Gretchen Wilson-Prangley

Gretchen Wilson-Prangley is a kickstarter, connector and social entrepreneur who has a proven track record of creating meaningful, relevant and values-driven non-profit organisations from the ground up.

As founder and CEO of Play Africa, Gretchen started a groundbreaking new children’s museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, inside the former prison turned human rights precinct at Constitution Hill.

Play Africa offers original, low-cost, locally-relevant exhibits and programmes serving children 0-10, their families and schools. Supported by an array of renowned partners and a dedicated, values-driven team, Play Africa creates opportunities for diverse children and families through play and self-directed learning as a powerful vehicle for positive change in South Africa.

Prior to starting Play Africa in 2013, Gretchen was a foreign correspondent for the U.S. radio programme, “Marketplace,” and author of the 2007 book “From Dust to Diamonds: Stories of South African Social Entrepreneurs” (Macmillan), and founder of WashTech, a non-profit start-up and the first labor union for “new economy” workers in the United States.

Gretchen holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York, NY, USA and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and multi-ethnic studies from Bard College in Annandale, NY, USA.

Gretchen Wilson-Prangley spoke at MuseumNext London. You can watch her presentation here.

Speaking at:

MuseumNext Digital Summit
Wednesday, 24 February 2021

Bridging the digital divide with accessible tech

A children’s museum in South Africa used simple, accessible technology to create several new programmes during the pandemic, reaching non-traditional audiences including inner-city residents, recent immigrants, parents in informal housing settlements. Doing so helped the museum increase its digital audience by more than 400% during lockdown.

Find the full programme here