LEGO and Girl Rising are letting girls help write the next questions
A new edition of What Would You Do? puts young people into the development process, with LEGO support and input from TIME’s Girls of the Year.
A partnership that starts by listening
LEGO’s latest work with Girl Rising centers on a question adults do not always ask soon enough: what do girls themselves want a programme to address? In an October 9 update, the LEGO Group described how TIME’s Girls of the Year helped select the nonprofit for a new collaboration.
The company first gathered their views through a survey and conversations, then shortlisted organizations around the themes they raised. The girls made the choice. Now their involvement extends into developing a special edition of Girl Rising’s What Would You Do? card game.
The game is still taking shape
Girl Rising’s own partnership page explains that the original game launched in 2022. It uses playful conversation to explore subjects including relationships and personal boundaries. The organization says girls subsequently asked for space to discuss a wider range of questions.
The new edition is being developed with TIME’s Girls of the Year and Girl Rising’s Girls Advisory Council. Its intended subjects include friendship, stress, confidence and making choices. As checked October 26, the page describes work in progress, rather than announcing a finished game available to buy or download.
The mentor matters as much as the cards
LEGO describes the existing game as a guided activity led by a trained mentor, with participants considering situations together. It reports that nearly 70,000 girls across East Africa, Asia and Latin America are already playing. That is the company’s published account of the existing programme, not a measured outcome for the new edition.
For readers following LEGO’s wider social work, the distinction is useful. This announcement concerns support for an established organization’s approach to play and conversation. It does not announce another construction set.
A different kind of building decision
Our view is that the most interesting part of this collaboration comes before the finished object. Participants are helping define the questions, rather than simply being invited to respond to questions already chosen for them. That gives the eventual game a development story worth following alongside its design.
It also offers a useful way to evaluate future updates: look for how that participation changes the actual material. Which concerns become scenarios? How do mentors make room for different answers? What do the girls say after trying it? Those questions will be more informative than treating a partnership announcement as proof of impact. For now, the encouraging development is a process that gives young people a place in shaping what comes next.
Reporting checked October 26, 2026. Plans and programs can change; follow the linked organizations for current information.