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Satish Kumar
A Lifetime of Love
In this inaugural episode of our series, we’re honored to feature Satish Kumar, a renowned peace activist, former monk, Editor Emeritus of Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine, and founder of Schumacher College. Satish captured global attention in 1962 by walking 8,000 miles without money from India to the nuclear capitals of Moscow, Paris, London, and Washington, D.C., advocating against the use of atomic weapons. His journey, spanning over two and a half years, ignited crucial conversations about nuclear disarmament, human rights, and environmental wellbeing.
Now at 87, Satish continues to inspire as an author, speaker, and elder with organizations like The Wellbeing Project. In a special conversation recorded in Paris’s Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, he shares insights on wellbeing and his vision for the future. Let’s get to the heart of it.
Welcome to At the Heart of It, a podcast where we explore issues at the heart of our world’s biggest challenges and their solutions. We’re on a journey inward going into ourselves, reflecting on who we are listening to humanity’s collective story. Our guides are the visionary leaders, activists, scholars, and practitioners who are changing the world and whose own inner journeys of wellbeing inspire their welldoing.
Today’s guest is someone whose lifelong work is an inspiration for this podcast. Satish Kumar is a peace pilgrim, activist, and former monk who gained international recognition in 1962 for walking, on foot, with no money, from his home in India to what were then the four capitals of the nuclear world, Moscow, Paris, London, and Washington, D.C., to protest the use of atomic weapons. This journey of more than 8,000 miles over two and a half years not only sparked dialogues on nuclear disarmament, but also its interconnection with human rights, ecology and human and planetary wellbeing.
Today, at 87 years young, Satish continues to share messages of peace, hope, and compassion with the world as an author, editor, speaker, educator, and elder of many organizations, including The Wellbeing Project.
In a special conversation recorded in the Parc Butte Chaumont of Paris, Satish reflected on the role of wellbeing in his work and his vision for the future. Let’s get to the heart of it.
Madelaine VanDerHeyden (MV): All right. Well, welcome to the podcast. Today I have a very special guest here with me. We’re sitting in the beautiful in Paris. It’s a gorgeous spring day, the sun is shining, the birds are out, the dogs are out, the flowers are starting to bloom. And I’m sitting here next to Satish Kumar. Satish, welcome.
Satish Kumar (SK): Thank you. My pleasure to be on your podcast.
MV: Thank you, Satish. Now, Satish, you know The Wellbeing Project’s motto. What we believe is that wellbeing inspires welldoing. And you have had a very, very exciting, meaningful, long career of welldoing. And I want to know a little bit about your inner wellbeing journey. Can you tell us about what that has been like for you?
SK: Yes. I am now 87 years old and I feel very well in my body, in my mind, in my spirit. And I think the source of my wellbeing is my connection with the earth and also with my inner spirit. I was born in Rajasthan, in India. And when I was four years old, my father died. And so my mother was crying, my sisters were crying, my brothers were crying, and I could not understand what was going on. Why father is not moving? Why is he not walking? Why is he not talking? And so I asked my mother, what’s happening? Why are you crying? And why is father not speaking? And so she said, your father is now dead. I said, what is dead? When one is dead, one doesn’t speak, and one is gone, and you never speak with that person again, she said. So that was a big shock in my life. And so I start to think about death from age four years old. And I started to ask, is there a way of stopping people dying? And that led me to my Jain guru, whom I asked, is there a way to stop people dying?
And after a bit of thought, he said to me, the only way to stop this cycle of birth and death is to renounce the world. And so, become a monk. I decided to become a monk. So at age nine, I left home and I became a monk. And as a monk, you have to walk with bare feet. Be in nature. So I was walking in the sand dunes, along the rivers, among the trees, the open sky.
And so that is how kind of my spiritual and physical wellbeing started. And then, after nine years in monkhood, I left monkhood and I joined a Gandhian ashram, a community in India. And I lived there more as a kind of social and physical work, like art, craft, gardening, cooking, agriculture, service to community. So Gandhian values of nonviolence and peace. That was my kind of main ethos and main pilgrimage for another nine years. And then when I was 26 years old, I was inspired by a great British philosopher, Bertrand Russell, the Nobel Prize winning author of Principal Mathematical. And so he was protesting against the nuclear bomb.
MV: In what year was this?
