A Chance to Play: A Lifeline for Children in Crisis

By David Miliband President and CEO, International Rescue Committee and Sidsel Marie Kristensen, CEO, the LEGO Foundation 

On June 11th, we mark the second International Day of Play. In a world where conflict and the climate crisis are intensifying, and inequality deepening, the simple act of play has become, for millions of children, a luxury rather than a right. 

Play is how children explore the world, express themselves, and begin to recover from trauma. It fosters resilience, promotes emotional regulation, and enables learning. 

One in eleven children globally will require humanitarian assistance in 2025. Over 473 million children live in areas affected by conflict. Behind these statistics are futures hanging in the balance. In these contexts, education and play is more than a path to knowledge—it is a lifeline.  

At the International Rescue Committee and the LEGO Foundation, we have witnessed first-hand the transformative impact of environments that enable children and caregivers to choose play every day, even in some of the world’s most challenging contexts. In East Africa, our PlayMatters project uses play-based learning to improve holistic development and wellbeing for over 800,000 young refugee and host community children.  

Over the past five years, PlayMatters has faced school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, displacement from conflict, and the constant pressure of limited resources. And yet it has endured, precisely because it is built on what works: evidence-based, culturally grounded, community-driven solutions that meet children and caregivers where they are. 

Earlier this year, together we launched the Learning through Play in Emergencies package—a toolkit designed to extend the reach of this work, especially in places where formal education systems are broken or absent. The premise is simple: empower children and those who care for them with the tools to learn and grow, using play as the medium to ensure that children learn through guided, hands-on, meaningful, play-based interactions in safe and inclusive environments. The research has found three distinct benefits: 

1. Resilience: Learning through play has been shown to mitigate the effects of trauma, supporting cognitive, social, and emotional development. 
2. Safety: Classrooms that integrate play are not just more inclusive—they are safer, more nurturing, and more responsive to children of all backgrounds and abilities. 
3. Wellbeing: Children who engage with playful learning are more motivated, more confident, and better able to regulate their emotions. 

In East Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, our joint work is also creating play spaces along migration routes, training teachers in mental health and psychosocial support, and working with governments to embed learning through play in national policy. Together, we’re helping children thrive, wherever they are.   

For a child in Sudan, Syria or Bangladesh, play is not frivolous. That is why, together with a global coalition of partners, we continue to advocate for children’s rights by calling for investments in parenting programs that promote play, increased access to pre-school learning and continued creation of safe, inclusive and well-maintained play areas. 

So on this International Day of Play, we must renew our commitment: that every child, everywhere, has the right to play. To learn. To thrive. To grow. To hope.