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Cultivating a Thriving Inner Landscape Where Our Potential Can Bloom: 7 Learnings on How Mental Health Helps Achieve Social Change and PeacebuildingCultivating a Thriving Inner Landscape Where Our Potential Can Bloom: 7 Learnings on How Mental Health Helps Achieve Social Change and Peacebuilding

Guest post by:

Catalina Cock Duque

Co-Founder and President, Fundación Mi Sangre

Growing up in Colombia, a country with an armed conflict, filled with bombings, massacres, and displacement, I always felt the need to heal our wounds of violence and work towards the construction of peace. Fundación Mi Sangre, co-founded with songwriter and singer Juanes, has been my primary vehicle for pursuing this purpose. Since 2006, Mi Sangre has played a pivotal role in fostering systemic cultural change in Colombia by involving youth and the actors surrounding them as key contributors to personal, community, and systemic transformation. This model equips participants with life, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills, empowering them to co-create positive changes in their communities, including solutions towards peace.

Our work encompasses a multifaceted vision of leadership, emphasizing the development of both individual and collective skills. It involves nurturing awareness, empathy, critical thinking, and curiosity while fostering collaboration. We address the challenges young people face due to living in impoverished and violent environments, providing comprehensive mental health support as a valuable resource for personal and collective transformation. With this emphasis on inner work, mental health, and wellbeing, we have seen positive results not only in our participants’ lives but in the systems all around us.

From more than 15 years of service to young people in Colombia, here are some of the lessons from our journey that have now become integral to our work.

1. We can support the individual through the collective.

In dealing with trauma and other mental health challenges, some specific cases require individual psychosocial support. However, our organization and country lack the resources to provide it individually at scale. Therefore, we have integrated mental health skills into leadership programs, to offer support in a collective setting while integrating a preventive approach. These programs blend self-discovery and introspection, with safe spaces, fostering social connections and a sense of belonging. The mental health dimension of our leadership programs holds a special place in the hearts of our participants. From our retreats, I recall with emotion their warm hugs, the tears of healing they shed, and the laughter that set their spirits free, all within the safe space we helped create for them.

2. Holistic wellbeing – connecting mind, heart, body, and spirit – is essential.

Our programs prioritize a holistic approach encompassing the mind, heart, body, and spirit. Engaging the mind fosters critical thinking, self-awareness, and informed decision-making. Emotional aspects, represented by the heart, nurture empathy and meaningful relationships. Physical well-being, supported by the body, ensures energy and vitality, offering valuable wisdom through a strong mind-body connection. Nurturing the spirit, which encompasses purpose and resilience, provides inner strength to face challenges. Collectively, these dimensions empower individuals to lead authentically, while achieving significant change. Our young participants have successfully created more than 1,800 change initiatives, achieving profound systemic transformations in areas such as violence prevention, reconciliation, gender equity, migrants’ inclusion, and prevention of forced recruitment to armed groups.

3. The creative arts and nature are our biggest allies.

Creative arts and nature are central to our programs. We offer creative outlets like painting, music, and writing to serve as therapeutic outlets, hellping to alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression. Art encourages mindfulness, fostering social connections and deep interactions. Simultaneously, nature provides purpose and tranquility and teaches the vital concepts of oneness and interconnection. Whether it’s a simple walk in the park, incorporating plants, or outdoor experiences in natural settings, these holistic approaches significantly enhance our program’s effectiveness. My heart fills with gratitude when I remember a participant who shared that she had discovered the wisest counselor in nature and had never received such profound guidance from anyone else.

Credit: Fundación Mi Sangre/Alejandro Bonnells

Credit: Fundación Mi Sangre/Alejandro Bonnells

“My heart fills with gratitude when I remember a participant who shared that she had discovered the wisest counselor in nature and had never received such profound guidance from anyone else.”

4. Mental health and wellbeing have to be cultivated.

From our community engagement, it is clear to us that mental health and wellbeing are not static conditions; they are cultivated over time through a combination of self-awareness, self-care, and positive life choices. To help our communities make these choices, we have developed several strategies, including an open-source library with tools and resources, along with trainer approaches and curriculums for parents and educators, on how to develop 17 different holistic leadership skills. To our surprise, this library, originally created for our team, has more than 2,500 visitors per month, demonstrating its regular use. We also don’t limit our mental health support to our participants: since the pandemic, our full team holds weekly online meetings to share various practices, encouraging us to lead by example and embody the change we want to be in our communities.

5. We must shift paradigms around mental health.

Transforming mental health paradigms is a crucial piece to this puzzle, given historical stigma that discourages those who are struggling from seeking support. To help change this dynamic, we have launched grassroots and national campaigns at Mi Sangre to normalize mental health discussions, emphasizing the importance of open, empathetic, and non-judgmental conversations. Recognizing that change starts at the individual and community levels, we are committed to creating tailored approaches to mental health, considering differences in ethnicity, gender, and age while incorporating local wisdom. We also seek to expand the dialogue on mental health to include wider audiences: inspired by the Wellbeing Summit for Social Change in Bilbao, we co-created the Wellbeing Summit Bogotá in September 2023. Mental health was a central topic at this event, which convened changemakers from the social change, business, academic, and public sectors. We aspire to extend this initiative to other Latin American cities, further advancing this crucial agenda for mental health.

An example of posters co-designed with local communities, written in Nasa Yuwe, the language indigenous communities of Toribio, Norte del Cauca, Colombia, with an invitation to reach out to mental health support services. Literal translation: “Weaving the good life. Mental health is harmony, source of inspiration and wisdom”. Credit: Fundación Mi Sangre/Alejandro Bonnells

6. Our personal journeys influence our professional work

Leading Mi Sangre has been a profoundly personal journey.My pursuit of inner growth and wellbeing commenced 18 years ago after facing burnout during my first venture. However, this journey evolved recently when I developed a deeper understanding of trauma’s impact on my work, through participation in the Inner Development Program by The Wellbeing Project. In a retreat with fellow change agents, I was transported back to a poignant childhood memory. I overheard the tragic fate of our neighbors, the parents of children my age who were kidnapped and brutally murdered. The re-emergence of this memory unleashed profound emotions, revealing the lasting impact it had on me. This experience unveiled the roots of certain unhealthy patterns in my entrepreneurial drive – a fear of losing what I cherish, an unconscious drive to do everything to survive and protect my loved ones, and a limiting belief that I must accomplish everything now because tomorrow is uncertain. I have undergone profound transformations as a result. When leaders embark on deep explorations of their inner selves, a much deeper layer of meaning emerges about who we are, what we do, how we pursue it, and, more importantly, how we want to pursue it. I have witnessed numerous stories of leaders similarly elevating their modes of operation (and impact!) by embarking on journeys of inner work.

