Welcome Rita Ezenwa-Okoro as GPB's Executive Director

Cathy Salit • August 11, 2022

We've got big news!

Rita Ezenwa-Okoro has taken on the mantle of Executive Director for the Global Play Brigade.

Rita is a creative culturist, performance activist, and communications expert. She is a co-founder of the Global Play Brigade and she is the founder and lead visionary of Street Project Foundation Nigeria where she uses improv, play, and performance as tools for youth development, social mobilization, and cross-cultural dialogue. Rita is a recipient of President Barack Obama's Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the Lagos State Government Youth Development Award, the Extraordinary Women's Award in France, and the Next Generation Leaders Award.

We are growing in new and exciting ways, and Rita's leadership is right on time! Below is Rita's speech from our 2-Year Anniversary celebration at the end of July 2022.

Play it Forward!
Cathy Salit
Chief Organizer, Global Play Brigade

RITA'S SPEECH

 

I am truly honored by the opportunity to serve as Executive Director of this ballsy movement that dares to explore new ways humans can develop, connect, co-create, and grow across borders through play. Our world is fractured. Do we accept the cracks between our countries, tribe, ethnicities, and races as a design of imperfection? Or, do we see it as an opportunity to infiltrate old systems and strategically create awareness about new methods for challenging the status quo?

Who is responsible for the world as it is? Humans! Who is responsible for fixing the world. Humans. At the core of human development are relationships. A dear friend once told me that people are afraid of what they do not understand. In a world where the concept of play is misconstrued as childish, Global Play Brigade allows us to share creative nuggets through Playshops on how we can soften borders and barriers between us.

Cathy Salit, our Chief Organizer, once told me that what something "is" is not knowable when you're in the middle of it. So, we haven't tried to know what Global Play Brigade is. From it's inception – of which, I'm a proud founding member – we've been busy co-creating and discovering what Global Play Brigade is becoming. And now, we are two years old and I believe that we are beginning to see the role this movement can play in the world. From our social impact work in Brazil through the provision of support from Brigadiers in Chinaduring the COVID pandemic to the emotional support provided by Brigadiers across the world to young Nigerians on the front line of the EndSARS protests against police brutality. Or, our current partnership with Purpose Alliance to provide emotional support to Ukrainian refugees. The possibilities for social impact are enormous. Global Play Brigade evolved in response to a world crisis and we are still here. More than ever, we need each other.

Because you are, we are. Because you volunteer, GPB continues to exist. Let's spread out wings and make the world whole. My charge to everyone is to get people across borders to fall in love with the Global Play Brigade. This way, we allow people to explore how we can use play beyond ideologies, topple old constructs, and create new ways of doing, being, and becoming in a world that is a work-in-progress. Together, we are creating a revolutionary activity that is unknowable yet impact-driven.

Global Play Brigade, play it forward and let's change our world.

Yours,
Rita Ezenwa-Okoro
Executive Director, Global Play Brigade

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.