Open the Door for "WE"

Ishita Sanyal • March 27, 2023

India's 25th Annual Talent Show for Specially-Abled Youth

by Ishita Sanyal, founder of Turning Point India & leader of Global Play Brigade India


Ashwini is a young person living in a remote area of West Bengal, India. He has been a member of Turning Point India – an organization that fights mental health stigma – for several few years now. Very aware of his moderate intellectual disability, low vision, and speech difficulties, Ashwini hardly spoke or participated in activities at first. I would hardly see him getting pleasure and enjoying life. He was not accustomed to the Zoom interface so when we started virtual Global Play Brigade sessions in India, Ashwini would silently join with his father or sister. With this in mind, I was quite surprised to witness his significant change and development through the process of Open the Door 2023.


Turning Point, in collaboration with Global Play Brigade, presented the virtual Open The Door online program on 7th January, 2023 to commemorate its 25th year of journey in the field of mental health. Open the Door is a global event that showcases the talents of specially-abled people. This often ignored population gets an opportunity to connect with people around the world; to play together, to have fun, to build, and to re-initiate development together in a secure and enthusiastic environment. This is creating the magic - the magic of performance & connection with others.

The annual talent show features music, poetry, drama, and dance performances punctuated by interactive games for the whole audience to join. In one such game, we created a new world music by imitating and pretending to play with traditional instruments of India. It was hard to believe that participants were not actually playing the instruments – just singing the sounds and moving their bodies as if they were playing. Debarshi and his father performed so well that it appeared as if they played the music themselves, their body language showing the happiness, enthusiasm, and satisfaction of a musician. Binita, the mother of a new Turning Point member, was so overwhelmed with joy by the Open the Door performance and games activities during Open the Door that she invited all the participants to come to India and offered to host!

 

In preparation for Open the Door, Ashwini appeared regularly for rehearsals. On the day of the virtual event, though he once again sat beside his sister during the show, I was surprised to see him smiling and willing to participate. His burst of energy and enjoyment was clearly connected to joining with people from all corners of the world. GPB creates an environment where “WE” feeling predominates, people get an environment to express themselves creatively, and make something meaningful with their pain and challenges. They become open and flexible to learn, curious about people all over the world, and gain the patience and acceptance for every human being. It softens the borders, man-made divisions, and discriminations. As "Listen [and play] with your heart, " one facilitator instructed.

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.