SK: That was in 1961. So, in 1961, he was protesting against the nuclear bomb and he was arrested and he was put in jail. And when I read this news in the newspaper, I said to myself, “Here is a man of 90 going to jail for peace in the world. What am I doing, young man, sitting here drinking coffee in a coffee house?” And so that inspired me and led me to set off with a friend on a walk from India to four nuclear capitals of the world. Moscow, Paris, London, and Washington, D. C. And so a friend, And I started to walk without any money. Both of us walked through many countries – 15 countries, 13,000 kilometers – without any money, and meeting ordinary people, talking to politicians, talking to journalists, talking to students in universities and schools, talking to religious people in churches and mosques. And so I encountered people and communities and communities and farmers and workers and politicians around the world. So two and a half years of that peace pilgrimage from New Delhi, from the grave of Mahatma Gandhi to Washington, DC, the grave of John F. Kennedy. That was a great, great journey. And then I went back to India and then I wrote a book about my journey.
I translated the book by Martin Luther King, The Stride Toward Freedom, the book which Martin Luther King had given me. So I wanted to introduce his ideas to Indian readers. And so I translated that book. And then, I came back to England. In 1973, I became the editor of Resurgence magazine and I edited that magazine for more than 40 years. And during that time, I also started Schumacher College, for ecological and spiritual studies and studies of wellbeing. And so that has been my life, in a nutshell. Long journey. Long story.
MV: But Satish, you, I mean, you shared obviously you have your pilgrimage walk that you did as a young man. That must not have been easy walking all the way around the world. And wellbeing is not only about acknowledging things that go well in life, but also acknowledging the things that are hard. So in, in your experience, have there been any highs? Have there been any lows? How have you dealt with those as they come as they go?
SK: I mean, I tried to practice equanimity, so of course there have been highs and lows. The nuclear threat was very, very, powerful and unsettling and the Cold War was very unsettling and the kind of conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States of America and NATO countries, all that were very unsettling. Yet I thought that answer to all our problems is love. And so we have to practice love. We have to spread the love. And I also see, when I see low, I also see high. A majority of people in the world are not involved in Cold War. The majority of people are not involved in nuclear bombs. The majority of people are not fighting wars. The majority of people are farmers, teachers, doctors, nurses, artists, musicians, everyday people, they are living good life and practicing more love than hatred in everyday life.
So that gives me a bit more inspiration. So I try to have a kind of balanced view rather than get exhausted, anxious; rather than get depressed and fearful that everything is going bad in the world. Of course things are going in the in the world which are bad and I do my best and I act out of love rather than out of fear. I act out of love rather than anxiety because my job is to do my best. I cannot control the outcome. I cannot control what will be the result. I can only control my actions. My words, my thoughts, my speech, and my actions. So, everyday, my focus is on action. What can I do? Not how the world is, but how can I serve the world? How can I make the world a little bit better place than before? And so with that, I work and by not worrying, not being anxious, not being fearful, not being angry, that also keeps me healthy and well.
MV: Well, it’s great advice to all of us, which is the only thing you can control is yourself.
SK: Yeah, exactly.
MV: Sometimes we can’t even control ourselves. But you mentioned just now meeting Martin Luther King and he gave you his book, and on the way here, you were telling me that he was probably one of the most, if not the most, interesting person you’ve met in your career and in your journey around the world.
SK: Yes!
MV: And now now you have this really wonderful perspective on wellbeing. Do you feel that within the social change space, talking about changemakers in the broadest sense of the term – artists, politicians, humanitarians, human rights activists – do you think that over time, has the conversation around their wellbeing grown and changed over the years? What have you noticed?
SK: Yes, I would say that there is a greater awareness, especially among young people about our wellbeing and wellbeing of planet Earth as being interconnected. So I see more and more young people in universities and even in schools. When I meet them, I find that young people are very much interested.
There’s a rising awareness among young people. Still a long way to go. Still they are in minority. The majority of our schools are still teaching young people for jobs. But many young people are saying, that what kind of jobs are we going to do, and what kind of jobs they will be, which will impact the Earth, and maybe destroy the Earth or damage the Earth or harm the Earth.
So that is a good question. And, Martin Luther King, as I said, was one of the great inspirations that I discovered or I felt or I encountered. Because he was an embodiment of love and action because he said that we don’t know what the results will be. But we have to fight however we can with love.
