Call for entry – 2022 Design Thinking with Children Fellowship programme

The 2022 Design Thinking with Children Fellowship programme, a Play Africa initiative, has opened applications for its second intake.

Based at Constitution Hill, Play Africa is considered to be South Africa’s “pioneering” children’s museum and education makerspace.

The Play Africa Fellowship programme welcomes applicants from a wide range of professions such as architecture, urban planning, design thinking, education, children’s advocacy and community development. The programme is also open to parents and guardians.

The Fellowship programme is designed to empower children to think creatively as they develop innovative solutions to real world challenges. This unparalleled learning experience builds children’s confidence as problem-solvers, helping nurture the next generation of African creators, innovators and inventors. By empowering children to prototype new solutions for safer and more playful cities, we pioneer inclusive, creative education in Africa.

“Children are changemakers who have a right to the city and deserve communities that serve their needs while reflecting their ideas and thinking,” says Zviko Kanyoka, programme manager at Play Africa. “So we’re looking for applicants who are passionate about empowering children to make their voices and ideas heard to transform their communities and cities.”

Workshop toolkit

As part of the programme, Play Africa has developed an easy-to-use toolkit to build the capacity of placemakers, educators and others to lead a participatory creative education workshop that empowers children to solve real-world challenges that can positively influence the development of more child-friendly, safe and playful urban environments, with a focus on African cities and towns.

Through the Fellowship training, Play Africa will equip participants with the practical skills and the toolkit resource to implement design thinking workshops with children ages 7-12 and beyond. By the end of the training, Fellows will be able to run Play Africa’s Design Thinking with Children workshop in their own community and will receive a certificate acknowledging their successful completion.

The Design Thinking with Children programme is made possible with the support from The BIC Corporate Foundation that focuses on supporting partners and programmes which create stronger and more inclusive, creative communities while inspiring and equipping our children and young adults to make their mark on our world.

For more information or to apply for the Design Thinking with Children Fellowship, visit .