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I just came back from a community

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that holds the secret to human survival.

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It's a place where women run the show,

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have sex to say hello,

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and play rules the day --

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where fun is serious business.

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And no, this isn't Burning Man

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or San Francisco.

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(Laughter)

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Ladies and gentlemen, meet your cousins.

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This is the world of wild bonobos

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in the jungles of Congo.

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Bonobos are, together with chimpanzees,

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your living closest relative.

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That means we all share a common ancestor,

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an evolutionary grandmother,

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who lived around six million years ago.

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Now, chimpanzees are well-known

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for their aggression.

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(Laughter)

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But unfortunately,

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we have made too much of an emphasis

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of this aspect

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in our narratives of human evolution.

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But bonobos show us

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the other side of the coin.

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While chimpanzees

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are dominated by big, scary guys,

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bonobo society

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is run by empowered females.

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These guys have really worked something out,

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since this leads to a highly tolerant society

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where fatal violence

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has not been observed yet.

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But unfortunately,

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bonobos are the least understood

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of the great apes.

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They live in the depths of the Congolese jungle,

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and it has been very difficult to study them.

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The Congo is a paradox --

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a land of extraordinary biodiversity and beauty,

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but also the heart of darkness itself --

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the scene of a violent conflict

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that has raged for decades

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and claimed nearly as many lives

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as the First World War.

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Not surprisingly,

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this destruction also endangers bonobo survival.

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Bushmeat trades and forest loss

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means we couldn't fill a small stadium

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with all the bonobos that are left in the world --

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and we're not even sure of that to be honest.

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Yet, in this land of violence and chaos,

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you can hear hidden laughter

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swaying the trees.

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Who are these cousins?

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We know them as the "make love, not war" apes

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since they have frequent, promiscuous

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and bisexual sex

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to manage conflict

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and solve social issues.

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Now, I'm not saying this is the solution

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to all of humanity's problems --

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since there's more to bonobo life

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than the Kama Sutra.

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Bonobos, like humans,

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love to play throughout their entire lives.

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Play is not just child's games.

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For us and them,

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play is foundational for bonding relationships

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and fostering tolerance.

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It's where we learn to trust

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and where we learn about the rules of the game.

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Play increases creativity

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and resilience,

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and it's all about the generation of diversity --

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diversity of interactions,

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diversity of behaviors,

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diversity of connections.

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And when you watch bonobo play,

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you're seeing the very evolutionary roots

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of human laughter, dance

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and ritual.

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Play is the glue

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that binds us together.

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Now, I don't know how you play,

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but I want to show you a couple of unique clips

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fresh from the wild.

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First, it's a ball game bonobo-style --

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and I do not mean football.

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So here,

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we have a young female and a male

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engaged in a chase game.

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Have a look what she's doing.

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It might be the evolutionary origin of the phrase,

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"she's got him by the balls."

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(Laughter)

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Only I think that he's rather loving it here, right?

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Yeah.

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(Laughter)

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So sex play is common

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in both bonobos and humans.

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And this video is really interesting

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because it shows --

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this video's really interesting

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because it shows the inventiveness

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of bringing unusual elements into play --

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such as testicles --

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and also how play both requires trust

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and fosters trust --

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while at the same time being tremendous fun.

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But play's a shapeshifter.

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(Laughter)

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Play's a shapeshifter,

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and it can take many forms,

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some of which are more quiet,

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imaginative, curious --

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maybe where wonder is discovered anew.

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And I want you to see,

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this is Fuku, a young female,

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and she is quietly playing with water.

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I think, like her,

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we sometimes play alone,

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and we explore the boundaries

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of our inner and our outer worlds.

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And it's that playful curiosity

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that drives us to explore, drives us to interact,

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and then the unexpected connections we form

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are the real hotbed for creativity.

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So these are just small tasters

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into the insights that bonobo give us

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to our past and present.

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But they also hold a secret for our future,

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a future where we need to adapt

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to an increasingly challenging world

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through greater creativity

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and greater cooperation.

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The secret is that play is the key

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to these capacities.

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In other words,

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play is our adaptive wildcard.

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In order to adapt successfully

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to a changing world,

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we need to play.

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But will we make the most of our playfulness?

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Play is not frivolous.

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Play's essential.

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For bonobos and humans alike,

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life is not just red in tooth and claw.

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In times when it seems least appropriate to play,

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it might be the times when it is most urgent.

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And so, my fellow primates,

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let us embrace this gift from evolution

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and play together,

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as we rediscover creativity,

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fellowship and wonder.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)