May 04, 2026

CounterPlay Festival

56 minutes

Interview with Mathias Poulsen

CounterPlay is a playful festival and global community that invites adults to reclaim play as a way of living, learning, and being together. In this episode, founder Mathias Poulsen shares how building a “play commons” gives us the courage to unhide play in everyday life – from libraries and design schools to horses, soap bubbles, and serious work.

Mathias Poulsen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathiaspoulsen/

International Play Festival CounterPlay ’26 homepage: https://www.designskolenkolding.dk/en/counterplay-26

CounterPlay Festival documentary by Aarhus Global Media (Part 1): https://youtu.be/xIdowtXuCvg

CounterPlay Festival documentary by Aarhus Global Media (Part 2): https://youtu.be/vtugkhU8524

CounterPlay ’26 Program: https://files.designskolenkolding.dk/production/files/Konference/CounterPlay.pdf?dm=1775644852

CounterPlay - A Playful Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16187100/

Lab for Play Design at Kolding School of Design: https://www.designskolenkolding.dk/en/research-development/labs-and-hubs/play-and-design

Kolding School of Design: https://www.designskolenkolding.dk/

CounterPlay ’26 Call for Submissions (closed): https://www.counterplay.org/wp-content/plugins/pdf-poster/pdfjs-new/web/viewer.html?file=https://www.counterplay.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CounterPlayCallfor_Play.pdf

Dokk1 (Aarhus Public Library), former home of CounterPlay: https://dokk1.dk/english

Bart Durand on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartdurand/

Eugen Fink on Wikipedia (“Play gives us the present”): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Fink

Music: "Blanks" by Podington Bear (CC BY-NC 3.0, soundofpicture.com). A big thank you for sharing this wonderful track.

For feedback or to share your own experiences with gamified dialogue, reach out at [email protected] or connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kilearning/

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By Julian Kea