admin, Author at The Wellbeing Project

Mallika Dutt

Founder, Activist, Social Change Leader

Mallika Dutt inspires leaders to remember their innate interconnectedness and transform their impact. In a world of division and isolation, she invites us to see our shared well-being with people and planet. She asks us to embrace collaboration and cultivate a world where we can flourish and thrive together. Mallika’s wisdom is born from decades on the frontlines, championing human rights in local and global contexts. As a multimedia curator and storyteller, she has used culture to change culture through award-winning campaigns that have touched millions.

As a strategic innovator, Mallika has pioneered effective approaches of social change through the founding of several nonprofits, including Breakthrough and Sakhi for South Asian Women. She has also provided transformational leadership in her roles as a Program Officer for Human Rights and Social Justice at the Ford Foundation’s New Delhi Office, the Director of the Norman Foundation, and the Associate Director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University.

Now, Mallika leverages her experience as a changemaker to catalyze a new, interconnected leadership, through program design, facilitation, public speaking, and coaching. Her intersectional methodology incorporates creative and contemplative approaches, including: narrative strategy, storytelling, somatic embodiment, energy medicine, yoga and mindfulness practices.

A recipient of multiple awards, she received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2016. Mallika has served on several boards and committees and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A graduate of NYU Law School and Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, Mallika began her career as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton. She is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from her undergraduate college, Mount Holyoke.

Click here for more information about Mallika Dutt.

Read on for an exclusive Q&A with Mallika ahead of the Summit:

What does wellbeing mean to you?

Wellbeing is starry skies and vast oceans, dancing with the directions, celebrating our humanness and our connection to all beings.

Why are you looking forward to being part of The Wellbeing Summit?

We need a paradigm shift in how we bring about social change. And the summit allows us to explore possibilities that center the world we desire to create rather than opposition to all that is wrong.

How does your work connect to wellbeing?

Interconnected leadership that brings together self, community, systems and the earth is essential to the shared wellbeing of people and planet. Our individual wellbeing is interdependent with the wellbeing of all.

How does your work for the summit bring you and your audience closer to wellbeing?

Pleasure is a necessary dimension of wellbeing and one that is little explored. I hope to encourage joy, awe, sassiness and fun as an essential part of social change.

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Laureline Simon

Founder and Director, One Resilient Earth

Laureline Simon is the founder and director of One Resilient Earth, an international non-profit organization dedicated to growing the resilience of individuals, re-building communities and restoring ecosystems in response to our climate and biodiversity crises. One Resilient Earth weaves together arts, science, ancient wisdom and new technologies through multiple collaborations. The organization shares inspiration on climate resilience and regeneration via Tero magazine; offers open-sharing spaces, transformational training and workshops online; supports pioneering arts-science projects with cultural and academic institutions; facilitates inclusive dialogues, catalyzes resources towards local communities negatively impacted by climate change worldwide; and supports organizations committed to transformation, regeneration and resilience.

Previously, Laureline supported international climate negotiations as part of the United Nations Climate Change secretariat, with a focus on adaptation knowledge management, loss and damage associated with climate change, and the setting up of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. With the French Development Agency, she identified large climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation projects in India, before leading a research programme on climate change adaptation in cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. She also engaged in post-disaster reconstruction projects in both rural and urban India, with the Indian NGO SEWA. Laureline holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs, Development Studies from Sciences Po Paris, and a National Degree in Eastern Languages and Civilization from INALCO.

Royston Maldoom

Choreograher and Community Dance project leader

ROYSTON MALDOOM is a choreograher/Community Dance project leader who has worked in over 30 countries, often in crisis areas. Where the unbearable social and political conditions make it impossible for people to live together peacefully: in South Africa during the apartheid regime, in the Balkans and in Northern Ireland during the civil war, in the Baltic states during the transition after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with marginalised street-kids in Ethiopia or children and youth the suburbs of Lima,Peru – and in Berlin schools in the “social hot spots” in Kreuzberg and Neukölln.

His legendary production of ‘Le Sacre du Printemps’ together with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle and young dancers from Berlin’s “problem schools” was the subject of an award winning cinema and TV documentary “Rhythm is it!” – which became an international cinema success and also made community dance known to a much wider audience.