7. Inner work can help heal systems.

In the pursuit of positive social change and lasting peace, inner work stands as a pivotal force that transcends individual growth to mend the very systems that have been fractured by violence and turmoil. The power of inner work is not confined to self-discovery and personal development; it extends to our collective consciousness and societal structures. Mi Sangre’s work involves weaving ecosystems, bringing together a wide array of participants from the public, private, and third sectors – sometimes even including former enemies and victims – to co-create solutions. Through our methodologies, we have witnessed the potential to transcend differences, hate, and fear in order to act collectively towards peace. By delving into the depths of our inner selves, we unearth the empathy, resilience, and wisdom required to reshape these systems.

“By delving into the depths of our inner selves, we unearth the empathy, resilience, and wisdom required to reshape these systems.”

Both through my work and personal experience, I’ve learned to embrace pain and struggles as inherent aspects of life. However, I’ve also seen the potential for leading a life filled with profound meaning, even in the face of persistent challenges. Equipping leaders with the skills to address trauma, support their mental health, and enable wellbeing is essential. In doing so, we are able to help them cultivate resilience, enabling them to reach their highest human potential, foster healthy relationships, and serve life with freedom and joy.

Looking back at the dream Juares and I had 16 years ago – working towards peace – I am convinced that including inner work in our systemic approach has been pivotal in catalyzing extraordinary leadership. Without it, we may have never been able to advance the reconstruction of our social fabric, influence decision-makers, and help heal systems that impact over 2 million people who have undergone profound transformations toward peace-building and social change. I invite you to explore how mental health, healing, and inner work may transform your work in social change – with a thriving inner landscape, there’s no limit for our how our potential can bloom.

About the authorAbout the author

Meet Catalina Cock Duque

Catalina Cock Duque, a seasoned catalyst for systemic change with over 25 years of experience, is a passionate leader in sustainable development, peace-building, and social impact. Distinguished as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and recognized by Silla Vacía in Colombia, she co-founded Fundación Mi Sangre, impacting over 2 million people in Colombia. As a Co-Founder of Oro Verde and the Alliance for Responsible Mining, Catalina played a pivotal role in establishing the first global certification for artisanal gold mining, expanding its reach to over 10 countries. She holds a BA from the University of Maryland and a Master’s from the London School of Economics, complemented by executive courses in leadership and innovation from top institutions worldwide.

Hear from Catalina's experience on taking part of The Wellbeing Summit Bogotá: Hear from Catalina's experience on taking part of The Wellbeing Summit Bogotá:

Four Seasons Under One Sky: Arts as a Collective Approach to Creativity and Healing in South Africa Four Seasons Under One Sky: Arts as a Collective Approach to Creativity and Healing in South Africa

Guest post by:

Marlize Swanpoel

Co-Founder & Director, sp(i)eel arts therapies collective (Cape Town, South Africa)

sp(i)eel is an arts therapies collective (including drama, music, dance/movement, and art) of arts therapists, applied arts practitioners, and arts activists addressing intergenerational and complex trauma in South African communities. Over two centuries of colonialism and the oppressive regime of apartheid has left a nation grappling with systemic inequity and intergenerational trauma. Ongoing poverty and high incidences of violence and crime coupled with a dire lack of mental health services are contributing to complex and ongoing trauma, with more than a quarter of South Africans suffering from probable depression (Craig et al, 2022). This mental health crisis our country is facing is a systemic issue, not an individual one, and it needs a collective response. Our approach to mental health is culturally informed and sees people as each other’s greatest resource and source of support. As a result, our ultimate goal is to develop collective resilience that can affect social change.

Our name, spieel, is derived from two words that have different meanings in the Afrikaans language: “to play” or “mirror”. To “play and mirror” speaks to several reasons for our use of art as a healing tool. It refers to the function of the arts as a mirror to society for expression, reflection, and understanding. It also speaks to the therapeutic aspect of art therapies, where an art form is applied as a mirror to Self for exploration and understanding. Furthermore, it is through the playful nature of the arts that we can connect with our innate creativity.

It also speaks to the therapeutic aspect of art therapies, where an art form is applied as a mirror to Self for exploration and understanding.

In South Africa, access to therapeutic arts programmes is limited and not accessible to everyone. We aim to enable accessibility to the intentional use of various art forms to further have a positive impact on general health, wellbeing, development, and transformation for all.

Given our deep connection with the arts, our story and impacts can best be shared visually. This photo essay illustrates the journey of healing and wellbeing experienced through our Families and Collective Futures programme. It is a resilience-focused, trauma-informed programme that applies the arts and creativity to build psychosocial support systems. These systems are created through research (in collaboration with Brunel University), training, and the implementation of arts-based groups for children and their social circles.

The journey of this programme is presented within the frame of one of our core guiding metaphors: the four seasons. It represents the following. Firstly, just like the seasons, our mental health and wellbeing are not in a fixed state. We experience constant ups and downs. By accessing tools such as embodied awareness, reflexivity, and regulating skills, we can support ourselves and each other to navigate through these seasons of illness and health.

Secondly, this metaphor understands mental health and wellbeing in the context of the ecosystem. Communities are made up of people in different seasons of life. Collective resilience implies that the pressure to bounce back from hardship is not the sole responsibility of the individual. When one person suffers, it affects everyone. Everyone plays a role in collective health; as a collective, we are stronger together.

