Nour's World: accessible mental support for children worldwide

Children aged 4 to 8 learn strategies for emotional regulation and communication through Nour the rabbit in a playful way. It's a hybrid program, combining digital and physical elements, which children typically follow in class or in the playground under their teacher's guidance. The collaboration between TNO and Thaki, a non-profit organization focused on digital education based in the Netherlands and operating in Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, has resulted in a program with a solid scientific foundation and strong cultural alignment and implementation.

Support where it's needed

There is a huge need for this type of social-emotional support. Millions of children worldwide grow up in areas where trauma, poverty, and uncertainty define daily life. "Of course, in such situations, there is a need for actual therapy, especially for acute trauma," explains Remy Vink, sociologist and senior researcher at TNO and project leader of Nour's World. "But there's a huge space for a program like ours: light, easy to implement, and doesn't require expertise." She adds: "Every teacher, every adult can go through it and apply it. That way, we can reach more children than one therapist could ever reach alone."

From tangible comfort to a digital friend

Nour's World begins tangibly, with making your own comfort toy. "Through a cuddly toy, children can also talk, especially shy children," explains Rudayna Abdo, founder and CEO of Thaki. The handmade comfort toy, which children can create from an old sock or other soft material, forms a bridge between the child's daily reality and the digital world of Nour the rabbit.

Nour, Arabic for 'light', takes children on various adventures that evoke different emotions in the rabbit. Sometimes Nour is challenged by others or ventures into a scary dark forest. Children empathize with Nour and learn practical strategies for managing their emotions through these stories and activities incorporated in the program. The digital app guides both children and teachers through the program, and parents can also use the app to support their children at home.

A tailored program

The development of Nour's World builds on TNO's previous successful work in South Sudan. There, TNO developed the 'Build your Own Buddy' program (BoB), which significantly improved children's social-emotional well-being. With Thaki's help, the program underwent a thorough cultural adaptation to better align with the Arabic context, and a transformation into a digital program. The name 'Nour' is used for both boys and girls, allowing every child to relate. The program's language is classical Arabic with a neutral accent, making it accessible throughout the Arabic-speaking world. "We developed Nour in Lebanon, but with the intention that it's going to be applied throughout MENA, in the Arabic speaking world," Abdo explains.

Better mood and better relationships

Recent research in five Lebanese schools involving 305 participating children shows clear results (pdf). Systematic measurements before and after the program revealed significant improvements in children's overall emotional well-being, behaviour and social interactions. Especially conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattentiveness and prosocial behaviour had positively changed post-program. The children's own stories confirm these findings. "Nour went to another place to calm down, so I learned from him that when I'm not feeling okay, I should also change my location," one child says. And a parent: "My daughter has started singing and dancing, she wasn't like this before. And when she wakes up, she wakes up with energy."

Teachers also report progress in behavior, concentration, and social skills: "They changed a lot in how they interacted with each other. They used to bully each other, for example, but after each session, they started to change. And at the end of the year, they even asked us if they could hug each other to say goodbye." Another teacher notes: "Some of our students told us that they were not able to distinguish between anger and sadness before, but now they can express their feelings in the right way."

Applicable in areas with obstacles

The development of Nour's World in Lebanon faced significant challenges. A financial crisis, a severe electricity crisis where some areas only had two hours of power per day, all on top of the existing refugee crisis. That Nour's program is still successful is due to the dedication of everyone involved. "Everyone on the ground in Lebanon – be it the refugee communities, the local population, our team, the schools - they were just so motivated to keep focusing, to keep working and to keep teaching," Abdo shares. Vink adds: "That resilience is also partly due to the chemistry between our organizations. When there's passion and motivation on both sides, you can achieve a lot."

The result is a program that functions well in areas with obstacles, such as poor infrastructure or limited training opportunities. Minimal training is required for teachers, having access to the Nour app is sufficient. Additionally, Thaki provides laptops to its partner schools which includes Nour's World as an offline desktop application, without requiring an internet connection.

Global potential

The success of Nour's World in Lebanon calls for further expansion. Now that the program has proven itself in two different regions - Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, there is now potential for implementation in other regions - including the Netherlands. The format can adapt to different cultural contexts, provided the scientific base and effective core elements are upheld. The ultimate goal is to make the app available in regular app stores, making the program accessible to families worldwide. Because even if you grow up in a stable environment: getting a grip on your emotions is a skill everyone can use.