Toy industries of Europe, the voice of the reputable toy manufacturers in Europe, (TIE) has announced the winners of the 2020 Play For Change Awards (#playforchangeawards).
Awards were given for innovation in three categories: empowerment; environmental sustainability; and future skills. Announced in a video released by TIE, the winners are:
Empowerment category
Recognising activities and toys that break boundaries based on outdated 'norms' of social status, ability, sex, race or religion:
Gold Award winner: Mattel for The Barbie Empowerment Project
Silver Award winner: Twin Science and Robotics for the Twin Science Kit for the VisuallyImpaired
Bronze Award winner: Mattel for Creatable WorldEnvironmental
Sustainability category
For initiatives and/or toys that educate about sustainability or deploy environmentally sustainable practices.
Gold Award winner: Hasbro for the Hasbro Recycling Project
Silver Award winner: Dantoy for BIO toys
Shared Bronze Award winners: Clementoni for the Sequence Puzzle and Allingham Games with The Good Life
Future Skills category
Recognising an initiative or product that prepares children for tomorrow's world.
Gold Award winner: Learning Resources for Artie 3000TM
Silver Award winner: Chicco Artsana for Adventure Airlines
Bronze Award winner: Geomag for Skyline New York
Despite the difficult pandemic circumstances, a substantial number of entries were submitted for the awards. Entries came from a wide range of companies, small and large, and they approached the three categories of empowerment, environmental sustainability and future skills from many different angles. Each award category had a dedicated, independent jury that represented a broad spectrum – disability rights, sustainability, education and play specialists, toy industry experts and more.
Chair of the Jury, John Baulch, publisher of Toy World magazine said: "The high quality of entries meant that the choice of winners was not always easy, but we are really happy with the innovation, impact and playfulness of the winning toys. An award like Play for Change that celebrates toymakers innovating for good will drive further positive change in our industry."
This was the inaugural year of the Play For Change Awards. Catherine Van Reeth, Director General of TIE, said: "We want the Play For Change Awards to become an annual celebration, driving further innovation and change within our industry. As the initiative gets better known and more established, our aim is that a Play for Change award becomes something to aspire to: a recognizable sign of achievement in creating toys for a better world."