Collective resilience implies that the pressure to bounce back from hardship is not the sole responsibility of the individual. When one person suffers, it affects everyone.

Lastly, the seasons mirror people’s relationship with nature, and offer a platform to reflect on cultural and indigenous knowledge embracing nature as a source of healing.

We begin our journey in the season of (re)birth: Spring.

SPRING SPRING

Tending to the Soil So the Seedlings Can Thrive

Spieel 1 — Three generations of men raise a baby boy in the air. Cerderberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

In a community workshop, participants create an embodied image of Spring. A healing-centered approach to intergenerational trauma in family systems involves the adults developing reflective and regulating skills to take care of their own mental health, so that they are better aware of unhelpful patterns of relating in their families and community.

Burning David’s Root. Cederberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

Arts activist Gershan Lombard facilitates a ritual of gratitude at the end of a community workshop, with the small children keeping a close and curious eye. Culturally-informed psychosocial practice includes honouring indigenous knowledge and spiritual practices of health and wellbeing to share this wisdom with the next generation.

Summer Summer

Young People’s Shining Stories

A Summer of Self-expression: Making our stories known. Robertson, 2023. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A group of young women share their story about Summer as a starting point to explore themes of health and wellbeing. It is vital to offer young people multiple ways to share their thoughts and feelings, as words are not always readily available to express their inner worlds. As one participant (grade 11, high school leaner) revealed to us:“You might have noticed that we are a generation that keeps to ourselves, and we don’t trust anyone with our feelings and our thoughts. Especially because we don’t know how to talk about our feelings and our thoughts. You have come to show us that we can also show you through our songs and through our dances how we feel and what we are thinking. And that is freedom.”

Glimmer Boxes shine light on tools for health. Koue Bokkeveld, 2023. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A young woman creates her “Glimmer Box”, a tool that supports participants to explore what resources are available to them to support their mental health and wellbeing. These include positive relationships, safe spaces, and activities that regulate their emotional states. Some of these are drawn, painted on stones, or represented by found objects in nature and placed in the box as tangible reminders of available support systems.

“You have come to show us that we can also show you through our songs and through our dances how we feel and what we are thinking. And that is freedom.”

Autumn Autumn

A Season of Trust and Letting Go

Leaning into each other. Worcester, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A couple rests back-to-back and connects with each other’s breath. Our embodied, trauma-informed practice is drawn from Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory as a way to understand the autonomous nervous system’s responses. This helps us understand our reactions to triggers and to develop tools for regulating and finding safety and connection in the present moment. The couple shared afterwards: “My partner and I are having difficulties in our relationship. This workshop has given us the space to sit and just be with each other, to re-connect, and we were able to talk about things. This had a positive influence on our children and family life.”

Bridging generations. Worcester, 2023. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

In a workshop for mothers and daughters, mothers embody the support of a bridge, coming together to keep a girl above water. This workshop took place during a time of heavy flooding in the area in which some participants had lost their homes. This role-playing offered a way to express the traumatic experience: “The only way to keep safe is when we all look after each other’s children. We are not alone in this world, and your child is my child,” shared one mother. The embodied work where non-verbal communication is encouraged also supported bonding between mothers and daughters: “Girls don’t open up to parents, this exercise helped us to open up to each other,” said a young participant.

“We are not alone in this world, and your child is my child.”

Women’s circles and cycles. Vlottenburg, 2019. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A group embodies the word “women” in Circles of Support, one of our workshops for women. This workshop explores the female menstrual cycle as its four phases are linked with the four seasons, inviting conversations around menstrual and sexual health, menopause, and mental health and wellbeing. These circles are filled with generational knowledge, beauty, hope, and wisdom. One participant expressed her joy: “My experience was that I can be comfortable with myself as a woman. And I can express my feelings and accept my body. To be a woman is great!

Winter Winter

Embracing the Wisdom of the Elderly

Offering stories to the next generation. Cederberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

A whole community, including the elderly, adults, youth, and children, are enchanted by a storytelling circle. We witnessed a beautiful moment where the children sat and listened to the stories of the elderly, and asked them questions about the history of their community. Such events where the stories of the elderly are centralized, offer a means to narrate collective and cultural history to the next generation.

Glimmer Maps. Cederberg, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

Elderly men create their own Glimmer Maps to identify their “glimmers”: small moments when we are in a place of connection or regulation, which cues our nervous system to feel safe or calm – the opposite of triggers. They are made by tracing a hand on paper, followed by a symbol of nature representing the Self drawn into the palm. Each finger represents a glimmer with prompts from nature, for example: air for breath, fire for warmth, love, comfort and rest, water for movement, and earth for grounding. Finally, we connect the glimmers to our community, and include the name of a person who makes us feel safe.

Concluding Concluding

One Cycle, Inspiring Another

A core element of the Families and Collective Futures programme is the creative methodology. One participant reflected that the manner in which we engaged with them has helped people to come out of their shell, as “ons mense neem nie maklik deel nie” (“our people do not engage easily”). To help ease our participants out of these shells, we understand several contributing factors help create a sacred and safe space where mental health and wellbeing can be addressed:

A scaffolded approach to introduce arts-based work;

The invitation to engage in any way that feels comfortable;

The knowledge that attendance is voluntary; and

The modeling of respect, tolerance, and kindness.

The above learnings speak to a healing-centered approach to trauma and essentially it is a message of hope. When we work within the ecosystem in a culturally-informed way, it creates space for innate and indigenous knowledge to be heard and received. As a result, when we understand that healing is available to everyone and happens in relation to each other, we can create circles of psychosocial support that are resilient enough to affect social change.

When we understand that healing is available to everyone and happens in relation to each other, we can create circles of psychosocial support that are resilient enough to affect social change.

Glimmers of girlhood: Families and Collective Futures are in our hands. Ganyesa, 2022. Credit: sp(i)eel arts therapies collective

We conclude this photo essay with a reflection of a participant on the theme of seasons and the image of a Glimmer Map, made by a young girl. “Every season produces something for the other season so that, in the end, nature can provide for us. Everything is a circle. And we are all part of the cycle.”

