The topic is growing popular and people often wonder about its real meaning. Is it about strengthening equality or celebrating diversity? In our opinion, true wealth is achieved through the mixture of diversities, intended as gender, culture, race and ability. In other words, it is about achieving that degree of awareness that allows you to fully understand the potential energy that a society made up of "equally different" individuals offers.
We live in an extremely interlaced context to the point that this issue is no longer negligible, especially for companies like Clementoni which aim to support the growth of new generations
But what is an inclusive toy? I’m afraid we could not all agree on a single definition. However, let me say that in Clementoni we have our own distinctive key of interpretation. For us it means asking ourselves the right questions before even starting the design process. The best question always remains: “What does a child really need”?
I LIKE THIS GAME, IT'S USEFUL AND I PLAY IT AS I LIKE IT!
Children need to satisfy three specific needs: playing, socializing and tuning into their abilities. Designing an inclusive toy means to address these three needs simultaneously. Our concept of inclusion moves towards two coordinates: socialization and diversity. We design products that foster relationships between people (intended as parent-child and child-child) and promote the freedom of interpretation. Our toys offer structured gameplays but at the same time they open up to personal use to enhance the unique qualities of each individual. These adaptations help the toy be experienced differently by any child and allow it to break free from cultural, psycho-physical and gender stereotypes.
GENERATION GENDERLESS
Cognitive development is gender-free, that’s why contents should not be differentiated on gender basis. Digitalisation connects people and now this vision is expanding. Today’s children are less aware of gender differences and they conceive classifications with more fluidity (i.e girls do play football and boys do love dancing more and more - Kids Insight 2019 vs. 2020). This trend change is just the tip of the iceberg. The consumer market is also becoming aware and brands as well. Our products and campaigns are less and less oriented to specific gender targets and we carry out the ambition to play a key role in our industry supporting this socio-cultural change.
INCLUSION: EQUALITY OR DIVERSITY?
November 13, 2022