And so he said, the white people as much my brothers and sisters as black people. And I’m not against white people. I’m against racism and racism is bad for white people as it is bad for black people. And so, how we can live without discrimination? Without judgement? Live as brothers and sisters? I don’t choose my color. I’m born with whatever color I am given. And so I have to live with my color. Whether you are white or black or brown or whatever colour you are. Doesn’t matter. All colors are beautiful. Black is as beautiful as white is beautiful. And brown is beautiful. And yellow is beautiful. So yhat kind of generosity of spirit, and inclusivity, and yet radicalism, he was a radical lover. So my book, Radical Love, in a way he embodied that. He was an embodiment of love. And I always felt after meeting him, the truth comes second, love comes first. And because in truth, we disagree. My truth is different than your truth. And my point of view is different from your point of view.
And, I can say I’m right, you are wrong. So that kind of, disagreement can lead to conflict. Whereas love unites. Anger and hatred divide. And so, what I learned from Martin Luther King is whatever you do, your fight, your struggle, your action should be inspired by love rather than by hatred and judgment and discrimination. And that has stayed with me all my life.
MV: That’s beautiful. And you talked about children now, we’re educating them around mental health and wellbeing and they’re becoming a bit more aware of it. But what about for adults? I mean, in 1964 when you met Martin Luther King, were both of you talking about your own inner wellbeing when you had that meeting, or would that have been something that would have never crossed your mind at that point?
SK: I mean, the word wellbeing is now much more in a common language than at that time. At that time, peace was much more common in our language because of the nuclear threat. And there was also a kind of, you can say, justice. Martin Luther King always said, justice delayed is justice denied. So we cannot afford to have justice delayed. And so, peace and justice were much more prominent in our thinking, in our consciousness.
But, the source of lack of wellbeing is our social conditions. And if people are exploited, or ignored or dominated, then people feel unwell, psychologically unwell, and psychological unwellness is connected with physical unwellness. And therefore, if we can treat people with love and with respect and with dignity, then I think wellbeing will be a natural outcome.
And so, social wellbeing, ecological and planetary wellbeing, and a personal spiritual wellbeing are all interlinked. And that way, even in the 60s, I think, the underlying message was there, even if, the word wellbeing was not so much in common.
MV: Well, that’s one of the things that The Wellbeing Project hasn’t done since then. We were formed around eight years ago as we’ve never defined wellbeing because part of the journey is each person connecting to the concept in whichever way feels right for them and in different places around the world, different communities and different cultures are looking at it through their own perspectives and again connecting with it in whichever way that feels that feels meaningful.
SK: Yeah. For me wellbeing, personal wellbeing to start with – we can go to social and ecological wellbeing as well later – but to start with, your personal wellbeing starts with contentment. To have this wonderful planet, wonderful community, a human body: I can love, I can serve, I can think, I can feel, I can write, I can walk, I can see, I can do so many things. So, being contentment with your body and with your two hands and two legs, I can work and I can make things, I can build a house, I can grow food, I can write a book, I can dance. So being grateful and contented within your body and satisfied and contented. That’s the kind of beginning, the first step towards your wellbeing. Discontentment: whatever you have is never enough. Whatever money you have is never enough. Whatever kind of house you have is never enough. Whatever job you have is never enough. Discontentment breeds illness and unwellbeing. So, first advice I can give from my own experience is learn to be contented and celebrate and grateful to what you have rather than what you don’t have. That’s the first step.
The second step is then whatever I pursue, I try to seek quality of life rather than quantities of possessions. Because quantities you can have more, more, more, and how much you have, they are never good enough because the quality is missing. So if we can focus on quality of food, quality of our clothes, quality of our house, quality of our conversation, quality of our thinking, everything quality. So less is more. So shifting our focus from quantity to quality is for me a source of personal wellbeing.
And then social wellbeing comes with dignity and respect. Every human being should be valued as a human being. At the moment, we see human beings as a resource for running an organization or running a business or running an industry or making profit for an organization or something. So that is creating social unrest and unwellbeing. People don’t feel respected, don’t feel appreciated, don’t feel recognized for who they are. So social wellbeing comes with this. Every human being has their dignity and respect and they are valuable and they are not just a resource for making money.
And so planetary wellbeing starts with appreciation that nature is not an object. Nature is not an inanimate object. Nature is a subject. Nature is a living organism. If we have that kind of understanding of nature, then we will love nature, we’ll respect nature, we’ll conserve nature, we’ll protect nature, we’ll not pollute nature, we’ll not fill our oceans with plastic, and our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, and our rivers with sewage, and our soil with chemicals. All that we do because we think nature is inanimate and it’s just an object for our kind of economic growth.
