Bringing Joy to Change-Making: Highlights from the 'Are We Having Any Fun?' Event

When was the last time you truly enjoyed what you were doing?  At our event “Are We Having Any Fun?”, we brought together sustainability champions, community builders, and place-makers to answer this question—and they all left feeling uplifted, recharged, and connected.

Hosted by Good for the Hood, the evening was a celebration of joy as a powerful tool for tackling the world’s toughest challenges. It wasn’t just about sharing ideas, it was about reigniting purpose and reminding us that fun isn’t optional in this work.  It’s essential for effective change-making.

"At 'Are We Having Any Fun?', we explored how sustainability and joy can go hand-in-hand, and that it’s actually essential for resilience.

Event Highlights

• Gilbert Rochecouste showed how joyful placemaking creates thriving communities.
• Petrina Burrill revealed how creativity can transform sustainability into something magical and shape an industry while you do it.
• Jason Tampake taught us how play and gamification unlock collaboration.
• Jo Taranto reminded us that fun is important not only for our audiences, but for us..
• Interactive Displays: Sustainability engagement providers showcased exciting ideas and tools, sparking curiosity and conversation. The displays showed how innovation in sustainability and joy can inspire new ideas.
• Networking That Mattered: The room was buzzing with conversations, ideas, and new connections among sustainability advocates, leaders, and community changemakers.

What We Learned

Burnout is real, especially in this space when we want to do so much and do it all yesterday, but it doesn’t have to define us. Tackling big problems with serious intent doesn’t mean sacrificing joy. The secret? Infusing connection, creativity, and play into everything we do. This event proved that sustainability and joy are not just compatible but essential.

What’s Next?

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