THE PARTNERSHIP.
Since 2016, Save the Children has worked in partnership with the LEGO Group and the LEGO Foundation to achieve Save the Children’s ambition – that all children survive, are protected, and learn.
Over the last decade, we have been collaboratively implementing more than 55 impactful programmes helping more than 1 million children and parents/caregivers in 27 countries across the globe. This collaboration demonstrates the value of long-term investment in play, learning, and well-being — including in contexts where children are affected by crisis and conflict.
Together, we are committed to helping children thrive and reach their full potential through quality learning and wellbeing interventions incorporating play, playful approaches, and holistic development.
Nabil*, 8, plays with other children during a Save the Children Support Session in Gaza. Eyad AlTawil / Save the Children
THE POWER OF PLAY.
Happy and healthy childhoods are built on play. Play is not just fun. It’s essential for every child’s development. And it’s a fundamental right, not a luxury. Play builds resilience and confidence. Play heals trauma. Play boosts learning, social and life skills. Every child deserves to play safely and freely.
At Save the Children, we embed play across all our work – in homes, schools, safe places, clinics and more. Our programmes ensure play is inclusive, culturally relevant and child-led.
We are proud to be one of the founding members of the International Day of Play, and part of a growing network of organisations who are committed to building a global play movement for children everywhere, protecting childhoods for generations to come.
About the LEGO Group.
At the LEGO Group, everything is guided by a vision to become a global force for Learning Through Play, a fundamental belief in children’s right to play and a mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.
The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEgGOdt, which mean “Play Well”. Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. However, its products are now sold in more than 120 countries worldwide.
Learn more about the LEGO Group.
Learning Through Play with the LEGO Group.
As an implementation partner of LEGO Group’s Build the Change programme, we work with children, families, schools, and communities to strengthen children’s learning, wellbeing, creativity, and participation through play.
Together, we support children in Italy, Germany, Spain, and Mexico to address real-world challenges and use play to imagine more sustainable futures. In Denmark, we focus on strengthening children’s voices and participation through play, and in Germany we are supporting children in vulnerable communities to learn through play.
In Indonesia, our partnership supports adolescent-led climate engagement, while in China we are boosting early childhood education.
Around the world, in all contexts, play is a powerful way to spark curiosity, encourage learning, participation, and inclusion, and strengthen children’s social, emotional, physical, and creative wellbeing.
About the LEGO Foundation
The LEGO Foundation is an independent Danish corporate foundation working with partners around the world to support children’s needs and champion the dignity of childhood.
The LEGO Foundation believes every young person deserves a childhood that protects them, respects them, and lets them be a child. And that’s what they’re working to build through partnerships, knowledge, funding and investment in solutions that help children thrive.
Learn more about the LEGO Foundation.
Karim* attends a Community-Based Learning Facility supported by LEGO in the displacement camp where he lives. Imran Khan / Save the Children
SUPPORTING CHILDREN IN CRISIS.
For children growing up amid violence, displacement, and uncertainty, education is far more than learning – it is a lifeline.
Education provides safe spaces where children can play, learn and begin to recover from trauma, while restoring a sense of normality, stability and hope for the future.
In May 2026, at a time when global humanitarian needs are reaching record levels, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the LEGO Foundation were proud to launch a new four-year partnership to deliver urgent, play-based education and protection to children affected by conflict and crisis.
Through this partnership, an estimated 300,000 children in conflict-affected countries around the world – from Haiti to Bangladesh and from Lebanon to Somalia – will gain access to protective, playful education, improving children’s wellbeing, resilience and future opportunities.
Adel*, 13, and friends skip outside their classroom, in Kasai, DRC. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham / Save the Children
GIRLS’ RIGHTS.
Recent research reveals that girls’ rights are still often denied.
Girls often face more risks than boys, including physical or sexual violence, with 1 in 5 girls and women (650 million) having experienced sexual violence during childhood.
Save the Children analysis from China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Vietnam, June 2026 also shows that girls’ safety, mobility, learning, and ability to speak up and to lead are undermined.
