Isabel Behncke is a primatologist (Oxford University, TED fellow) who has walked more than 3,000 km in the jungles of Congo following wild bonobo apes in the quest for the origins of playfulness, creativity, and shared joy. With a background in ecology, evolution and human sciences (UCL, Cambridge and Oxford), her research focuses on the social behaviour of primates in the wild – including modern, industrialised humans. Bonobos (the ‘forgotten' and the 'sexy' apes) also happen to be – together with chimpanzees - our living closest relatives. Bonobos are the Peter Pan of primates, playful, tolerant, and remarkably, highly sexual and female-bonded (matriarchal). Our lost cousins illustrate the ‘better angels' of human nature – but rather mischievous, irreverent angels. Isabel's research of 'adult play in the wild' - whether of bonobos in the Congo jungle, or humans in Burning Man desert, shows that the biology of fun is essential for life-long creativity, adaptability, and social trust.

Dr. Stuart Brown is co-founder of PlayNovation, and founder and President of the National Institute for Play. Trained in general and internal medicine, psychiatry and clinical research, Dr. Stuart Brown first recognized the importance of play by discovering its absence in the lives of mass murderers, homicidal males and felony drunken drivers. Dr. Brown has conducted over 6,000 play histories ranging from homicidal males in the Texas prison system to numerous Nobel Laureates. His broad based evaluations of highly creative individuals revealed the centrality of playfulness to their success and well-being. Dr. Brown has worked with Jane Goodall in Africa studying animal play which led to his being sponsored by the National Geographic Society and resulting in his authoring a National Geographic magazine cover article and the production of a National Geographic Explorer program, each on animal play behavior.