The LEGO Foundation has awarded a transformative $100 million grant to Sesame Workshop, marking a significant step forward in providing crucial learning opportunities for young children affected by the Rohingya and Syrian crises. This groundbreaking partnership will leverage the power of play to foster essential skills and promote healthy development in some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Collaborating with esteemed organizations like BRAC, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and New York University’s Global TIES for Children, Sesame Workshop aims to reach children in Bangladesh and the Syrian response region, offering vital early childhood education through play-based methodologies.
This substantial grant from the LEGO Foundation underscores the paramount importance of play in early childhood development, particularly for children facing adversity. It positions the LEGO Foundation as a pioneering entity in answering the MacArthur Foundation’s call for bold philanthropic actions to revolutionize humanitarian support for young children in crisis situations.
The global refugee crisis presents a daunting challenge, with over 68.5 million people displaced worldwide, half of whom are children. With displacement lasting an average of 10 years, millions of children are deprived of adequate early childhood development opportunities during their formative years. Exposure to displacement and related traumas can profoundly impact young brains, leading to long-term health and well-being issues. Engaging in play-based learning with supportive caregivers offers a powerful countermeasure, mitigating the harmful effects of trauma and equipping children with the resilience and skills necessary for a thriving future and the rebuilding of their communities.
Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, Chairman of the LEGO Foundation Board and 4th generation owner of the LEGO Group, emphasizes the significance of this partnership: “This collaboration marks the LEGO Foundation’s inaugural commitment to the humanitarian sector, focusing on children’s comprehensive development through learning through play. We aspire to encourage other funders, humanitarian organizations, global leaders, and governments to prioritize and urgently support play-based early childhood development for children in humanitarian crises. This crucial area is often overlooked, yet it is fundamental to effective humanitarian aid. Our hope is that young children impacted by these crises will have meaningful opportunities to learn through play and cultivate the skills they need to flourish in the years ahead.”
Currently, less than 3% of global humanitarian aid is allocated to education, with a minimal portion reaching young children, despite compelling evidence highlighting the immediate and enduring benefits of early childhood interventions for both children and their communities. The LEGO Foundation is dedicated to making a tangible difference in the lives of children affected by conflict and displacement, striving to build a brighter future for generations to come.
John Goodwin, CEO of the LEGO Foundation, further elaborates on the critical role of play: “Research robustly demonstrates that play is not just beneficial but vital for children’s psychological, emotional, and cognitive health and development. It also cultivates the resilience they need to overcome adversity and shape their futures. Early adverse experiences can disrupt the development of brain architecture, which is the bedrock for all future learning, behavior, and health. By delivering play-based learning to children in crisis, we can effectively lessen the detrimental long-term impacts of displacement and trauma, ultimately providing a generation of refugee children with a pathway to a better future.”
Sesame Workshop will channel the $100 million grant into implementing high-quality, play-based early childhood interventions through partnerships with BRAC and IRC, focusing on several key areas:
Direct Services: In collaboration with BRAC, the program will expand BRAC’s Humanitarian Play Labs network to address the developmental needs of children aged 0-6 within Rohingya refugee and Bangladeshi host communities. BRAC’s Play Lab model is meticulously designed to provide preschool children with age-appropriate and culturally sensitive play materials, a play-centric curriculum, and secure environments for guided play that ensures their holistic development.
Children engaging in play-based learning activities at a BRAC Humanitarian Play Lab.
Complementing these efforts, Sesame Workshop will produce new engaging content, including videos, storybooks, games, and puzzles, featuring beloved Sesame Street Muppets. This content aims to strengthen interactions between children and their caregivers, address developmental needs, and foster resilience in children aged 0-6.
The program will also enhance the play-based learning components of the existing Sesame Workshop-IRC initiative serving children and families affected by the Syrian conflict. This includes providing enhanced support for caregivers to actively participate in playful learning with their children.
Mass Media Initiatives: Utilizing the widespread appeal of the Sesame Street Muppets, Sesame Workshop will create play-focused videos for dissemination through family-friendly mobile platforms and community pop-up screenings in refugee and host communities. Global Sesame content, including resources from Sisimpur, the Bangladeshi adaptation of Sesame Street, and a new TV series being developed in the Syrian response region, will be adapted to meet the specific needs of refugee and host community children.
A significant portion of the new content will be animated and nonverbal, ensuring its accessibility and relevance to displaced children regardless of their location or language.
