The Final Stage of the P.E.R. Project on the Future of Learning Takes Place in Billund

From 20 to 22 November, on the occasion of the International Day for the Rights of the Child, Fondazione Reggio Children and The LEGO Foundation will be in Billund (Denmark), home of the LEGO Group, for the concluding event of P.E.R. – Play Explore Research, the international project dedicated to the relationship between play, creativity, and learning, launched two years ago in Reggio Emilia.

The project, initiated at the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre in 2023, has travelled across seven countries — including Brazil, South Africa, the United States, Kenya and Vietnam — fostering dialogue and exchange among diverse educational communities. Along this journey, P.E.R. has increasingly highlighted how play represents a universal language capable of supporting deep learning and inspiring innovation in educational policies.

“The P.E.R. project with The LEGO Foundation, which Carla Rinaldi cared about deeply, has achieved important results,” says Francesco Profumo, President of Fondazione Reggio Children. “It has placed the relationship between play and learning at the centre of international attention and has contributed to the establishment of the Foundation’s new Educational Research Centre. The many experiences involved — from small schools in the Amazon to the slums of Nairobi, from universities to design institutions — have created a global community committed to rethinking education in an inclusive and contemporary way.”

A program dedicated to the future of learning

The action-conference “The Future of Learning”, hosted at the International School of Billund, will bring together researchers, educators, and students from around the world to explore new perspectives on education, spanning nature, play, and the digital dimension. 

Giovedì 20 novembre alle 17.30 è prevista la sessione plenaria “Nuovi mondi crescono: cosa vediamo nel futuro dell’educazione?”, con interventi di Mitchel Resnick (MIT Media Lab), Francesco Profumo (Fondazione Reggio Children), Harold Göthson (Reggio Emilia Institutet), Ricarose Roque (University of Colorado Boulder) e Camilla Uhre Fog (International School of Billund). Saranno la stessa Camilla Uhre Fog, preside della International School of Billund, Joe Savage Head of Impact and Evidence di The LEGO Foundation e Cristian Fabbi, direttore generale di Fondazione Reggio Children, ad introdurre i tre giorni di attività.

On Thursday, 20 November at 5:30 p.m., the opening plenary session “New Worlds Grow: What Do We See in the Future of Education?” will feature contributions from Mitchel Resnick (MIT Media Lab), Francesco Profumo (Fondazione Reggio Children), Harold Göthson (Reggio Emilia Institutet), Ricarose Roque (University of Colorado Boulder), and Camilla Uhre Fog (International School of Billund). Camilla Uhre Fog, together with Joe Savage, Head of Impact and Evidence at The LEGO Foundation, and Cristian Fabbi, Director General of Fondazione Reggio Children, will introduce the three-day program.

Venerdì 21 novembre, dalle 8.45 alle 15, sarà invece una giornata dedicata a dialoghi, esplorazioni e workshop tematici curati da diverse organizzazioni internazionali, tra cui Fondazione Reggio Children, il gruppo di ricerca Lifelong Kindergarten del MIT Media Lab, LEGO Education, Kolding School of Design, Pause – Atelier dei Sapori con Cirfood e il Dottorato in Reggio Childhood Studies di Unimore e Fondazione Reggio Children.

On Friday, 21 November, from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the program will continue with dialogues, explorations, and thematic workshops curated by several international organizations, including Fondazione Reggio Children, the Lifelong Kindergarten group of the MIT Media Lab, LEGO Education, Kolding School of Design, Pause – Atelier dei Sapori with Cirfood, and the PhD Program in Reggio Childhood Studies of Unimore and Fondazione Reggio Children.

From 10 a.m. to noon, participants will be able to join 12 in-person workshops. Topics include: high-quality educational policies, the relationship with nature and the plant world, listening to materials, dance and embodiment, creative play in the Anthropocene, children as co-designers, inclusion, scrapbooking and creative documentation, digital storytelling, and more.

At 1 p.m., the session “From Reggio Emilia to Billund: A World Tour of the P.E.R. Project” will highlight how P.E.R. explored learning as a dynamic process shaped by differences and cultural exchange.

Activities open to families and children

On Saturday, 22 November, the event will conclude with “Meeting Along the Way”, a playful and participatory installation open to families, children, and people of all ages, designed to build and play together around the themes of connection, shared journeys, and bridges between communities.

Participation is free of charge.

Plenary sessions can be followed via livestream by registering at events.frchildren.org or by writing to participate@frchildren.org

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