In 1997, "Boowa & Kwala" are created by Véronique and Jason Barnard (an Anglo-French couple).
"When our daughter was born, we decided to use our respective talents as musician and graphic designer to write a CD-book for small children" explains Véronique. " We thought that Boowa & Kwala would be loved children all over the world so a round-the-world tale seemed like a good place to start !
Unhappily, no publishers seemed to agree ! So Jason decided to try them out on the Internet."

"The idea is not original," says Jason, "Boowa (the dog) represents the elder brother, older friend or teacher, so he is patient and understanding. Kwala (the koala) is similar to the child. She is inquisitive, lovable, sometimes annoying and impatient and she doesn't always manage to get along on her own. But most importantly she always tries her best and Boowa always supports her.
We use the silly side of Kwala's character so that the child feels less nervous in a given situation - a difficult game or a complex idea for example. Children relate to that and feel at ease.
The e-mails we receive confirm this relationship : children will talk to Boowa about their school, what they did today or to ask specific questions. They write to Kwala to tell her the latest joke or just to say that they love her.... Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !
We lend our voices to Boowa & Kwala .... Perhaps we are little like them, deep down !"

In January 1999 , Version 1 of the site goes live and is an immediate success with the public. Sites offering a true multimedia experience for kids under 10 were few and far between all those years ago !
Boowa & Kwala welcome the first members to the Boowa & Kwala Club.

In May 1999, www.boowakwala.com receives professional acclaim : the site is finalist at Macromedia's UCON 99 Gallery in San Francisco alongside Disney and the BBC.

In September 1999, Philippe Mounier, a web content specialist for kids, is inspired by the potential of UpToTen, a project initially created by Véronique and Jason Barnard. Together they start a company under the name of UpToTen. Their portal, UpToTen.com, focuses on the evolution of two characters called Boowa and Kwala. The website also features web adaptations for popular cartoon series such as Marcelino, Dr. Globule, Geleuil and Lebon.

In February 2000, the team settles in Mauritius. The activities available at UpToTen.com are mostly developed in two languages, French and English. These criteria make Mauritius - a country where both languages are widely used - an ideal choice to base the company. It also seems a logical step as Philippe Mounier formerly produced all of his cartoons at La Réunion, an island located close to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean region.

In December 2000, UpToTen.com Version 2 is released. The new kid-safe UpToTen window is an immediate success. Average visit length increases by an incredible 40%. Version 2 proves to be fast, stable and almost universally compatible.

In 2001, only two years after its launch, the website already exists in five languages and features close to 450 activities. More than half of online users are Americans. UpToTen’s team answers hundreds of e-mails daily and thrives on creating new interactive games for kids. These include colouring activities, mazes to solve, objects to find and even melodies to compose. The many sections which compose the website are sometimes directly inspired by proposals and suggestions received from kids.

In August 2001, Boowa & Kwala's Toyshop opens.

In January 2002, one million visitors view 15 million pages on UpToTen.com. The number of activities on offer now exceeds 600.

In June 2002, UpToTen.com Version 3 is released. This represents a major upgrade and a major step forward for the site.
UpToTen is divided into two parts : UpToTen Kids and UpToTen Parents.
UpToTen Kids gets a new look with clearer navigation, a site plan, and a search engine that makes accessing the 600 activities more fun and much simpler.
UpToTen Parents (for parents, grandparents, teachers and caregivers) is launched with security, information and dialogue in mind.

In September 2003, the site hosts 650 games and activities. In all, 45 million pages have been viewed by two million users.

In October 2003, UpToTen signs an exclusive partnership agreement with Wanadoo France, giving exclusive use of the section dedicated to Boowa & Kwala to Wanadoo subscribers. The various games and activities can be accessed under Wanadoo’s kids corner reserved to users aged 2 to 6.

In January 2004, Véronique and Jason Barnard present the family members of Boowa and Kwala. Boowa, Dawa, Mawa and Siwa form the Wawa family whereas Kwala, Mummy Koala, Daddy Koala, Grandma Koala and Grandpa Koala belong to the Koala family.

2005 marks the launch of the “UpToTen Kids Premium” concept, designed to bring a larger choice of online activities and content to children. Kids are invited to vote online to choose the themes which will be used as the backbone for 52 cartoon episodes focusing on the characters of Boowa, Kwala and their respective families.

In Octber 2007, the first interactive series is produced by Philippe Mounier and Xavier Picard with Véronique and Jason Barnard as voice-overs. The final product is unveiled at Cannes during the MIPCOM fair and distributed worldwide by British society ITV Granada. The themes for the 52 episodes are chosen and sometimes submitted by children across the world, based on two votes per month over a two-year span. The team of UpToTen introduces 52 additional games, songs and activities in parallel to the launch of the cartoon series to complement the episodes aired on television.

In March 2009, over 3 million families worldwide connect each month onto UpToTen.com where they spend 29 minutes per visit in average. Close to 100 million pages are viewed. UpToTen breaks through the mark of 1000 multi-language games and activities, all designed in-house. Over 9000 schools across the United States are equipped with a unique computer educational software created by UpToTen under the brand “My First Clicks”.

December 2011, the website counts more than 1300 activities. UpToTen launched its first iPad and iPhone apps on the Apple Store.

We thank you for your support and constant encouragement!

The team at UpToTen