About The Author About The Author

Meet Marlize Swanepoel

Marlize Swanepoel is a Dramatherapist and the founding director of sp(i)eel arts therapies collective, an NPO that addresses intergenerational trauma and co-create community-based models of mental health care that are culturally informed and relevant to the South African context. She serves on the Secretariat of the South African National Arts Therapies Association (SANATA) and is a guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town. She is an enthusiastic advocate for the Arts for Health movement in South Africa that speaks to healthcare from a global South perspective. She loves being in spaces of learning, unlearning and dancing.

Grateful: A Journal Reflection on The Wellbeing Project’s Ecosystem Network Grateful: A Journal Reflection on The Wellbeing Project’s Ecosystem Network

Guest post by:

Charnae Sanders

Program Manager, Co.Act Detroit

Grateful.

In so many ways, this word embodies my feelings and thoughts toward The Wellbeing Project’s Ecosystem Network.

My colleague, Kyla Carlsen, and I joined the Ecosystem Network in September of 2022. Though we joined this community of passionate, thoughtful, and dedicated changemakers for a short amount of time compared to when the network first begun, never did I once feel like an intruder.

From the beginning, we were greeted with such warmth and open arms that I knew virtually attending the Wellbeing Forums would be calls that I would eagerly anticipate every quarter. It did not take long for me to be captivated by the illumination of the Ecosystem Network because of the caring people creating and holding this space for changemakers to connect in such an intentional and authentic way.

One of the things I admired most about the network was the way this space was held for members to connect. I don’t ever recall joining a session where we immediately rushed into business or the tasks at hand. Instead, we were encouraged to participate in a collective grounding exercise or share how we were showing up in the space on that day. Taking this intentional pause to get grounded or share how we were honestly feeling was so astonishing to me.

Often in the nonprofit sector, we are hurrying through the day moving from one task or meeting to the next. This simple yet meaningful practice opened my eyes to how I could interact with my colleagues and facilitate meetings within my work differently. While meeting with members of the Collective Leaders Learning Circle program hosted by Co.act Detroit (pictured above), I was able to support with leading wellness practices for our group during some of our convenings. I felt confident to lead these practices thanks to my interactions and experience with members in the Ecosystem Network.

As a participant in this network, I loved being able to connect with other changemakers around the world. It was inspiring to hear about the work others were engaged in and the way they passionately served their communities. I still recall being amazed by Marlize Swanepowel’s presentation on the work she and her team does at Sp(i)eel concerning intergenerational trauma. Being able to connect with others over important and universal topics has made this experience such an insightful one.

One of my favorite gatherings as part of this network was when Anubha Agarwal of The Wellbeing Project shared findings from the Organizational Exploratory Program (OEP). This session resonated with me so deeply because one part of my work at Co.act is to lead our Nonprofit Wellbeing Series, which uplifts the vital connection between self and community care in the nonprofit community. To have the opportunity to hear about another’s wellbeing program and the lessons that have emerged was one I did not take for granted. I appreciated her transparency and that I was able to share some of the similar themes I saw in my work as well. Experiences like these continue to remind me why having collective space for people to convene and share is important.

As bittersweet as it is to say, “farewell” to the Ecosystem Network, I am grateful that there are still spaces for us to connect under The Wellbeing Project, such as through the Inner Wellbeing for Social Change group. To find ourselves in nourishing networks or spaces rooted in community and connectivity that are handled with so much care is something I treasure deeply. It is what I will miss most about the Ecosystem Network. While every beginning has an ending, I am grateful that the spirit of the Ecosystem Network will live on across the work of The Wellbeing Project and through the mindful practices and resources of its members. I have found so much joy, understanding, and inspiration from being a part of this community that I am forever changed and eternally grateful.

About The Author About The Author

Meet Charnae Sanders

Charnae Sanders, a devoted community advocate and Program Manager at Co.act Detroit, is deeply committed to fostering connections and empowering individuals. Her dedication to community development in her hometown of Detroit is evident through her work in curating impactful programs and events, including the Nonprofit Wellbeing Series. As a passionate contributor to the Rest and Liberation Initiative, she actively promotes holistic wellbeing and empowerment, particularly within BIPOC communities.

Charnae’s active involvement in various professional initiatives, such as the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Detroit and The Social Innovation Forum’s Community Organizations Reimagining Ecosystem (CORE) cohort, reflects her continuous efforts in promoting growth and leadership development. Her diverse experiences, including her time with the Challenge Detroit fellowship program and The Black Healing Justice Project, have further enriched her understanding of social impact and community engagement.

Prior to her role at Co.act Detroit, Charnae served as the Public Programs Coordinator at the Detroit Historical Society, utilizing her background in journalism from Central Michigan University. Her passion for writing and poetry has led to publications in renowned outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Detroit Free Press. In her leisure time, she finds joy in writing, traveling, and experiencing the vibrant culture of her beloved city.

Organizational Wellbeing: Transition and Changes + Wellbeing Organizational Wellbeing: Transition and Changes + Wellbeing

Guest post by:

Michelle Arevalo and Ramses Gomez

As I was preparing myself for hosting this interview, I found this quote by Heraclitus that says “There is nothing permanent except change” and when I read it a lot of questions started to come up: Why is it so scary, sometimes? Shouldn’t I be used to it? Why do some people refuse to change, then?

I have to admit that I spent some time trying to answer them (…without feeling any better, actually) before remembering the reason why I started to read about change; so I decided that instead of trying to solve my doubts alone, the interview with Michelle and Ramses was the perfect opportunity to share all these inquiries, both leaders and open people that have transitioned recently and maybe with their help I could find some answers for me and you.

The first question I asked them was which’s the most important thing they have learned from this moment of transition as a leader, it could be something on a personal and/or professional level.

