THE LEGO GROUP JOINS FORCES WITH YOUTH SPORT TRUST TO TACKLE BARRIERS TO PLAY

The LEGO Group announces nationwide partnership with UK charity Youth Sport Trust to empower girls through play and sports
Team Unstoppable revealed – a squad of bold, fearless women featuring Dina Asher-Smith, Lauren Hemp and Jamie Chadwick to help inspire girls and overcome the pressure to be perfect
Part of the LEGO Group’s commitment to driving systemic change and spotlighting the creative possibilities that are unlocked when girls are free to play without limits

London – 3rd April 2024: Today, the LEGO Group announces it has teamed up with the UK children’s charity, Youth Sport Trust, to sponsor its Girls Active programme in primary schools. The programme aims to tackle barriers girls experience and empower them to make positive change through participation in sport and play opportunities across the country.

The partnership is part of the LEGO Group’s commitment to inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow through play and breaking down limiting societal stereotypes and biases that hold back creative potential.

Earlier this month the LEGO Group unveiled results from a global study looking into barriers girls face which showed that the pressure of perfection risks holding them back from reaching their full creative potential. Among UK girls, 89% feel a pressure to be perfect, 79% say the grown-up use of the word ‘perfect’ invokes negative emotions, while a further 77% of girls say certain words and language make them feel like they need to be perfect. This in turn is having a detrimental effect on outcomes for girls, with 74% admitting to avoiding tasks when they are afraid of not doing them perfectly. Overall, 78% of UK children say they would be less afraid to try new things if mistakes were praised more as learning opportunities.

Christian Pau, General Manager UK and Ireland at The LEGO Group commented: “Play helps develop vital skills that are essential to children’s development and supports building creative confidence, resilience and self-belief. We know that when girls have the space and freedom to express themselves fully and play without limits they are unstoppable, which is why we are committed to help break down barriers that stifle this.”

Ali Oliver, Chief Executive Officer at the Youth Sport Trust commented: “We see how the pressure of perfection is a barrier to girls’ participation and enjoyment of sport and play and where a perfection mindset encourages girls to stay in their lanes and fear failure. At the Youth Sport Trust we are committed to understanding the experiences of young women and girls and how these are constantly changing in a complicated world. Through the work of our Girls Active programme, we are addressing the barriers girls experience, while delivering consistent improvements in belonging and self-esteem, body image and physical identity. We’re grateful to have the support of the LEGO Group and are excited for the opportunity to make a positive change for girls, both now and for their future.”

Nine in ten parents say play helps their child’s self-expression, boosts their confidence to experiment, builds creative confidence and provides a safe space to explore and experiment without fear of failure.

To continue championing what can be achieved when girls can play without limits, the LEGO Group has brought together Team Unstoppable 2024 in the UK – a squad of bold, inspirational women to inspire girls with their stories of overcoming the pressure to be perfect and what they have been able to achieve when they can play unstoppable. The team of inspirational women includes Dina Asher-Smith, Lauren Hemp, Jamie Chadwick, Kadeena Cox and Anna Lapwood. Watch out for more from the team to come.

OTHER RESOURCES AND INITIATIVES TO DRIVE CHANGE

• Parenting Guide: ‘10 Steps to Fostering Creative Confidence’: A resource developed specifically for parents, caregivers and grown-ups looking for tips & tricks on how to help nurture creative confidence in children.
• LEGO Brand Retail Instore and Online Creativity Workshops: Aimed at young creators aged 6-12, the free workshops are focused on Entertainment, Space, Gaming, Dreams & Imaginations, and provide the freedom to create and play without limits.  Social Emotional Learning Content for Kids on LEGO Life: Designed to help children develop creative confidence and overcome creative blocks as well as fear of failure, the LEGO Group has worked with Peppy Agency and a group of creators to produce new engaging content coming to LEGO Life in April 2024.

Let’s celebrate girls’ creative powers and let her play unstoppable by removing the pressure for perfection and gendered language bias.

For more information on Play Unstoppable go to https://www.lego.com/en-gb/play-unstoppable/creative-confidence

The LEGO Group Asks Families to Build a Heart and Share the Joy This Holiday Season

Through #BuildtoGive, families can help the LEGO Group to bring the superpower of play to 1.5 million children around the world

Billund, November 2, 2023: For many families across the world, the holidays are a magical time filled with joy and celebration, but for some families the festive period can be a challenging time. That’s why the LEGO Group is encouraging everyone to help share the superpower of play with children that need it most, by building a heart out of LEGO® bricks as part of its #BuildToGive initiative.

For every heart shared on social media or on LEGO Life using the hashtag #BuildtoGive before 31 December, the LEGO Group will donate a LEGO set to a child in need of play. The aim of the initiative is to give 1.5 million children across the world in hospitals, children’s homes or vulnerable communities the chance to play this holiday season. The sets are distributed through the LEGO Group’s network of local charity partners in 24 countries around the world. More than 6.5 million LEGO sets have been donated through the LEGO Group’s #BuildToGive initiative since 2017.

It’s easy to get involved and share some joy and positivity; everyone simply need to build a heart. It can be big, small, weird or wonderful – there’s no right or wrong way to build a heart, just use your imagination! The LEGO Play Well study found that play helps families bond and makes them happier, but a recent LEGO study also found, on average, children globally spend seven hours a week playing, with a third of those children spending less than 3 hours – just 2% – of their week enjoying unstructured play. What better reason to bring the family together for some festive fun than to pass on the superpower of play through #BuildtoGive.

“Hearts are recognised all around the world and across many cultures as a symbol of love, joy, and positivity. This year, we are calling on families to once again help us spread that joy by taking part in the #BuildtoGive initiative,” said Diana Ringe Krogh, Vice President of Social Responsibility at the LEGO Group. “We are now in the seventh year of #BuildtoGive. Thanks to people around the world, we have donated millions of LEGO® sets to children in need of play through #BuildtoGive. We are looking forward to seeing all the different interpretations of hearts this year and are grateful that once again we can turn that creativity and play into a moment of giving.”

The #BuildToGive initiative is part of the LEGO Group’s broader Play is Your Superpower campaign which aims to inspire families to reprioritize playtime.

In addition to this campaign, the LEGO Group works with a range of charity partners and the LEGO Foundation to bring play to children in need in communities around the world. These programs provide children with opportunities to develop life-long skills such as problem solving, collaboration and communication that boosts their wellbeing and help them succeed in a fast-paced world.

You can find out more information about the campaign and how to get involved at LEGO.com/BuildToGive.