On BRAC Play Lab – a low-cost model – that is spread across low-resource settings in urban Dhaka, and some parts of rural Bangladesh, we collaborate with communities to explore community wisdom and identify play practices, which we add to our play spaces and curriculum. We do not focus on the children alone; we bring families and communities together to take part in their children’s play, making them a part of our work. Local play materials made with recyclable items are used to actively engage children in their early years, thereby contextualizing our model with the surrounding culture.
To celebrate Lego Foundation’s 90th anniversary and BRAC’s 50th, we have launched the ‘Build a World of Play’ campaign. Within this campaign we have held around 100 Material Development Workshops throughout the country, in urban and rural regions as well as the humanitarian camps of Cox’s Bazar. On 7th December, BRAC Centre was buzzing with festivity with children playing and enjoying themselves doing a range of creative activities with contextualized BRAC Play Lab designed by the architecture team of BRAC IED.
Dr Erum Mariam, executive director, BRAC IED, and Kristine Morch, senior programme analyst, LEGO Foundation, were also present at the programme. The event was attended among others, by social media influencers of the country, cartoonists and artists Morshed Mishu, Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy and Masuda Khan and magician Arif Asgar. They spent time with the children and participated in many activities. Click here to take a look at our event at BRAC Center.
As part of this campaign BRAC IED designed BRAC Play Bus which is actually a mobile version of BRAC Play Lab. Along with lots of fun toys inside and outside there were various story books and coloring books for children, on the other side there are many colorful toys made from easily available materials such as clay, plastic bottles, tissue roll cores. Some children are busy climbing the chambers made of tires. It’s an effort to extend BRAC Play Lab’s reach and take PLAY to different communities. At BRAC Play Lab, we see children engaged in various types of games like this. In this way, children’s physical, social-emotional, intellectual and language development is enhanced through play.
Build A World of Play in Media:
Print:Daily Star| Kaler Kantho| Samakal| Business Standard
Online: TheDailyStar.net| Bdnews24.com| Dhakatribune.com| Kalerkantho.com| Deshrupantor.com| Tbsnews.net| Kalbela.com
Play Bus: A mobile play world for kids, প্লে বাস
Social Media: Objective of the camapign