He has always seen dance as an answer to, and as a way out of, the impasse of exclusion and hostility. As a cultural antidote to dogmatism, populism, racism and sexism of all kinds.

Loreto Aramendi

International concertist

International concertist and main organist of the Cavaillé-Coll organ ( 1863) of the Basilique of Santa María del Coro.

She has given numerous recitals at international festivals in USA, Japan, Russia, Canada, Argentina and most of European countries performing in places like Ópera City Hall of Tokyo, Auditorio Nacional of Madrid (Bach-Varmut), Notre Dame of Paris, Moscow Cathedarl, Hallgrímskikja in Reykjavik, Saint Patricks Cathedral of Nueva York, Westminster Cathedral, Auditorium of Stavanger.

In 2015 she published a double CD recorded on the Cavaillé-Coll organ (1863) of the Basilique of Santa María del Coro with works by C. Franck, F. Liszt, J. Brahms and Ch. Tournemire, which received the 4 stars award from “Choir & Organ” Magazine, and was acclaimed by “The Sydney Organ Journal”.

In 2017 she published another double CD recorded on The Cavaillé-Coll of the Saint Ouen of Rouen Abbey with Louis Robilliard transcriptions acclaimed by the critics.

Interested in the pipe organ building process, she has collaborated and participated since 2014 in several works of organ restoration in France and Spain.

She started her studies at the Conservatoire of San Sebastian where she obtained higher degrees in piano, harpsichord, organ and chamber music with Loreto F. Imaz, Esther Mendiburu and Cristina Navajas.

She studied organ at the National Regional Conservatoire of Bayonne with Bernadette Carrau and Esteban Landart, receiving the Gold Medal and the First Prize upon completing the Advanced Degree course.

Entering into the National Higher Conservatoire of Lyon (C.N.S.M.D), she worked with Jean Boyer, Louis Robilliard and J. Von Oortmersen, obtaining the First Prize with ” Mention trés bien” and her National Diploma of Advanced Studies with specialisation in the organ.

She was awarded scholarships from the local government of Guipuzkoa for two years, as well as from the Lartundo Foundation.

She then furthered her studies over a period of five years at the National Regional Superior Conservatoire in Paris with Noelle Spieth, receiving the First Prize upon finalizing her Advanced Degree in the harpsichord and her General Music Studies Diploma. At the same time, she worked with J. Rouvier, on piano specialization.

She studied the piano for three years in Barcelona with Edith Fischer and Jorge Pepi. She has completed advanced courses with professors such as M. Radulescu, J. Oortmersen, W. Jansen, D. Moroney, R. Requejo, Roberto Szidon and Sakharov, amongst others.

She has collaborated with the Basque Symphony Orchestra for many years, with whom she has recorded two discs. She gives concerts as a soloist and as part of different groups as an organist, pianist, and harpsichord player, embracing all periods and styles into her repertoire. At the same time, she has a degree in Psychology from the University of the Basque Country (UPV).

She is currently a professor at the F. Escudero Conservatoire in San Sebastian.

Her commitments for the next years include recitals in Japan, USA, France, Poland, Spain, Russia, Italy, Germany, England, Switzerland, Israel, Luxemburg, Estonia and Finland.

Click here to learn more about Loreto Aramendi.

Eva Lee

Visual Artist

Eva Lee is a visual artist and experimental filmmaker who is fascinated by the nature of mind and reality. Investigating mind has led her to respond to the findings of neuroscientists. Dual Brains is a real-time EEG data-driven performance inspired by studies on human neural interdependence.

Other work includes digital animations, video installations, original drawings and editioned prints each exploring what lies at the threshold of perception. Some of her work has been described by The New York Times as “hypnotic” depictions of the “awesome infinities and minutiae of the cosmos.”

She has exhibited at galleries and museums nationally, including The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, The DeCordova, and Bronx Museum for the Arts. She has screened internationally at Cannes Short Film Festival, BBC Big Screen, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and other venues. Recent events include SPRING/BREAK Art Show in NYC presented by Harvestworks/Thoughtworks Arts. Her work is in the Tampa Public Art Collection, Connecticut Artists Collection, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, and other collections. Awards include fellowships from Fulbright, Asian Cultural Council, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, The MacDowell Colony, Hemera Foundation, and Mind & Life Summer Research Institute.

