Toy Industries of Europe Introduces the Play for Change Awards

Toy Industries of Europe (TIE) will honor toymakers for impacting the planet and kids’ lives in positive and inspirational ways during the inaugural Play for Change Awards.

The awards will focus on environmental, societal, and educational challenges across three categories: Sustainability, Empowerment, and Future Skills.

“The Awards will champion the products and initiatives of forward-looking manufacturers throughout Europe and will highlight how toy companies — no matter what size — are behaving like leaders, thinking beyond the product itself and towards the impact their company has on the planet and kids’ futures,” says Sanjay Luthra, chairman of the TIE board and managing director, EMEA at Mattel.

European toymakers are invited to submit entries from March 23-May 8. Winners will be announced in September.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.