AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Quality Education, Reduced Inequality, Responsible Consumption & Production
KEYWORDS
education, children, Desk, chair, backpack
COUNTRY
South Africa
DESIGNED BY
Nicky van den Aardweg
WEBSITE
https://vdadesignco.wixsite.com/mytova
mytova
Empowering children without desks & chairs by bringing education one step closer in a backpack
95 million school children in Africa do not have access to a school desk. Mytova is a children's backpack that provides an instant educational environment, unfolding to produce a padded stool and writing board. Mytova responds to a common situation in developing countries, where many schools and homes lack basic facilities such as desks and chairs. The backpack is simple to transport, allows space for the child’s everyday materials, and is easy to assemble and dismantle, requiring no extra tools. A more conscious choice of materials leads to a backpack of repurposed fabric, and furniture components from newly developed PolyAluminium - a robust, water & weatherproof material from recycled Tetrapaks. Providing the child with a sense of ownership and stability over their workspace, Mytova is a flexible solution to a prevalent problem.