Jeffrey D. Dunn, President & CEO of Sesame Workshop, expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative: “With the LEGO Foundation’s extraordinary award, Sesame Workshop and our partners have an unparalleled opportunity to reach and educate some of the world’s most vulnerable children by harnessing the transformative power of learning through play. The global refugee crisis is a defining humanitarian challenge of our time, and we are profoundly grateful for the LEGO Foundation’s trust in our ability to improve the lives of children affected by conflict. Together with our partners at BRAC, the IRC, and NYU, we can create a lasting positive impact for displaced children worldwide, both today and for future generations.”
Erum Mariam, Director, BRAC Institute of Educational Development, highlighted the resilience of children in crisis: “Women and children disproportionately bear the burden of humanitarian crises, and many endure traumatic violence. However, children possess remarkable resilience and seize every chance to play, learn, and simply be children. Play acts as a shield for children, even momentarily, helping them overcome trauma, create joyful memories, and build new friendships. With the generous support of the LEGO Foundation and in partnership with Sesame Workshop, we will expand our Humanitarian Play Lab model to provide children in both refugee and host communities with the crucial play and learning opportunities essential for their healthy development.”
Sarah Smith, Senior Director of Education at the International Rescue Committee, emphasized the urgency of early interventions: “Violence and traumatic experiences pose a significant threat to the healthy development of young children living amidst conflict and crisis. During this critical period of brain development, severe and prolonged stress can have lifelong repercussions on children’s future learning, health, and well-being. With the LEGO Foundation’s support, the IRC’s early childhood development program with Sesame Workshop will equip millions of children with the language, literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional skills necessary to mitigate the effects of toxic stress and lead productive, healthy, and fulfilling lives.”
NYU’s Global TIES for Children will serve as the independent evaluation partner for this program, conducting evidence-based research and evaluation to deepen the understanding of play-based early childhood interventions in humanitarian settings.
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Co-Director of the Global TIES for Children Center at NYU, shared his perspective on the partnership: “We are honored to collaborate with Sesame Workshop, BRAC, and the IRC on this landmark initiative to explore how play-based learning and support can cultivate a future filled with hope, creativity, and engagement for a generation of children in some of the world’s most challenging environments.”
The LEGO Foundation will disburse the $100 million grant to Sesame Workshop over a 5-year period, with funding released upon achieving pre-defined milestones.
About the LEGO Foundation
The LEGO Foundation shares a mission with the LEGO Group: to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. The Foundation is dedicated to building a future where learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. It aims to redefine play and reimagine learning by collaborating with thought leaders, influencers, educators, and parents to equip, inspire, and activate champions for play. For more information, please visit www.LEGOfoundation.com.
About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street, a pioneering television program that has been educating and reaching children since 1969. Sesame Workshop is a leading force for positive change, dedicated to helping children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Operating in over 150 countries, Sesame Workshop serves vulnerable children through various media, formal education programs, and philanthropically funded social impact initiatives. All programs are rooted in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities they serve. For further details, please visit sesameworkshop.org.
About BRAC
BRAC is a global leader in developing cost-effective, evidence-based programs and has been consistently ranked as the #1 NGO globally by NGO Advisor. BRAC’s vision is a world free from exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their full potential. Founded in Bangladesh in 1972, BRAC catalyzes change by creating opportunities for people to transform their lives. BRAC employs an integrated model to address systemic inequities through social development programs, humanitarian response, social enterprises, socially responsible investments, and a university. With an annual expenditure exceeding USD 1.1 billion, primarily self-financed through its enterprises, BRAC operates in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings across 11 countries in Asia and Africa.
About IRC
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, working to restore health, safety, education, economic well-being, and power to people affected by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the behest of Albert Einstein, the IRC operates in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. offices, assisting people in surviving, regaining control of their futures, and strengthening their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org and follow the IRC on Twitter & Facebook.
About NYU Global TIES
New York University’s Global TIES for Children, established in 2014, is an international research center focused on designing, evaluating, and advising on programs and policies that improve the lives of children and youth in the world’s most vulnerable regions. Embedded within NYU’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change and supported by NYU Abu Dhabi and the NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute, Global TIES for Children collaborates with leading NGOs and governments in low-income and conflict-affected countries to develop and assess innovative approaches to promote the holistic development of children and their communities. More information is available at https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/ihdsc/global-ties.
Children engaging in play-based learning activities at a BRAC Humanitarian Play Lab.
Media Contacts
Sunshine Sachs[email protected]+1 212 691 2800
The LEGO Foundation[email protected]+45 2030 8496
Sesame Workshop, Hallie Ruvin[email protected]
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