giving children globally the opportunity to express their hopes, dreams and imagination for the future – using bricks or other creative materials.
An example is the virtual field trip, which was broadcast live to over 30,000 students demonstrating the power of play and how children’s ideas can solve real world issues. This was followed up with classroom activities challenging children to come up with solutions that help bring biodiversity back.
Rebecca Winthrop is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education of the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. Her research focuses on education globally, with special attention to the skills young people need to thrive in work, life, and as constructive citizens.
Here is her summary of our partnership:
“To produce knowledge and inspire change, we need partners. We currently work with about 100 different partners - from governments,
nonprofits and private sector organisations to parent groups and teacher organisations. At the core, we need ongoing support to have independent research - for our scholars to follow the research where it leads us. The LEGO Foundation and others have given us the support to do just that, beginning almost a decade ago looking at the skills we need for a changing world. We assumed that decision-makers did not understand the importance of academic plus 21st century skills. If they did, they would do things differently. Our research, a survey of almost 150 countries, found that our assumption was wrong: 80% of countries prioritised this type of education, but less than 10% had concrete plans for how to deliver it. Consequently, we shifted our line of enquiry. Having partners who follow us, based on what our research shows, is invaluable.”
In 2022, Brookings Institution found that a power shift is needed to transform education systems globally. Through Brookings’ newest grant with the LEGO Foundation they explore how organisations, especially those in the Global South, could collaborate to develop evidence and tools and promote education system reforms with a focus on developing a breadth of skills for children.
Our partner in Ghana, Right To Play, supports kindergarten, preprimary and primary education teachers in teaching through play. After three years of work, the impact is felt both in practice and at policy level.
A P6 learner at one of the government schools participating in the teacher training programme, said: “Before, lessons here in our school were mostly talk or lecture, and were a little boring. Now that teachers use more playful activities connected to our lessons, we are more motivated and interested to come to school, and we remember what we learn much better.”
Ghana’s Education Minister, Yaw Osei Adutwum has big plans to transform teaching. When he called for an end to rote learning at the UN General Assembly, his comments went viral on social media. He is pushing for what he calls an “assertive curriculum”: “You can’t memorise your way out of poverty,” he reiterated in a meeting with us and Right To Play last year. We completely agree.