Celebrating 4 Years

Rita Ezenwa-Okoro • August 27, 2024

GPB Turned 4 in June

In the wake of the pandemic in 2020, a spark ignited that would alter the landscape of building community and creativity. 75 passionate performance and play activists—improvisers, educators, musicians, actors, playwrights, scholars, clowns, therapists, and coaches—came together over Zoom, united by a shared mission: to support one another and thousands of our fellow humans across 50 countries as we navigated the storm of COVID-19.

What began as a heartfelt response to a global crisis has blossomed into something extraordinary.


Fast forward four years, and GPB has transformed from a hopeful experiment into a dynamic global movement, reaching almost 16,000 people from 100 countries. We now boast a vibrant community of 130 dedicated volunteers, all committed to fostering connections and creating new possibilities for social change through the transformative power of play. We’ve set our sights firmly on the future, going beyond the “carcasses of the past” and embracing a bold vision: Make Play Mainstream.


Our journey keeps evolving. Initially, we hosted spontaneous play workshops every week. Today, we are proud to be leaders within a global movement that shines a light on the importance of play in various mainstream spheres of life. In 2024, our thematic global play shops delve(d) into three vital areas:


  1. Play in Mental Health: Exploring how play can heal and nurture our emotional well being
  2. Play in Education: Empowering educators and students to weave play into the fabric of learning and development
  3. Play in Grassroots Activism: Harnessing the energy, science and art of play to inspire, support and create social change


We’ve expanded our reach by launching regional hubs across Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, and most recently, Africa! In 2023, we introduced the Global Educators Salon, a space designed to empower teachers and educators to integrate play into their classrooms, fostering creativity and engagement among students and faculty alike.


But that’s not all. We’re excited about other new initiatives, including the inaugural GPB Ambassador Program of 2024 where we are training and supporting activists to promote and advocate play and the GPB in their countries, and the GPB Play Generator, a  Web-based Application that facilitates instantaneous play everyday and for everyone at the touch of a button. We’re also nurturing a promising relationship with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), and other partnerships with play and performance activists in education, leadership and mental health causes around the globe are growing stronger by the day.


As we celebrate this journey, we’re filled with gratitude and excitement for the future. Here’s to our four years of creativity, connection and joy so far—and to many more to come. Let’s keep playing!

PLAYTELLIGENCE 2025 : Reimagining Learning

By Global Play Brigade • May 15, 2025
PLAYTELLIGENCE 2025 : Reimagining Learning In a world where traditional education often sidelines the importance of curiosity and joy, the PLAYTELLIGENCE Global Playshop 2025 emerged as a beacon of transformative learning. Hosted by the Global Play Brigade , this dynamic event welcomed 210 participants from 25 countries , representing 67 organizations —all united by a common belief: play is not just a fun activity; it’s an essential form of intelligence. Playtelligence is a term coined by GPB, it fuses ‘Play’ with ‘Intelligence,’ signifying an innovative way to approach education. It challenges outdated norms, suggesting that learning thrives not in rigidity but in curiosity, engaged collaboration, and yes, laughter. Playtelligence participants didn’t sit passively; instead, they embraced the unknown, danced with mistakes, explored environmental concerns through creative lenses, and rediscovered the joy of learning. Workshops that reshaped how educators and learners perceive growth and development. Susan Hillyard , a sociologist of education in Argentina and one of our inspiring hosts, reflected: “It’s beautiful to see teachers freed up to play. That’s what I witnessed at Playtelligence! The Educator Ensemble did a wonderful job bringing together such talented educators to facilitate a variety of offerings.” Luke Perone , a professor of psychology and human development in Hawaii, shared his thoughts on the closing session: “The final gathering was open and hopeful. There was genuine appreciation for the tools learned in small groups, and the collective energy was palpable.” A student participant reflected on the "Let's Dance with Mistakes" session: “The experience was both enriching and inspiring. Engaging with participants from so many countries fostered a sense of community. I left feeling energized and motivated to incorporate playful approaches into my own educational practices.” We celebrated diversity with sessions in English, Spanish, and Bengali , ensuring inclusivity and global participation. Translation tools enabled rich, cross-cultural exchanges , proving once again that imagination knows no borders . The impact of Playtelligence 2025 extends beyond the event itself. It has sown seeds of change in hearts and minds across the world. The vision is clear: to create joyful, collective, messy, and alive learning environments where both educators and students thrive through play. A special shout-out to the Brigadiers who produced and co-created PLAYTELLIGENCE: Susan Hillyard (Argentina), Luke Perone (USA), Toto Carandang (Philippines), Hikaru Hie (Japan), Mamiko Miyamoto (Japan), Vivianne Carrijo (Brazil), Levi Correa (Brazil), Manuela Kelly (Italy), Gwen Lowenheim (USA), Jim Martinez (USA), Meiko Kojima (Japan), Connie Shui-Yi (USA), Nancy Li (USA), Barbara A. Michaels (USA), Wycliffe Barasa (Kenya), Cristina Gioveni (Argentina), Carolyn Sealfon(Canada), Manolo Lopez (Spain), Ruben Reyes (Spain), Mariela Mondaca (Argentina), Manisita Khastaghir, Rev. Rodney Borneo (India), Ishita Sanyal (India) and Barbara Natalizia (USA). A big THANK YOU to our awesome tech team - Sarah Filman, Zara Barryte and Diane Whitehouse - thanks for being the true heroes behind-the-scenes, and making sure we all could stay connected and enjoy the session. Special thanks to YAHE & Cultivating Ensembles, for partnering with Global Play Brigade in making Playtelligence 2025 a huge success! As we look forward to the next Global Playshop called Heart and Power , we carry with us the giggles, belly laughs, meaningful gestures, and heartfelt connections formed during this transformative event. Until then, let’s all keep playing it forward .

Yvette Says Higher Education Needs More Play

By Global Play Brigade • May 15, 2025
Yvette Says Higher Education Needs More Play Imagine having a friend in every country of the world. Imagine being able to have coffee with someone anywhere in the world you go. Imagine an incredible boost in your confidence resulting in personal growth and exciting career opportunities. These are not mere imaginations, this is the everyday reality of Yvette Alcott since she joined the GPB movement in 2020. As a proud alum of the GPB Ambassadors Program, the program let Yvette build her confidence and transformed her into a lifetime advocate for play. One of the eureka moments that made her realize just how much her confidence had grown was a podcast interview she had with psychologist and educator Luke Perone. Despite being nervous at first, Yvette accepted the challenge and did incredibly well. During her podcast with Dr. Perone, Yvette had talked about the difficulties of incorporating play into higher education, where the focus is often solely on knowledge acquisition. Surprisingly, people from her former university listened to the podcast and as a result she was invited to conduct teamwork sessions using play, which were highly successful and well-received. This experience reiterated her belief that play is underutilized in educational settings and that there is a need to incorporate it more widely. As the leader of GPB Australia, Yvette shared a number of challenges she's been facing in making the GPB’s mission shine-through in an Australian context. She shared that she's constantly learning from the visionary and incredible leadership of Cathy Salit and Rita Ezenwa-Okoro in making play mainstream in Australia. Despite the challenges she might face, Yvette is not giving up! Chatting with Yvette was truly reassuring, comforting and inspiring. Hearing her share these stories about a boost in confidence, making new friends globally, and exciting career opportunities made us see just how much impact the Global Play Brigade has had and is having on the lives of those who come in contact with it. We hope Yvette's story inspires and helps you become a part of the people that are serious about Play! Here’s a link to the podcast.