Target: Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO of The Lego Group
Goal: Commend Lego for representing a disabled child among its many minifigures.
Lego recently unveiled a wheelchair-bound minifigure as part of its “Fun in the Park” set. The new figure comes after consumers around the world, including those here at ForceChange, called for disabled children to be represented among the pirates, cowboys, superheroes, and other characters that populate the Lego universe. Sign the petition and applaud Lego’s steps toward diversifying its world.
Consumers and activists have been calling for more diverse depictions–or any depictions–of disabled Lego children for awhile. A ForceChange petition from last year pointed out that the only wheelchair-bound character in Lego’s Duplo Community People line was elderly. Other consumers called for diverse depictions of disabled people, including not only those in wheelchairs but those with hearing aids, those using white canes, and so on.
The inclusion of a disabled person in Lego’s “Fun in the Park” is a great success. Sign the petition applauding Lego for including more diverse characters, and urge the company to continue expanding its disabled minifigures into other playsets.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Knudstorp,
I am writing to commend you for including a disabled minifigure in Lego’s “Fun in the Park” set. This new addition to the Lego world is in keeping with Lego’s philosophy of expanding children’s horizons and broadening their imaginations, and it sends a strong message to disabled children especially: you are just as capable of fantastic adventures as anyone else.
The inclusion of a wheelchair-bound figure among the superheroes, pirates, astronauts, princesses, and other characters that populate the Lego world goes a long way toward removing the stigma from disabled children and making them feel as though they, too, belong in this fantastical world where anything is possible. Its casual inclusion as part of a larger line presents able-bodied children with another character who is as normal or extraordinary as they want it to be, rather than with a heavy-handed lesson on people who are different.
I am very excited about the inclusion of this minifigure, and I hope in the future Lego will continue to diversify the characters that make up its world and will expand these characters into other playsets. Until then, I congratulate you on this promising step forward.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Alan Chia
342 Signatures