'play and learn with miffy' - Early Childhood Development Co-Creation

Team members of ‘play and learn with miffy’ visited Caracas, Venezuela, where they met possible partners, brainstormed with the creative team, and researched the business development of yoyo.

The first step was a workshop organised with local children where creative and cultural-specific input was gathered as the basis for a second workshop where local professional illustrators, writers, and ECD specialists, together with Butterfly Works, created a new local character and its storyline for local children up to the age of four.

"...The children’s workshop material was the starting point of the new character and his story and surroundings. First new animals were examined and a first story line was created. The challenges of going back to simplicity were faced, Venezuelan customs were explored....The ...work, which consisted of hundreds of drawings, verses, storylines and the development from sloth to yoyo and the first outlines for the actual book, was presented in an exhibition...where friends, family, publishers, Early Child Development specialists were gathered....According to the Venezuelan tradition the evening ended with some salsa."

After creating yoyo, the team of play and learn with miffy organised a professional workshop to scrutinise the character and the story and gather feedback from partners and some specialists in the field, including a journalist in children’s literature, a professor of illustration, an illustrator, and a Spanish language professor.

Venezuelan designers associated with the Butterfly Works project visited Amsterdam, Netherlands, to finish the first book of yoyo, yoyo llega (there comes yoyo), accompanied by an instruction folder for its use in ECD. "By implementing specially developed reading programmes, such as an additional inlay which functions as a HowTo suggestion, play and learn with miffy will stimulate the themes addressed in the books and more important guide the stimulation of reading to or with children by parents or caregivers."

Children, Education

From the website: "Although advances have been made serious social problems still affect Venezuela's development. Such is the case of high levels of crime, violence, and long-term social ills such as extreme inequality and poverty. Next to that one million girls around the country are under aged mothers.

A fairly large middle class, 18% of the country’s 28.8 million residents, is also an important factor for the project ‘play and learn with miffy’. Towards a sustainable self-financing future ‘play and learn with miffy’ will brand these new created friends in the specific country. Merchandising and educational products profits gained from the purchases will be reinvested in developing more books and ECD activities. In this way the middle class of a country will be a part of the support and promotion of ECD of low income families and invest in its own countries future."