The artist’s Fulbright Scholar Research project, “Indo-Tibetan Mandalas: Blueprints for Discovering the Nature of Mind and Reality,” examined the roots of Buddhist visual culture and philosophy of mind. She traveled to ancient and contemporary monasteries in the Himalayas to document 10th to 12th century historical sites, create new artwork, and investigate the continued importance of mandalas for meditation.

She is currently exploring the well-documented Buddhist model of mind and its application to computation and artificial intelligence.

Click here to visit Eva Lee’s website

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Carlos Garaicoa Manso

Artist

Carlos Garaicoa Manso (Cuba, 1967; lives and works between Havana and Madrid) employs a multidisciplinary approach to address issues of culture and politics, through the study of architecture, urbanism and history. His main subject has been the city of Havana, and his media include installation, video, photography, sculpture, pop-up books, and drawing.

Among his most important solo shows we can highlight those at Peabody Essex Museum; Fondazione Berengo; Lund Konsthall and Skissernas Museum; Parasol unit; Fondazione Merz; MAAT, Lisbon; Azkuna Zentroa; Museum Villa Stuck; Nasjonalmuseet; CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo; Fundación Botín; NC-Arte y FLORA ars + natura; Kunsthaus Baselland; Kunstverein Braunschweig; Contemporary Art Museum, Institute for Research in Art; H.F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University; Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam; Centre; Art la Panera; Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Caja de Burgos; National Museum of Contemporary (EMST); Inhotim Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo and Caixa Cultural (Rio de Janeiro); Museo ICO and Matadero; IMMA; Palau de la Virreina; Museum of Contemporary Art; Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango and Palazzo delle Papesse.

He has participated in prestigious international events such as: The Biennials of Havana, Shanghai, São Paulo, Venice, Johannesburg, Liverpool and Moscow Biennial, the Triennials of Auckland, San Juan, Yokohama and Echigo-Tsumari; Documenta 11 and 14 and PhotoEspaña 12.

He received the XXXIX International Prize for Contemporary Art “Pierre de Mónaco” Foundation in Monte Carlo in 2005 and the Katherine S. Marmor Prize in Los Angeles. In 2013 he received the Guest Award winner of the XII Fellbach Triennale for Small Format Sculpture and in 2021, he received the PEM Award from The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.

FIND OUT ABOUT CARLOS' EXHIBITION AT THE SUMMIT

Alicia Framis

Multidisciplinary Artist

Alicia Framis (1967, Barcelona, Spain) is a multidisciplinary artist that comments, in her artistic practice, on outdated or uneven societal power structures and misgivings, formulating in her projects that range in scope from performance art, design, architecture and garments, new ways of reclaiming social spaces for the under privileged, overseen, undervalued, in contemporary cultures. As an artist she deals directly with her role as part of society, staging large scale interventions to shake up general economic systems and social structures. Her interventions are often seen as social sculptures, combining the designed aesthetic and idealist conviction, as an artwork with an active role for the viewer.

Framis was the director of the Master’s program at Sandberg Institute (Rietveld Academy), for Commoners Society which explored new ways of living and working together. She studied at the Barcelona University and the École de Beaux Arts in Paris. She completed two masters programs, one at the Institute d’Hautes Etudes, Paris and another at Rijksacademie Van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam.

Art can function as a strong reminder in the public debate that the shine of innovation and the common markers of prosperity, often actively shape an exclusive model of reality that far from covers the many layered complexities of societies in innovation growth mode.

As an artistic cross disciplinary approach, performance art can on a profound level challenge the broad reverberations of these contemporary societal shifts as an empathic, artistic communication tool for introspection. Performance as a practice can so effectively explore interpersonal relations and social dynamics, as public spectacle or one on one experiences.

The many forms performative artistic practice art can take are always in evolution. Exploring the materiality of performative practice and embracing the fluidity of the form, is of vital importance. Actions, poems, conferences, interventions, immaterial performances, collaborations.

At the same time Framis’ work is not only performance because performance is always something in movement, in her case she works with interactive sculptures, garments, videos and photography.

Click here to find out more about Alicia Framis.

WATCH HER VIDEOS ON VIMEO

Read on for an exclusive Q&A with Alicia ahead of the Summit:

What does wellbeing mean to you?

