Fungagement is the art of transforming society’s problems into fun. Serious matters deserve to be enjoyed, not just for the sake of it, but for the sake of making a serious difference. Humor, beauty and adventure are important components of social change.

A fungaged artist or activist may employ fun as a means to draw attention to a social ill, to mobilize people or to induce goodwill. Actions with a twist need not happen on a large scale to make a big impression, for journalists love to cover an inspiring story. When people hear about an initiative that makes them smile, chances are much greater that they’ll join in the fun and invest energy into changing the world. Fungagement is also a critical tool for resolving conflicts: Once people have a laugh together, tension diminishes.

While fungagement makes an essential contribution to social change, it is certainly not sufficient. Changing the world can’t be enjoyable all the time. We need angry protest. We need the painful truth to hurt. We need sacrifice. We need a stick as well as a carrot. After all, they work best when combined. There is however no excess of carrots. So let’s get active and design as many ways as we can to ecstatically face the challenges today’s world poses us. Apart from this activism, fungagement can also be a lifestyle, making a sustainable and peaceful way of life attractive and enjoyable.

This website was created by social inventor Elena Simons to present both her own fungaged work and inspiring examples of projects from over the world. The aim is to fill the site with a growing number of examples. So if you know a story that should be listed, let us hear about it.