#PlayToGrow
The First 1,000 Days: A Key Period for a Child’s Future
Did you know that the early years of life shape a child’s brain development?
Every interaction matters: a game, a conversation, or even a simple touch stimulates and strengthens the rapidly forming neural connections essential for learning and future well-being.
Early Childhood Development: Building brighter futures from day one
During the first 1,000 days, a child’s brain develops at an extraordinary pace.
The more varied and appropriate stimulations a child receives, the more they develop their cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional skills, laying the foundation for success and personal growth.
UNICEF supports early childhood development.
With the #Hacktonplaytogrow initiative, we have mobilized young African talents to reinvent learning and play from early childhood.
UNICEF, in partnership with the Government of the Netherlands and as part of the French Muskoka Fund, is launching a hackathon to research innovative solutions, recognizing play as a crucial tool to stimulate the cognitive, social and emotional development of children from an early age.
Why an early childhood development hackathon?
The first years of a child’s life are crucial, forming the foundation for their future development.
It is important to invest in early childhood development to give every child the best possible start and generate significant benefits for themselves and the community.
The objective:
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Design games and toys that promote the social, cognitive and motor development of young children, while encouraging local innovation and respecting international manufacturing and environmental standards.
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These games must be adapted for children aged 6 to 36 months, including those with developmental deficits, using local materials and emphasizing the diet and nutrition of young children.
RESULTS
Young African Entrepreneurs Committed to reinventing learning and play
With the Hackathon #PlayToGrow initiative, we have mobilized dynamic young entrepreneurs across West and Central Africa to develop innovative solutions that enhance early childhood development.
We received 100 submissions from 12 countries and selected 3 winners from Benin and Burkina Faso!
These inspiring 3 young leaders are not just advocating for better ECD—they are creating real, community-driven solutions that empower children to learn and thrive.
The three winning teams present bold and innovative projects that improve learning environments, ensure inclusive nutrition, and create sustainable opportunities. Their work demonstrates how youth-driven social innovation can have a lasting impact and transform lives.
Meet the Hackathon WINNERS
We are proud to introduce the three winners:
Youssoufou Oluwa-Toyin Firdaoss from Benin (PASEEAN Project)
Hazoumé Claire from Benin (Vĭ Project)
Yedan Kassoum Irfan S. from Burkina Faso (NutriPlay: Afrik-Explorers Project)
From left to right: Youssoufou Oluwa-Toyin Firdaoss du Bénin (Projet PASEEAN), Yedan Kassoum Irfan S. du Burkina Faso (Projet NutriPlay: Afrik-Explorers), Hazoumé Claire du Bénin (Projet Vĭ)
They have developed innovative and relevant initiatives, perfectly suited to supporting the development of young children, which we present to you below.
These innovations also highlight the importance of a diverse and locally sourced diet in fostering children’s development.
UNICEF and all its Hackathon partners—the Government of the Netherlands, the Muskoka Fund mechanism, Click-Clack, Dalberg, Ecobank Foundation, Humanity & Inclusion (HI), Lego Foundation, and Van Leer Foundation—have applauded the commitment and determination of the three winners in developing solutions to support the growth of young children.
Follow the progress of our three winners’ projects:
The three winners will soon take part in a customized training program developed and delivered by Ecobank Academy to guide them in creating a business model and business plan.
This is just the beginning. We’ll follow their journey, sharing updates on how their innovations are transforming early childhood development. Stay tuned!
From left to right: Lamia Elgoutabi – Dalberg, Sybille Orevost – Lego- Duplo Foundation, Youssoufou Oluwa-Toyin Firdaoss – Winner, Yedan Kassoum Irfan S. – Winner, Hazoumé Claire – Winner, Karima Grant – Van Leer Foundation, Elisa Desbordes-Cisse – Ecobank Foundation.
The conditions for a toy/game adapted to the development of young children
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Safety: The materials used must be non-toxic (varnishes and paints must comply with safety rules for young children and be guaranteed non-toxic, for example: without dangerous substances), comply with current safety standards; The edges must be rounded and small parts avoided to prevent the risk of accidents (choking, injury, etc.); Toys must be durable and pose no danger to children.
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Sensory stimulation: Use of bright, contrasting colors to stimulate toddlers’ vision; Integration of various textures to promote the development of the sense of touch.
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Motor development: Games/toys encouraging the development of fine and gross motor skills, i.e. allowing small and large movements; Easy handling for children with or without disabilities, with shapes adapted to babies’ grip.
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Socio-cognitive development: Integration of simple shapes, numbers, letters or patterns to stimulate cognition adapted to the context of the region. The game/toy should provide a stimulating challenge likely to arouse the interest of the child/community and promote their progress.
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Environmental protection: favor local materials, natural materials, from the plant world and little or not transformed to limit the use of polluting energies; capitalize on the creation of a game (including a toy as a support) that is durable both in its manufacturing (simple assembly) but also durable over time (solidity and quality of the materials used); toy/game easily repairable and/or recyclable, scalable and transformable.
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Ease of maintenance: Toys must be easy to clean to ensure optimal hygiene.
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Durability and low cost: Use of resistant materials to guarantee a long lifespan of the toy.
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Cultural relevance: the game must be imbued with the cultural specificities in which it will be implemented in order to offer a respectful, relevant and enriching learning experience.
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Community integration/mobilization: Innovation must consider a strategy to engage families and community members to support the play-based approach to childhood development.
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Disability inclusion: innovation must be sensitive to the specificities of children with disabilities.