For me wellbeing is a state of mind and body in which we are at peace with ourselves and our surroundings. Wellbeing is achieved, it is not given to us. That is why we humans have to always strive to achieve wellbeing. Wellbeing is naturally in nature, it is a state of abundance for humans, but at a time when we break the ecosystem and mankind is more concerned about power than anything else, humans then suffer from shortages and injustices, and then wellbeing again becomes a goal.

Why are you looking forward to being part of The Wellbeing Summit?

It is a great opportunity to connect with other disciplines, I believe the subject is so interesting that I hope connect there with all kinds of visitors: financiers, gurus, artists, creatives, innovators, engineers, etc. I think we have to unite to make our society better, we must live better, it is our right; the state of deprivation, poverty, the cult of the body, are all things that have to disappear.

How does your work connect to wellbeing?

My work connects to wellbeing in two ways: one is by being a part of a group of artists, collaborating with them on this subject. Secondly, the subject of wellbeing is part of my personal research as an artist – the wellbeing of people, how to live better and create new possibilities. I believe that art is a tool to bring people together.

How does your work for the summit bring you and your audience closer to wellbeing?

I believe that my work is a way of reflecting on how we can live better. The paraglider that I am making has a phrase on it that can be seen from everywhere – it says: WE ALL BELONG TO THE SAME SUN.

Connect with Alicia Framis on social media :

Laura Calderón De La Barca

Collective and Intergenerational Trauma Therapist

Laura Calderon de la Barca is a psychotherapist specialized in collective trauma, as well as a collective healing researcher, educator, consultant, linguist and cultural analyst. Beside her private therapeutic practice, she collaborates with research and facilitation in the Academy of Inner Science and the Pocket Project, both founded by contemporary mystic Thomas Hübl, in collective healing courses and programs, such as the Collective Trauma Summits, where she participates as a panelist and host, bringing the wisdom of Latin American voices to thousands of people in a global audience. She also facilitates groups for Global Majority participants in the Collective Healing Journey, Trauma-Informed Leadership Course, and Timeless Wisdom Training. She leads her own workshops on trauma healing, has worked in Canada and Mexico with Indigenous Communities, and consults for a diversity of NGO’s and institutions on trauma healing. She provides mentoring for therapists, and is currently preparing a book on collective trauma healing based on her PhD thesis, a written therapeutic session for Mexico, her country of origin, and she is also preparing a trauma healing training for therapists in Spanish.

Connect with Laura Calderón De La Barca on social media :

Gary Cohen

Health Care Without Harm president and founder

Gary Cohen has been a pioneer in the environmental health movement for more than 35 years. He has helped build coalitions and networks globally to address health impacts related to climate change and toxic chemical exposure. Cohen is co-founder and president of Health Care Without Harm, created in 1996 to help transform the health care sector to be environmentally sustainable and support the health and climate resilience of the communities they serve. Since its inception, the nonprofit has grown to lead and partner in groundbreaking initiatives in more than 72 countries. Cohen was awarded the Champion of Change Award for Climate Change and Public Health by the White House in 2013. In 2015, Cohen received a MacArthur Fellowship and a “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation.

For more information on Health Care Without Harm, click here: https://noharm.org/

For more about Cohen and his work, view the MacArthur Award video here

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Justin Michael Williams

Author and transformational speaker

Justin Michael Williams is an author, transformational speaker, and top-20 recording artist who has become a pioneering voice for diversity and inclusion in wellbeing. From growing up with gunshot holes outside of his bedroom window, to sharing the stage with Marianne Williamson and Deepak Chopra, Justin knows well the pain of adversity and the power of healing to overcome. He has since been featured by The Wall Street Journal, Grammy.com, Billboard.com, The Root, The Advocate, Yoga Journal, and SXSW. He is a recurring keynote corporate and higher education speaker at places Google, VMware, Bloomberg, and universities around the world, and is a voting member of the GRAMMY Awards Recording Academy. With his groundbreaking book Stay Woke, and over a decade of teaching experience, Justin’s message of hope and empowerment has spread to more than 40 countries around the globe, particularly through his national “Stay Woke, Give Back” tour bringing mindfulness to youth in underserved communities. Justin is dedicated to using his voice to serve; to being a beacon of hope for those who are lost, and to making sure all people, of all backgrounds, have access to the information they need to change their lives.

2021 WELLbinar on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion featuring Justin Michael Williams

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