Daniela, 14, from Mexico, and her friend created the radio programme ‘Voces Imparables’ (‘Unstoppable Voices’), addressing violence against girls, gender inequality, and children’s rights in her community. She wants to inspire girls to see themselves as rights holders and leaders:
“Empowerment is being able to do things on my own and being trusted to do the same things as a boy.”
This is why the LEGO Group, the LEGO Foundation, and Save the Children have been working to together to champion girls’ rights through our 'Girls Unstoppable' campaign.
Girls Unstoppable
The Girls Unstoppable programme – in partnership with the LEGO Group and the LEGO Foundation – supports girls aged 10–13 to improve their wellbeing and sense of safety through girls’ clubs where they can meet, play, and build confidence to campaign about issues important to them.
Across China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mexico, girls are improving their decision-making and leadership skills and taking ownership of their learning and rights in safe, playful, participatory spaces.
To date, more than 35,500 children have been involved in the girls’ clubs, and a further 27,900 children involved through wider school and community activities.
We are also supporting girls to engage with governments and decision-makers in their countries through public forums, the media, and direct dialogue, which is helping to increase support for girls’ leadership and embed approaches within public systems.
Learn more about 'Girls Unstoppable'.
Supported by the LEGO Group. Funded by the LEGO Foundation.
Discover more about our collaborations with the LEGO Group and the LEGO Foundation:
9 Jun 2025
global
The Importance of Play for All Children
In this blog, James Cox, Education Policy and Advocacy Lead at Save the Children International, defends play as a vital right for every child. Amid crises and inequality, play supports mental health, learning, and resilience. In light of International Day of Play, he also calls on global leaders to invest in safe, inclusive play for all children.
11 Jun 2026
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What If Families Had More Spaces to Play and Connect?
Aaron Morris leads the LEGO Group’s family-focused social impact work. Here, Morris highlights how thoughtfully designed community spaces can help families reconnect through play, improving children’s wellbeing and strengthening relationships, while calling for broader societal investment to make these opportunities accessible to all.
“Since we joined the programme,” says 18-year-old Sandi, “all our dreams that we held in our heart have come true. Now the water is here. Right in the back of our house.” The programme he’s talking about is called i2Change, and the stories of change that come from it are incredible. Save the Children supports communities involved to uncover problems and develop in-novative solutions by igniting the imaginations of young people, nurturing their talents and building their self-belief. In 2023, in West Sumba, Indonesia, Sandy joined i2Change and formed a team with two other 18-year-olds: Soleman and Anjar. Through workshops, they considered the challenges people in their community faced and decided to tackle the lack of water in Sandi’s village. Children and adults, in-cluding pregnant women, were getting up at 3am to walk 3km down a steep and dangerous verge to reach a water source, carrying two five litre containers each. Not only was it incredibly risky, it was impacting children’s education and physical development; growing nutritious food was off the table, and children were missing school because of exhaustion or embarrassment at not being able to wash. The plan: to build a borehole and taps right there in the village. Over the next few months, Sandi and his crew received specialist training and support – not only in how to design and implement their plan, but also in public speaking, influencing and the kinds of things that grow your confidence and make people others listen to your ideas. The consulted with the community and worked on a blueprint for the water system with support from Save the Chil-dren. By the time Sandi and his friends chose the team-name Golden Scorpio, they had really started to be-lieve they could make a difference to their community: gold symbolises courage, and a scorpion is a small and unassuming creature that delivers a powerful sting – and can have a big impact. In West Sumba, that impact is being felt in so many ways. Following the boys’ plan, Save the Children and its partners dug the borehole, installed nine taps, and covered the costs. The community now has regular access to water – but so much more too. Children have more time to study and play. It’s easier for families to irrigate their vegetable gardens. Children can wash twice a day and go to school as a result. They have time and energy to play like children should. No-one is making the difficult journey anymore. Given what they’ve accomplished and the changemaker Sandy has become, it’s hard to believe he used to keep to himself. Now, he’s an outspoken advocate for issues affecting children and young people and has more big plans for his community. “We can make Indonesia much better,” he says, proud and full of confidence. Ulet Ifansasti / Save the Children
Our Corporate Partners
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