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BY MARI MEGIAS
July 29, 2020
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What’s it like, during the pandemic, to lead a nonprofit that is heavily focused on in-person experiences? How can the mission of such an organization be achieved virtually?

These are just two of the questions that Dina Buchbinder MC/MPA 2016 had to confront last March as the scope of the virus’s spread became clear. Buchbinder had founded the nonprofit Education for Sharing (E4S or, in Spanish, Educación para Compartir) 13 years ago; she received the Kennedy School’s Emerging Global Leader Award in 2018 in recognition of her work to build better global citizens through play. But she never thought a pandemic would disrupt her organization’s operation.

“All our operations were in person,” says Buchbinder, who was forced to reduce her global staff significantly and institute pay cuts in the face of the novel coronavirus. “We had to shift to be of service online, to help families navigate this complex time. We are focused on preserving mental health and an environment at home that allows parents to infuse a sense of harmony, play, and connection in a meaningful way, so we can come back stronger and more united and ready to address the next challenge.”

She refocused her remaining team members on virtual activities that families could participate in at home. Team members of course had to use just the resources they had at home; they also included their families in the videos.  “With the team that was left, we had to reinvent the way we approach creating global citizens through play. It’s very different to do this on the digital side.  Not that it’s good or bad, but it’s a different animal. We didn’t want to go and start producing content just to produce content—there is so much already out there, it’s overwhelming. We wanted to genuinely be of service and fill a real gap.”

During the pandemic, E4s is working on several projects, including one that helps teachers learn how to teach digitally. “We realized there’s a huge gap for teachers to migrate to online classes, and that the majority of teachers in the world don’t know how to do this. We are taking this opportunity to train teachers digitally—and adopt E4S’s methodology while we’re at it. The other thing is that we are creating a back-to-school catalog of games with the Mexican education minister. How do you bring the safety and health protocols to a place where they’re a game?” she asks. “These games are meaningful, help people collaborate and coordinate, and to make people feel valuable and important.”  One of the games involves a version of freeze tag, where children can learn how they can protect themselves and others through hand washing.

E4S has also started a campaign using the hashtag #AlsoAtHome (#TambiénEnCasa in Spanish). “It’s one of the initiatives we’re doing for free to support families and teachers,” she says of the videos that E4S has shared on its so that everyone in the family can participate in fun and educational activities. E4S also invited children, parents, and teachers to virtual forums to share their experiences and feelings and to connect with each other.