PLAY IS HUMAN RIGHT – The neuroscience of joy and the NVC practice of connection

In Jaak Panksepp’s affective neuroscience, PLAY is one of the brain’s primary emotional systems—a neural circuit that supports connection, flexibility, learning, resilience, and social trust.

And yet, in many adult lives, especially in work, parenting, leadership, and intimate relationships, play often disappears first.

During this webinar, we will explore the PLAY circuit through the lens of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Together, we will discover why play requires a sense of safety, how joy differs from entertainment or performance, and how a playful presence can soften tension, open space for dialogue, and support our needs for connection, freedom, creativity, ease, and belonging.

We will also ask:

What happens to our relationships when play is absent?

Why do we sometimes lose access to lightness, curiosity, and spontaneity?

How can sharing NVC help us bring play back without forcing it, bypassing pain, or pretending everything is okay?

Where playfulness can support sharing and learning NVC?

This webinar is for people who want to understand play not as a luxury, but as a deep human need and a powerful doorway to empathy, regulation, and more alive relationships.

It is a result of the Erasmus + training course “Flying Giraffes” that took place in Poland in June 2026. 

You can register here: https://www.fundacjamudita.org/en/play-is-human-right-the-neuroscience-of-joy-and-the-nvc-practice-of-connection-with-paulina-orbitowska-fernandez/