Michelle: I have learned that the saboteur voices in our head are always the strongest when we’re going through a transition […] We all have this illusion of progress; that the next thing you do is better than the last thing you did, but it’s actually all cycles. […] So I see myself going into this transition as another cycle, not better, not worse than my last one, but it’s still a cycle and it’s a beginning and at the beginning, wherever you are, no matter if you’re, the CEO of the world […] or starting your own social project […] the saboteur voices take on a very different strength […] Learning that I’m putting my finger on it and saying: “Okay, voices, you’re a bit stronger today, It’s not me”, this “I’m listening to you more” has helped me a little bit more in maintaining peace and calm as I start a new cycle […] because it’s very easy to be hard on yourself when you’re starting something new.

Ramses: One of the most important insights that emerged from the process of transitioning for me was the realization that I work from, I don’t work for. […] The organization, regardless of the role that I play, must provide me with the opportunity to help build the society I want to live in, […] an equitable society, a fairer society, a more caring society for people and the planet. […] I’ll say that knowing that I work from and not for, liberates me in so many ways because taking the transition or the step to transition comes with personal judgment, potentially outside judgment or outside voices […] and just realizing that we are way more than just our roles and titles, it unlocks a beautiful potential for everyone.

After reading several times both answers while I was writing this document, I noticed that in their own way and with the help of each particular process, they increased their awareness about what actually motivated them to transition like the values, in Ramses case; and how they are living the process, noticing these unconscious thoughts or saboteur voices, like Michelle accurately called them, that sometimes avoid us of from taking big steps.

Listening to their learnings made me want to know if there was any recommendation or advice they would like to share with people facing a transition process and here is what they said:

Ramses: It’s important to call things for what they are. And transitions are transitions. In the bigger scheme of things, transitions are also evolution and when you put it like that, it makes things way less scary. […] It becomes more natural. Of course, it comes with challenges and pains and complications, but most of those complications are attached to a mindset that is something that we own and, most of the time, we have built […] If we realize it’s within us, then we can much easily (I wouldn’t say super easily) change it.

Michelle: One thing that you have to start with is just by being kind to yourself because you’re doing something brave. The two things that I would say, one is very practical. Think of your transition as something beautiful and something you need to sit on because we are so used to thinking, “Oh, what’s the next thing? What’s the next thing? I can’t be in a transition for too long”. […] If you sit with yourself and enjoy the transition, you will find out things about yourself that will allow you to take the next step willingly. If you go towards the next step to avoid your transition overall, then you might be escaping from something and you never want to feel like you start something as if you had escaped from something else. […] Nobody likes that feeling.

The second one is probably the hardest and the one that takes the most courage: Talk about things openly and a lot. A lot like: “if you think you’re done talking about it, talk about it again” because […] sometimes we don’t take chances because of the impact it has on others. […] In my case, I knew that it would impact my business partners, my team, my managing partner […] but once I talked about it […] The conversation that came from the heart was basically, “Wow, this is going to impact me, but I am with you.” […] If there’s something that you need to do, have the open, difficult conversations first, because in the long term, it would be better for sure.

Ramses: What I wanted to share is something that was very valuable for me and much connected to what Michelle was saying and the reason why I wanted to go back: “Being honest in moments of transition and it starts with you being honest with yourself, which is quite challenging” Then it has to do with […] colleagues and very close people and friends that will be affected or impacted by your decision. […] Something that I have constantly made sure that happens in my transitions […] is that for the last two weeks I made sure to book time with absolutely EVERYONE in the organization that I worked with […] I booked time aside, usually it’s outside the office […] and asked them three questions: The first one is, what’s your favorite memory of the two of us? […] then the second question is, what did you enjoy the most while working with me? And it might seem like it’s that you want to hear praise from others, but it’s just a mechanism to prepare them for the last question, which is […] what advice do you have for me before I start my new journey? […] I make sure that I have this conversation with a piece of paper and a pen so they write down the answers and then they read them to me […] I keep those papers in my night table and when I’m going through a difficult situation, it’s usually where I go for inspiration because that’s when people have been the most honest about who I am.

Sometimes when we face difficult or complicated situations, we can forget about taking care of our wellbeing, that is why I asked both members if transitioning affected them in that way, or maybe it didn’t.

Michelle: Caring for my own wellbeing is, in part, what prompted thinking that I needed to transition. […] Many people think of a transition like a breakup […] I think that I needed a different new challenge and that having my identity be so tied to my social enterprise was something that I needed to break up with. […] “I am not my project and my project is not me” and I wanted to prove myself; it was a big part of making sure that my wellbeing becomes whole. […] Going into a transition puts you in situations that are outside your comfort zone and I don’t think that’s bad for your wellbeing. […] Thinking that being outside your comfort zone is bad for your wellbeing is actually not the right way to think of this algorithm; it doesn’t work like that. […] You have to be a little bit outside your comfort zone so that your brain grows in many ways and gets you to places you never thought you could be. […] Transitions are hard, but they’re not necessarily hard because they’re bad for your wellbeing.

Ramses: In a way it provided me with […] so much clarity about what’s relevant for me and what’s needed in the new phase / organization / role / costs. What is it that I need to be existent in that new opportunity that will get me so excited to the point that will be relevant for me to look after it. […] And of course, that clarity usually is tied to complexity, you have to go through complexity to see the light. So, […] in that sense it was absolutely challenging and I wouldn’t say my wellbeing was affected […] There were many nights awake, many times where my emotions were so confusing and different and, in many cases, new and unexpected that… […] I was honestly going through a very vulnerable time, when things affected me or impacted me in ways I wasn’t expecting. But I think the beauty of the process is that, […] it provided me and forced me to bring clarity to my thinking by being in connection with what’s relevant for me.

The last two questions are more personal. Before doing this interview, I had a little context of Michelle’s transition process and I matched it with one of the ideas that came out from the Wellbeing Summit feedback session with the Ecosystem Network. Therefore I asked her: When did you know or how did you know when to step aside? How did you know that your personal project is ready to fly without your direct guidance?

