We’re excited to reveal the winners of the 2025 Changemaker Award — our very first Next Library Pilot Projects are here!
And the winners are…
Take Away Library Packs – Athens Comics Library, Greece
Craft, Play, Share! – Centro Culturale Multiplo di Cavriago, Italy
Thanks to WeDoBooks for sponsoring the award and making it possible.
Let’s celebrate these brilliant ideas! A huge shoutout to all the projects that were nominated for the award – you shake up the library world!
Take Away Library Packs
Dina Ntziora / Lida Tsene
Athens Comics Library was founded in 2015 as a place of inspiration, creativity and social solidarity around a collection of 2500 comics and graphic novels. The team of ACL believes in the healing and transformative power of stories and highlights the role of libraries as safe spaces and sanctuaries for various communities.
During COVID, ACL launched The Takeaway Art Packs, DIY kits with multilingual stories, craft activities, and materials to support through storytelling emotional expression, literacy skills and family bonding at home. This initiative reinforced the power of creativity in healing and community engagement.
Contact:
Athens Comics Library, Greece
contact@athenscomicslibrary.gr
insta:athens_comics_library
Why was Take Away Library Packs chosen as a winner?
- Building relationships through DIY kits is a compelling proposition
- There is a thoughtful emphasis on supporting the creative expression of migrants
Craft, Play, Share!
Francesco Campani / Francesco Peggi / Monica Zannoni
The project invites library visitors to turn disposable materials into crafts or board games. They can either customize an existing game or create a new one, promoting creativity, recycling, and teamwork.
These activities have been successfully tested at Multiplo library with children aged 5–11 and their caretakers. All events are free, inclusive, and some are tailored for people with disabilities, though inclusion is emphasized across all programs.
Contact:
Francesco Campani
Centro Culturale Multiplo di Cavriago, Italy
francesco.campani@comune.
cavriago.re.it
Why was Craft, Play, Share chosen as a winner?
- Values of sustainability, community, play, and culture come together beautifully in this well-formulated project
- Highly adaptable and remixable idea, both within a single library district (e.g. engaging makerspace) and globally (the idea is very intuitive to understand and replicate)
What happens now?
The two winners will be at NExt Library so go talk to them and find out: How can Next support the dissemination/spreading of this idea elsewhere? What support do they feel like they need (e.g. outreach, evaluation, co-design). We will follow their projects and get feedback from them to share with your.
Honorable Mentions
We got proposals from projects from 23 different countries for this award! The jury had a hard time choosing. But while these projects weren’t selected these projects get an honourable mention at Next Library. This is a chance to feature their work at the conference and in the expo area – and a chance for them to also get some input from the Next Library community.
The 6 selected projects for an honourable mention are:
- Take the Library to the Streets! Artful Community Inclusion (Ireland)
- LibraryLab: Intergenerational Changemakers Hub (Bulgaria)
- Dordthuis brugwachtershuisje (bridge keepers house) – the world’s smallest third place (Netherlands)
- Green Shelf Network (South Africa)
- Let’s chat with an accent (Iceland)
- Cicloficina na Biblioteca (Portugal)