So these three things we can learn that I think can move towards a proper personal wellbeing, social wellbeing, and planetary wellbeing.
MV: So we’ve been talking about quite a few different things. You were just sharing about what you think the definition of wellbeing might be. You’ve also talked about, your entire journey being a pilgrim, meeting with Martin Luther King, things that you admired about him and his perspective. You’ve talked about what you think may be at the root of some of our problems today, which is discontentment, a lack of fraternity or brotherhood or love for others. Taking that all into account, when you look at your own life, your decision to become a monk, your decision to go on your pilgrim, your decision to do the work that you do and have continued to do through your whole life, at the heart of all of that, what has been your inspiration, your motivation, your hope, your message to the world. What has been deep inside of you?
SK: The inspiration for me has been the word to be a pilgrim. On this planet Earth, we can live in two ways. Either we can live as tourists or as pilgrims. And I wrote a book called Earth Pilgrim. And I even made a film for the BBC called Earth Pilgrim. And I said we all humans are pilgrims of the earth. What does that mean? It means that we are not here to take. But the tourists take. Whereas pilgrims accept and share. So when you are a tourist, you always want a good hotel, good food, good service, good museums, and then whatever you have is never enough, never satisfied. You’re always complaining.
Well, the pilgrim never complains, but the pilgrim always helps to make things as good as you can and supports and celebrates. So, my inspiration has been in my life is that live on this planet as a pilgrim and a whole life is a pilgrimage. I mean, I’ve been to all the pilgrimages as well, but I would say life is a pilgrimage, not just in a kind of religious sense that you as a kind of Christian or Hindu, you go to a holy place as a pilgrim, but living on this planet. Thinking the whole planet is a temple, the whole planet is holy, the whole planet is sacred and it’s our home and we have to live lightly on this planet and celebrate life and accept life as it comes with warts and all. We love winter and we love summer and we love spring and we love winter. Uh, dark, and we love light, and we love every moment of our lives. That is a kind of mentality of a pilgrim, in my view. And so if we live like a pilgrim, then we will be well in our own lives, and we’ll make planet a lovely place. So that has been my inspiration in my life.
MV: And that has been your inspiration. Now, if you were to share one message with everyone listening, what would it be?
SK: One message I would like to share is the mission of our life should be to make everything beautiful. Beauty is source of nourishment for the soul, for the spirit. Nature is very beautiful. The flowers are beautiful, the trees are beautiful, the birds are beautiful.
MV: This day is beautiful!
SK: Day is beautiful, nature is beautiful, but humans in their kind of pursuit of economic growth make things quick and ugly and functional, but not beautiful. So one message I would like to say, I walk in beauty before me. I walk in beauty behind me. I walk in beauty above me. I walk in beauty below me. I walk in beauty all around me. The whole world is beautiful. The whole world is beautiful. The whole world is beautiful. Ho!
So that’s my one word message: seek beauty. Beautiful thoughts. Beautiful words. Beautiful actions. Beautiful things, beauty all around. If we can pursue beauty, we’ll be happy.
MV: Oh, thank you Satish. Out of among the many things that you are in life, you’re also a mind reader. Because I was going to ask you to sing that song because you sang that for us at The Wellbeing Summit in Brussels. It was so wonderful in that moment of everyone standing up and singing that with you. Really, really moving. Thank you for sharing that with us today.
SK: My pleasure, my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me on your podcast. Thank you so much. My pleasure.
Thank you for listening to this episode of At the Heart of It. For more news, research, and stories about wellbeing and social change, visit wellbeing-project.org. The Wellbeing Project is the world’s leading organization advocating for the wellbeing of changemakers and for wellbeing in changemaking. We believe wellbeing inspires welldoing. Thanks for listening and see you next time!
Conferencias, charlas y workshops convivirán en la ciudad con una programación artística internacional abierta a toda la ciudadanía para impulsar la cultura del bienestar.
Bilbao, 28 de mayo de 2022.- The Wellbeing Project celebra del 1 al 3 de junio en Bilbao su primera Cumbre de Bienestar para el Cambio Social. Este evento global reunirá en su programa de conferencias a líderes del tercer sector, científicos, agentes institucionales, artistas y personalidades del mundo de la empresa de más de 60 países de los cinco continentes que trabajan en la intersección del bienestar individual y colectivo desde muy diversos enfoques: la diversidad, la accesibilidad, la equidad o la inclusión.
