Boxes of Wonder: Creation of the Program with Children on the Move (2026)

Boxes of Wonder: Creation of the Program with Children on the Move is a manual presenting the use Boxes of Wonder (BoW), an innovative conceptual framework for structuring the programs of direct work with children on the move. Originally developed by the Save the Children North West Balkans during the European refugee crisis (2016-2018) for children on the move along the Balkans route, it has also been recognized, over time, and used by Save the Children teams working across Europe and globally as a valuable tool for promoting communication and information-sharing, fostering creativity, and providing non-formal education to children affected by migration and displacement.

The use of BoW toolkit in non-formal education is also documented and recognized as a Promising Practice in Refugee Education by the consortium of Save the Children, Pearson’s, and UNHCR. The Programming on the Move: Development and implementation of innovative and flexible participatory educational programmes for children on the move Case Study is also available through the Resource Centre, accessible here.

The BoW toolkit is designed as a set of “boxes” that guide the creation of meaningful meeting spaces for children and practitioners in which they can co-create psychosocial support programmes. Each box provides a thematic and conceptual foundation for activities centred on ideas, topics, and experiences that are particularly relevant for children on the move. In parallel, these boxes can also be physical boxes—as physical collections of materials needed to conduct these activities.

Through collaboration between SC North West Balkans, SC Kosovo and MHPSS experts, the BoW methodology has been revisited in 2025-26, with the aim to explore how it can be reimagined and expanded so that this versatile framework can be used beyond migration and displacement contexts, reaching diverse groups of children in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo*. Given that participatory nature is one of the key features of the BoW methodology, the framework has been reimagined in close partnership with children, as well as those who play a central role in implementing the programme—facilitators and educators working directly with children.

The summary document Reimagined Boxes of Wonder for the Wellbeing of Children has been developed to document the process of reimagining the BoW framework by assessing the most challenging dimensions of the ongoing programmes, identifying needs and gaps, and identifying new, supportive, and meaningful approaches to respond to the realities of working with children, thereby unlocking the potential of the BoW in new and demanding contexts.