What do a junk playground in Copenhagen, a fiercely idealistic landscape architect from England, two Norwegian early childhood pioneers, and a Swedish visionary have in common? They laid the foundation for OMEP. Here is the remarkable story of how chance encounters, friendship, and Nordic determination put early childhood education on the global map after the Second World War.

By: Fatima Moh, Board Member, OMEP Norway
Source: OMEPs Printed Reports, 1948–1958

In the autumn of 1945, Europe lay in ruins. Amid the darkness and the immense physical and psychological devastation of World War II, specialists from 18 nations gathered in neutral Zürich, Switzerland. The question they faced was urgent and burning: What do we do to save Europe’s war-torn, traumatized, and destitute children? Among the participants was an extraordinarily formidable British woman: Lady Marjory Allen of Hurtwood. Originally trained as a landscape architect, the war’s devastating impact on children had awakened in her a deep passion for improving children’s living conditions, and she was now the chair of the British Nursery School Association (NSA). Lady Allen was a networker of the highest order, married to a prominent pacifist and socialist, with connections reaching into influential circles worldwide. During this conference, one of those remarkable coincidences that change history occurred. A Norwegian psychiatrist heard Lady Allen speak and spontaneously invited her to Oslo to give a lecture the following spring. Lady Allen accepted.

In March 1946, Lady Allen boarded a plane bound for Norway. The flight required a layover in Copenhagen. Waiting on the tarmac to welcome her was an engaged Danish educator: Jens Sigsgaard (who would later become OMEP’s first General Secretary). He took her to Emdrup to show her something entirely new: a «junk playground» (skrotlekeplass). Watching children playing freely and creatively among wooden planks, old tires, dirt, and real tools gave Lady Allen an epiphany. She carried this idea to the rest of the world, and it was she who coined the term we still use today: Adventure Playgrounds. But her journey was far from over. The plane carried her onward to a cold, post-war Oslo. Waiting on the runway was a young, newly qualified nursery school teacher who was to serve as her guide and interpreter: Ella Esp.

“In that case, Alva Myrdal in Stockholm is the right person for you to contact. She is the one who can help you!” – Ella Esp to Lady Allen, Oslo, March 1946.

During her stay in Oslo, Lady Allen opened her heart to her young Norwegian interpreter. She shared a profound and deeply troubling concern: the newly emerging global body—UNESCO—had absolutely no plans to include early childhood in its mandate. The international community was single-mindedly obsessed with rebuilding universities, secondary schools, and purging youth textbooks of Nazi propaganda. They completely overlooked the fact that the very foundation of a lasting peace culture and democratic citizenship is laid during the earliest years of life (ages 0–6). Lady Allen realized that if no one fought for the youngest, they would be left in the shadows of global reconstruction. She needed an alliance. Ella Esp, who had been trained in Stockholm under the legendary sociologist and future Nobel Laureate Alva Myrdal, reacted instantly. She urged Lady Allen to travel to the Swedish capital, knowing that Myrdal possessed the international stature needed to champion this cause. It marked the beginning of a lifelong collaboration. Lady Allen later wrote in her memoirs: “This was the beginning of an enduring friendship and a campaign that shaped my life for many years to come.”

A few months later, on July 29, 1946, a small, exclusive group gathered at 97 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London. Around the table sat Alva Myrdal from Sweden, Elena Torres from UNESCO’s education section, British educational leaders, and the two Norwegian pioneers, Ella Esp and Thora Lund, the latter a highly prominent and driving force, at the Oslo Nursery School Teacher Training College (Oslo Barnehagelærerskole). They were united on one core principle: they did not need a traditional, narrow professional union. They needed a powerful, interdisciplinary organization capable of conducting global lobbying directly targeting UNESCO. The objective was clear: early childhood and the formative years of a child’s life had to become an international priority. They decided to convene a preparatory meeting in Paris, UNESCO’s home city, that autumn to present their plans. Two years later, during the first official World Conference in Prague in 1948, OMEP was formally founded with delegates representing 19 countries across five continents. Alva Myrdal was elected as the organization’s very first World President, with Lady Allen serving alongside her as President. OMEP was born out of the fierce idealism of the post-war era, driven forward by strong Nordic women and men who refused to let young children remain in the shadows of history.

Today, as we continue to advocate for children’s rights, playgrounds, and early childhood education quality, we stand firmly on the shoulders of Ella, Thora, Alva, Jens, and Lady Allen. It is a legacy we carry with pride into the future.