Play, Perform, Learn Grow

What is Play Perform Learn Grow (PPLG)?

Organized in collaboration with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the East Side Institute, Epineio Institute, ANAMUH, Lesvos Solidarity, Odysseas – Lesvos and a hive of other international organizations, PPLG is produced as a conference, international gathering and growing community.

Founded in 2017 in response to the dehumanizing conditions created by the refugee policy crisis in Europe, PPLG has convened four times. It brings together people from around the world who use play and performance to engage social issues, heal trauma, stimulate imagination and possibility, generate community, and build bridges.

The PPLG Community:

PPLG ignited among its participants and their communities a collective movement, nourishing homegrown initiatives and creating new spaces of belonging across borders and cultures. Through art, performance, ritual and play, PPLG honors and celebrates the power of collective creativity to endure and transform adversity, to create new possibilities. The fourth PPLG gathering took place in 2021 in Thessaloniki, Greece at Anatolia College gathering 280 people from 38 countries on the theme, Creating Belonging in Times of Pandemic. The event combined a diverse program of presentations, workshops, panels, emerging community rituals and interactive performances.