The licensing industry is being challenged to lace-up and participate in a major new industry-wide inclusive wellness initiative designed to raise valuable funds for the industry charity The Light Fund.

Titled License to Move and launching today, the initiative is calling on anyone and everyone connected to the licensing industry to move 5km and donate to the event’s charity partner. Participants can decide how they move the distance with walking, running, rowing, abseiling, and paddle-boarding all on the table.

Led by Informa Markets’ Global Licensing Group with support from the trade association Licensing International and key licensing media outlets, the initiative will see all donations go directly to the charity. Since its inception in 2004, The Light Fund has raised over £2m and funded hundreds of different charity projects.

The License to Move platform is open today, Tuesday, 16^th May with a goal set to achieve a collaborative distance of 8,412km. This maps the journey from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to ExCeL in London – the venues of choice for the upcoming Las Vegas Licensing Expo next month and Brand Licensing Europe later this year.

There are two ways for people to get involved:

• Individuals or teams can organise a walk at any point and donate through the platform until the end of the year.

• Participants can get involved in the License to Move activity board by submitting their step count at Licensing Expo or by joining the organised group walk during Brand Licensing Europe (4^th to 6^thOctober 2023) with the European licensing community.

“My dream for License to Move is, first and foremost, for it to be a highly participatory, accessible, and inclusive wellbeing initiative – I’d love to see everyone getting outdoors, enjoying the sun, getting some headspace, and recharging their wellbeing batteries while, at the same time, raising money for some great causes,” said Anna Knight, svp, licensing, Informa Markets.

“And secondly, I know this industry loves to collaborate and when it does it’s much greater than the sum of its parts, so I can’t wait to see the whole business getting behind this together with the Licensing Expo and BLE teams, our trade association Licensing International, and our amazing media partners and friends – all working together to help give back to great causes.”

David Scott, treasurer of The Light Fund, added: “We are delighted to announce the forthcoming License to Move initiative. It will allow everyone to participate in the Light Fund’s ongoing support of good causes and be totally inclusive.

‘Whether you’re on your own, with a few office mates, or part of a larger company initiative, you can sign up and set your own target and have fun away from the office, both doing good and feeling good.

“You can walk, run, cycle – or move in any way you want – it’s your choice! We want this to be the biggest Light Fund event ever in terms of participation by our wonderful industry colleagues.”