Tanween: Play

Tanween 2019 was presented under the theme “Play,” a key ingredient in the creative process. To quote psychologist Abraham Maslow, “Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.”

The festival explored “Play” across four tracks: Play Process, Play Products, Emergent Play and Play Spaces. Each track was designed to delve deeply into the creative process through learning and education, games and tools, intelligence technology and future cities. “Play” renews a childlike fascination to let our imaginations roam free, to unlock and discover creativity through the power of play.

Football icon Thierry Henry headlined Tanween 2019 with an intimate deep-dive discussion and a special meet-and-greet experience. The Soccer Barcelona Youth Academy offered a sensory exploration of participants playing “the world’s game” with blindfolds. Science presenter Greg Foot fronted an adrenaline-fueled stunt show featuring free runners and world-class trick cyclists, while participants could design and build their own armor and planes made of cardboard in workshops before engaging in the world-famous cardboard Battle Royale Box Wars. The hands-on Tanween Challenges were introduced in this season. Other highlights included the Luminarium installation and a giant puppet show.