Michelle: I think you have to start from an earlier question, which is: Not when, but why. Why would you want to step aside? […] in my case I had a very good clarity that someday I would step aside and that my project will transcend me […] I’ve seen a lot of people take sabbaticals and take breaks because it’s important to take a step aside, even momentarily. […] It’s not always the answer but, in my case, it was and I knew it for a couple of reasons: first I started thinking even more long term than the usual manager would. […] One day, really out of the blue, (maybe it was deep in my heart) I just answered: “My biggest dream is that IMPAQTO transcends me in whatever shape or form”. And that’s when I knew in my mind that I was thinking way longer term and my everyday actions after that started to change; I started to delegate more, I started to think less about the day to day indicators and I started seeing my team flourish[…] And there was a day when I just felt like, “Wow! this is right, this place can actually continue on without me”. Of course, there were also outside voices that were not very nice, a lot of people called me and said: if you step back, your business partners or investors are going to be angry, they invested in you […] I would just take that as feedback and that told me that I’m doing the right thing because that’s not what I was looking for.

I also knew I needed my identity to be more than just this specific project and, in my case, I already had the privilege of having gone through a previous transition before. I used to be a Human Rights lawyer; I worked with refugees in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America; I worked in Geneva, in Switzerland so I already have taken a big lead in a transition in a different way in my career; back then I also knew that the death of my dog prompted it, that grief prompted it.

And I knew it when I started listening to a voice deep down that was telling me to move on but also, I knew it because it was important to my wellbeing along with many things that I learned from The Wellbeing Project itself. […] in my case, TWP means that the social impact we’re doing with IMPAQTO now has a tremendous opportunity to continue growing and that it doesn’t depend on me, and that I can continue doing IMPAQTO in other places. It all comes from this awareness of me being a person separated from my project and all that awareness came from conversations with Xyme, with my colleagues and feeling that this is not something that I made up, you all put words to what I was feeling.

Finally, I also knew that Ramses had transitioned in the past, so my personal question to him was if he had faced any special challenge in his most recent process.

Ramses: This transition was the hardest and the easiest at the same time. It was the hardest because I had been at Sistema B for over 5 years and the organization was perfectly aligned with my values, with what I want to build for the world, the people, the colleagues, everything was a perfect match. So, in that sense leaving an organization that it’s so aligned is quite challenging. But when I say that this transition was the easiest, it’s because I could also see that the same values, vision and spirit was there, yet what was new and different, is the scale of the impact through the lense of a tech company.

I think that also what’s powerful with every transition is that it opens up the opportunity for new leadership to emerge and flourish. The more conscious the leaders happen to be about that aspect, the more they can catalyze it. So, I think all of us having meaningful, very honest and sometimes raw conversations with team members about how potential can be unlocked by an opportunity like this, but it has to be a co-construction; […] just to make sure it goes beyond the romanticism of the idea, but actually, one has to be very involved in the process of leading and making sure that there are the right conditions for everyone to take on it.

When the time of the interview was coming to its end, both members expressed some beautiful words about it:

Michelle: At least for me, such a welcome break… to have someone ask you deep questions and to think through the answers and to put your thoughts into words is very powerful. It’s a good format to think through different challenges. Thank you so much for asking thoughtful questions.

Ramses: It resonates with me a lot, thank you so much for the space, as Michelle and I always discuss how much we love the concept of “holding the space”. Thank you for holding the space for us because many wonderful things emerge when the space is curated well, when we realize that everyone has something valuable to say and even if the 2 of you are not speaking, the value comes from you having created the space. It wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t because of you. We all have to realize this is the contribution of everyone for beautiful things, valuable things have emerged and I’m just grateful for having the space where I can share things that are very personal but also that I feel very confident sharing outloud.

Michelle: This space that you are holding for us is also accessible for so many other people.

By the end of the interview I felt very inspired and motivated for changes; I thought about the future and the new beginnings I would face. But I think more important was that listening to them gave me the opportunity to reflect about my own processes and the way I am living them. I hope you have enjoyed this interview as much as we did.

REFLECTIVE PASSAGE

A Journey of Introspection and Collective Learnings

As a sunsetting community, EN members gifted themselves and one another the time to pause and reflect on their individual, organizational, and collective journey as a Network. This is a testimony of the distilled and harvested wisdom gained from their experiences together.

Join us in this heartfelt exploration where reflection brings us closer, memories are honored, and growth is nurtured. Together, let’s celebrate the Ecosystem Network’s accomplishments while embracing new opportunities on the horizon.

ECOSYSTEM NETWORK

Inner Growth, Outer Influence: Our Global Commitment

The Ecosystem Network (EN) was a worldwide, multifaceted network of organizations committed to:

1. Integrating the realms of inner wellbeing and social change seamlessly within member organizations and across the broader spectrum of social change endeavors.

2. Assisting and empowering members in delving deeper into their personal inner wellbeing quests.

3. Facilitating platforms for members to come together, exchange insights, foster learning, and perpetuate the growth of a close-knit community, thus reinforcing bonds and cultivating trust.

For 7 Years

The Ecosystem Network has been one of the core pillars of The Wellbeing Project

Through its dedicated efforts, it has played a central role in shaping research direction, pioneering new initiatives, and fostering a transformative cultural shift towards wellbeing among all changemakers.

Key Initiatives

Quarterly Wellbeing Forums and Targeted Discussions
Collaborative Subgroups
Inspiring Retreats and Community Gatherings
Informative and Engaging Newsletters

These endeavors collectively underline the Ecosystem Network’s unwavering commitment to nurturing a holistic sense of wellbeing within the changemaker community, thereby creating a lasting positive impact.

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97 Member Organizations

The Ecosystem Network Around The Globe

Spanning across 5 continents, the Ecosystem Network boasted 104 representatives—a tapestry of global collaboration.

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Sunsetting Our Story

After a remarkable journey spanning 7 years, the Ecosystem Network (EN) has gracefully reached the sunsetting phase, marking the culmination of its impactful mission.

With resounding success, the EN has surpassed all its envisioned goals, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape it aimed to transform. While bidding farewell to this chapter may evoke a bittersweet sentiment, it primarily stands as a joyous celebration of the collective accomplishments achieved by its dedicated members. Their unwavering dedication, collaborative spirit, and efforts have paved the way for a radiant future, one where the seeds of positive change continue to flourish and illuminate the path ahead. The sunsetting of the EN embodies not just an end, but a radiant beginning of even greater endeavors and possibilities.

