How We Work
Across the world, too many children grow up without stories or spaces that reflect who they are. Lilipad creates libraries where their voices are heard and their stories matter.
The Problem
In shelters, refugee housing, and marginalised neighbourhoods, children are growing up without access to multilingual books, cultural connection, or safe places to creatively express themselves.
These are the children most at risk of being left out of public life, not by accident, but because the systems around them are overstretched, fragmented, or never designed for their needs to begin with. Many are navigating complex trauma, new languages or environments where creative expression comes last.
Whether it’s girls in institutional care or refugee children in temporary housing, their potential is enormous - but the spaces where they grow up weren’t built to include their voices or their dreams.
The Lilipad Solution
We establish libraries where they’re needed most: inside child protection centres, refugee accommodations, and overlooked neighborhoods.
Our work begins with listening. We co-create every space with community partners, caregivers, and children themselves, so each library feels like it was always meant to be there. Each Lilipad library is a safe space filled with books in children’s native languages, stories that reflect their worlds, and creative workshops led by facilitators they can trust.
Whether it’s a reading circle in Berlin or a storytelling workshop in Casablanca, all our activities are meant to help children fall in love with the world of stories.
Our Approach
1. Find a local partner: We collaborate with schools, shelters, and community centres that share our commitment to children’s well-being and creative expression. Each partnership is carefully assessed to ensure a strong fit and the potential for long-term impact.
2. Creating libraries: Together with our partners, we transform existing spaces into safe, multilingual libraries filled with books that reflect children’s languages and cultures. Each library becomes a small sanctuary for imagination and belonging.
3. Workshops & storytelling programmes: Through storytelling, writing, and creative workshops, we help children build confidence, well-being, and resilience. Led by local facilitators, these programs keep each library alive and connected to its community.
The Desired Change
We want every child to grow up with the confidence to shape their own story, and the tools to do it.
When children are surrounded by stories that reflect who they are, supported by trusted adults, and given space for creative expression, something shifts. They begin to speak more freely and, most importantly, see themselves as capable and full of possibility.
Over time, these moments nurture confidence, well-being, and resilience - not just for children, but for their families and communities too. This is the impact of Lilipad: creative spaces that strengthen creativity and ultimately belonging.
