Miniland, the Spanish toy manufacturer that received the award, has several collections of dolls that touch on themes such as respect for diversity, tolerance, emotional intelligence and other important values.
Onil, a small city close to Alicante (Spain) may not have many attractions that it’s globally famous for, however on the Iberian Peninsula it’s known as “ the doll’s cradle”.
And it’s dolls that are once again bringing attention to the city, as the local toy manufacturer Miniland, which has operated in Onil for more than half a century, won the prize for “Best toy of 2020 as chosen by jury”.
Miniland
And what kind of doll collection are we talking about? Well, it’s a new collection of dolls with Down syndrome, a community which has historically lacked representation in commercial toys.
The collection is part of the line Miniland Dolls, which the company has been developing for some time, and which is focused on diversity. In this case, the group is made up of two female and two male dolls with Down syndrome, of which half are caucasian and half are black.
Miniland
Victoria Orruño, the company’s marketing director, stated that Miniland dolls is always growing and listening to customer concerns, as they have done, for example, by manufacturing caucasian dolls with brown or red hair instead of the classic blonde.
“We are very happy to have been recognized on a national and international level and it couldn’t have come at a better time as we are currently in Down Syndrome Awareness Month. We strengthen our commitment to promoting normalization, respect and tolerance from infancy and we will continue giving representation to the communities that need it most.”
—Victoria Orruño told El Mundo—
Miniland
On the other hand, Miniland has always been characterized by its commitment to manufacturing inclusive toys that cause those who use them to reflect on issues of diversity. For example, Emotions buddy is a collection of dolls with interchangeable pieces that can be used to create different facial expressions such as happiness, sadness, hate and love.
A well-deserved recognition of a toy manufacturer that refused to buy into the classic Western vision of the thin, blonde Barbie; Miniland is giving representation to those who are marginalized by society and have never seen themselves represented in toys before.
Miniland