A Timeline

Of Our Journey

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Testimonials

From Our Network

OUR IMPACT

The Achievements Of Our Network

Pioneering & Strengthening The Case

Pioneered, piloted, and led new programming, which has helped tell some of the first wellbeing stories in the field.
Helped build the case for the need of wellbeing globally.
Guided TWP’s main research and supported project-wide emerging processes and initiatives.
Created different types of wellbeing related materials (e.g. books, research, webinars).

Relationships & Peer Support

Created safe spaces from which trustworthy relationships could be built, thus modeling a new way of being and relating with one another within the sector at large.
Showcased the importance of having a community of peers and leaders to travel and journey with.

Wellbeing At Different Levels

Helped us deepen the collective understanding of what it takes to integrate wellbeing at a personal and organizational level.
Played an active role in sharing personal and organizational learnings & experiences with the broader field in different settings (e.g. global conferences)
Incorporated wellbeing into the core of many members’ organizations and their strategies.
Contributed to the creation of some of the first major global and regional ripple effects in the sector. (e.g. The Wellbeing Summit Bogotá)

Civil society – the power of now | Andreas Rickert | TEDxBerlinSalon

Books By Our Members

New Work Needs Inner Work

by Joana Breidenbach

[mk_button dimension=”flat” size=”medium” url=”https://www.amazon.com/New-Work-needs-Inner-Selbstorganisation/dp/3800661373″ target=”_blank” align=”center” bg_color=”#0190bb”]LEARN MORE[/mk_button]

Leading from Within: Conscious Social Change and Mindfulness for Social Innovation

by Gretchen Ki Steidle

[mk_button dimension=”flat” size=”medium” url=”https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Within-Conscious-Mindfulness-Innovation/dp/026203719X” target=”_blank” align=”center” bg_color=”#0190bb”]LEARN MORE[/mk_button]

The New Reason to Work: How to Build a Career That Will Change the World

by Roshan Paul & Ilaina Rabbat

[mk_button dimension=”flat” size=”medium” url=”https://www.amazon.com/New-Reason-Work-Career-Change/dp/1544525176″ target=”_blank” align=”center” bg_color=”#0190bb”]LEARN MORE[/mk_button]

More From The Ecosystem Network

Spotlights From The Community

[mk_button dimension=”flat” size=”medium” url=”https://wellbeing-project.org/global-glassroots/” target=”_blank” align=”center” fullwidth=”true” bg_color=”#0190bb”]GLOBAL GRASSROOTS[/mk_button][mk_button dimension=”flat” size=”medium” url=”https://wellbeing-project.org/fundacion-mi-sangre/” target=”_blank” align=”center” fullwidth=”true” bg_color=”#0190bb”]FUNDACIÓN MI SANGRE[/mk_button]

The Wellbeing Summit Bogotá – Podcast

[mk_button dimension=”flat” size=”medium” url=”https://wellbeing-project.org/the-wellbeing-summit-bogota-podcast/” target=”_blank” align=”center” fullwidth=”true” bg_color=”#0190bb”]LISTEN NOW[/mk_button]

Reflective Passage – Learnings From The Ecosystem Network’s Sunset Journey

[mk_button dimension=”flat” size=”medium” url=”https://wellbeing-project.org/reflective-passage/” target=”_blank” align=”center” fullwidth=”true” bg_color=”#0190bb”]READ MORE[/mk_button]

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EL FACTOR INVISIBLE: Bienestar y salud mental para fortalecer el ecosistema emprendedor de alto impacto en América Latina y el Caribe

ENG: THE INVISIBLE FACTOR: Well-being and mental health to strengthen the high-impact entrepreneurial ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean

By The Wellbeing Project, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

SOBRE EL ESTUDIO SOBRE EL ESTUDIO

En el ecosistema de innovación y emprendimiento de alto impacto en América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) vemos cómo emprendedores/as cuentan experiencias difíciles de su día a día para mantener o hacer crecer exitosamente sus emprendimientos. Estas presiones diarias suelen estar vinculadas a factores que comúnmente podemos ver y medir, como el factor financiero, el factor operativo y los factores de sostenibilidad o escalabilidad. Pero se puede ver y conocer poco sobre el impacto y las posibles consecuencias de estas presiones en la vida personal, familiar o cotidiana de los seres humanos detrás de los emprendimientos. Un factor invisible que es hora de visibilizar. Si queremos fortalecer el ecosistema emprendedor de la región e impulsar su gran capacidad innovadora, es necesario atender un factor invisible pero fundamental: el bienestar y la salud mental de emprendedores/as de alto impacto.

Los emprendimientos de alto impacto son una parte esencial de las economías dinámicas de nuestros países. Sin embargo, en muchos casos, estos/as emprendedores/as enfrentan circunstancias y desafíos muy particulares de la región. A las presiones financieras y operativas cotidianas se suman contextos políticos, económicos y sociales muy cambiantes, así como recientemente los duros impactos por la pandemia del COVID-19. Esto ha generado un ambiente de alta tensión e incertidumbre en los emprendedores/as para poder mantener o hacer crecer sus iniciativas sin descuidar el compromiso laboral con sus equipos. El hecho que este desafío personal muchas veces parezca invisible y se suela enfrentar en solitario, por estigmas o prejuicios, hace que el sector de EAI sea “mucho más propenso a sufrir dolencias en bienestar y salud mental, como estados de ansiedad, fatiga, depresión o agotamiento generalizado (síndrome de burnout), en comparación con la población en general” (Endeavor, 2020).

Con el objetivo de entender y visibilizar la situación del bienestar y la salud mental, específicamente en el ecosistema emprendedor de Alto Impacto en la región, esta investigación realizó un estudio de carácter exploratorio para identificar y entrevistar a un grupo diverso de emprendedores/as en varios países de ALC. Fundadores/as o colaboradores, de diverso género, en varios tipos de industrias, con emprendimientos en distintas etapas y con diverso alcance geográfico o de mercado aceptaron participar voluntariamente para compartir sus experiencias y opiniones. Desde esta exploración, que se enfoca puntualmente en analizar la situación actual de las personas participantes, creemos que es posible reflejar lo que potencialmente afecta a una mayor parte del ecosistema. Esto puede ayudar a visibilizar la importancia de atenderlo para quienes están detrás de los emprendimientos, pero también para quienes los incuban, los aceleran o invierten en ellos. Ayudar a potenciar buenas prácticas, financiar investigación y ofrecer programas o herramientas de acompañamiento especializado al ecosistema emprendedor de la región es fundamental. Entendiendo el momento que vive la región y buscando fortalecer el crecimiento del ecosistema, se debe impulsar estratégicamente un nuevo enfoque: si los/ as emprendedores/as están bien, los emprendimientos irán mejor.

ABOUT THE RESEARCHABOUT THE RESEARCH

In the high-impact innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), we witness entrepreneurs grappling with challenging experiences in their day-to-day efforts to sustain or expand their ventures. These daily pressures are often tied to factors that are readily observable and measurable, such as financial, operational, sustainability, or scalability considerations. However, we have limited insight into the impact and potential consequences of these pressures on the personal, family, and daily lives of the individuals driving these ventures—the human beings behind the scenes. This invisible factor demands attention and acknowledgement. If we are to fortify the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region and foster its remarkable capacity for innovation, it becomes imperative to address an unseen yet indispensable element: the well-being and mental health of high-impact entrepreneurs.

High-impact ventures are an essential part of the dynamic economies of our countries. However, in many cases, these entrepreneurs face very particular circumstances and challenges in the region. Added to daily financial and operational pressures are highly changing political, economic and social contexts, as well as recently the harsh impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has generated an environment of high tension and uncertainty for entrepreneurs to be able to maintain or grow their initiatives without neglecting the work commitment with their teams. The fact that this personal challenge often seems invisible and is usually faced alone, due to stigma or prejudice, makes the EAI sector “much more prone to suffering well-being and mental health ailments, such as states of anxiety, fatigue, depression or generalized exhaustion (burnout syndrome), compared to the general population” (Endeavor, 2020).

With the objective of understanding and making visible the situation of well-being and mental health, specifically in the High Impact entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region, this research carried out an exploratory study to identify and interview a diverse group of entrepreneurs in various LAC countries. Founders or collaborators, of different genders, in various types of industries, with ventures in different stages and with diverse geographic or market scope, agreed to participate voluntarily to share their experiences and opinions. From this exploration, which specifically focuses on analyzing the current situation of the participating people, we believe that it is possible to reflect what potentially affects a greater part of the ecosystem. This can help make visible the importance of serving it for those who are behind the ventures, but also for those who incubate, accelerate or invest in them. Helping to promote good practices, finance research and offer specialized support programs or tools to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region is essential. Understanding the moment the region is experiencing and seeking to strengthen the growth of the ecosystem, a new approach must be strategically promoted: if the entrepreneurs are doing well, the ventures will do better.

Connect with COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: GLOBAL GLASSROOTS on Social Media :

Website

Global Grassroots

New Hampshire, United States.

Field of Action: Social change. Women’s Justice. Ecological Belonging.

Ecosystem Network

Since 2006, Global Grassroots has trained more than 700 emerging change agents across East Africa who have designed nearly 200 civil society organizations reaching 198,000 people.

Their inner-driven approach, called Conscious Social Change, results in powerful impacts on our change agents and them, in turn, upon their communities.

When applied to the water sector, this results in significant shifts in health, violence, and education indicators, recording an unprecedented sustainability rate of 96% among water ventures they have funded since 2008, which are serving nearly 78,000 people with access to clean water and hygiene supplies, a critical need during COVID-19. Women belonging to Global Grassroots groups and programs understand systemic change and use their water solutions as sustainable hubs to target a range of other priority local issues affecting women.

When women lead, communities succeed.

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Women are the fabric of society, but in impoverished areas, they lack the tools to solve local social issues.”

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Reports & Research

Women, Water & Wisdom: Mapping Ripple Effects of Conscious Social Change in
Rural Rwanda

Have you ever thought about the link between wellbeing and water?

The benefits of clean water go well beyond physical health. In communities where clean water is scarce and has to be fetched on a daily basis, its availability reduced stress and increased safety:

“According to participants, the incidents of injury, violence, and abuse related to fetching water dropped since the new water sites launched, particularly improving the safety of women, girls, and other community members for whom the journey had been dangerous.”

Read the full report to learn more about the power of water and community-led change:

READ REPORT

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Celina de Sola

Glasswing International

New York, NY,

USA

Celina de Sola is co-founder and president at Glasswing International, an El Salvador-based organization that combines community-based initiatives with strategies to strengthen public education and health services. Her work focuses on designing and implementing innovative, community-based initiatives that bring together institutions and people for joint action. Prior to Glasswing, de Sola worked as a crisis interventionist for Latino immigrants in the US and led humanitarian crisis response projects in Liberia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Indonesia. She is a Fellow of the Obama Foundation, Ashoka, LEGO ReImagine Learning, Penn Social Impact House. She is also an Audacious Project and Skoll Foundation Awardee, and a Tallberg Global Leader. Celina holds a master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard University and one in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice.

Co.act Detroit

Detroit, Michigan,
United States.

Co.act Detroit is a hub that accelerates transformative impact with nonprofit and community organizations in southeast Michigan through collaborative idea generation, cross-sector resources, and equitable access to world-class programming and learning opportunities.

Co.act Detroit is the home of the Nonprofit Wellbeing series, which celebrates the vital connection between self and community care and pushes for a culture shift around wellbeing at the organization and sector level. Through a quarterly series of workshops, activities, and conversations, we provide access to virtual resources and best practices that equip nonprofit professionals with strategies to support their teams and wellbeing.

Nonprofit mental health and wellbeing is also a frequent topic of conversation in our podcast, Natural Collisions. Past episode topics include creating cultures of wellbeing at work and the impact of the pandemic on women’s careers and the mental health of women in the nonprofit workplace.

Connect to Co.act Detroit on social media :