De esta manera Bilbao se convertirá durante tres días en la capital mundial del bienestar con un completo programa que se extenderá a lo largo de toda la ciudad en espacios emblemáticos como Azkuna Zentroa. Centro de Sociedad y Cultura Contemporánea de Bilbao, el Museo Guggenheim Bilbao Museo, el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, la biblioteca de la Universidad de Deusto, el parque Doña Casilda, el Bizkaia Aretoa UPV-EHU o el Palacio San Nicolás (Colección BBVA).
Será el mismo día 1 de junio cuando el alcalde de la ciudad, Juan Mari Aburto, dé la bienvenida oficial a la Cumbre del Bienestar plantando un árbol como parte de la instalación Mandala Lab del Museo de Arte Rubin en el Parque Doña Casilda. “Bilbao tiene el placer de acoger esta primera edición de la Cumbre del Bienestar para el Cambio Social que, estoy seguro, ayudará a marcar la hoja de ruta de esta nueva revolución en ciernes”, sostiene el alcalde.
The Wellbeing Summit eligió la capital vasca por su papel como centro internacional para el arte y la cultura, así como por la transformación que la urbe está desarrollando en torno a la Carta de Valores de Bilbao aprobada en 2018 tras un proceso de participación ciudadana. Con ella se pone el foco en los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible y, muy especialmente, en la mejora del bienestar de la ciudadanía.
“A lo largo de los años, la ciudad ha apostado por un modelo de desarrollo urbano y humano que garantice la posibilidad de realizar proyectos de vida plena y digna para todas las personas que viven y trabajan aquí. Nuestro compromiso con el bienestar humano se ha convertido en un modelo internacional que nos ayudará a generar esperanza para el futuro”, afirma Aburto.
La Diputación Foral de Bizkaia y el Ayuntamiento de Bilbao colaboran con The Wellbeing Project en la organización y desarrollo de este encuentro. En este sentido, la Diputación Foral de Bizkaia considera The Wellbeing Summit como “un elemento de posicionamiento para Bizkaia en el ámbito internacional como territorio de oportunidades para la atracción de inversiones, talento, visitantes y eventos, fomentando la participación en redes internacionales de referencia y establecimiento de acuerdos de colaboración exterior”.
Para Sandrine Woitrin y Aaron Pereira, codirectores de The Wellbeing Project, el programa de conferencias y las propuestas artísticas de The Wellbeing Summit “permitirán a los participantes de la cumbre y a los residentes de Bilbao experimentar el impacto positivo de impulsar el bienestar en todos los aspectos de la sociedad para obtener mejores resultados”.
Programa artístico
Tanto la población local como los asistentes a la cumbre tendrán acceso a una amplia variedad de exposiciones, obras de arte comisionadas a artistas de relevancia internacional y piezas de artes escénicas encargadas con motivo de este encuentro. Para The Wellbeing Summit “las artes tienen un poder único para expresar ideas y emociones de nuevas maneras, experiencias que tienen un profundo impacto en nuestras vidas y para ayudarnos a dar sentido al mundo que nos rodea”.
En este sentido, el programa artístico, comisariado por Manuel Bagorro con la asesoría de Vicente Todolí, incluye doce obras comisariadas específicamente a artistas contemporáneos de relevancia internacional como Grimanesa Amorós, Miroslaw Balka, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Nikhil Chopra, June Crespo, Alicia Framis o Carlos Garaicoa. Todos ellos han creado una serie de trabajos que se despliegan por la ciudad para explorar el bienestar interior desde diferentes perspectivas personales.
Las artes escénicas tienen asimismo un importante papel en una programación que incluye conciertos, espectáculos, talleres y laboratorios creativos. Artistas de todo el mundo —como Birdheart, Brooklyn Rider, Nikhil Chopra, Joshua Roman o Zirkozaurre— han colaborado para presentar un programa multidisciplinar que busca involucrar a personas de todas las edades para que exploren el poder transformador de las artes para impulsar un cambio sistémico positivo.
Entre los espectáculos que integran el programa destaca Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, una pieza teatral escrita por Clark Young y Derek Goldan que se presentará en el auditorio de Azkuna Zentroa. Centro de Sociedad y Cultura Contemporánea de Bilbao, el martes 31 de mayo. El reconocido actor estadounidense David Strathairn (L. A. Confidential, Lincoln o Buenas noches y buena suerte) interpreta a Jan Karski convirtiendo esta propuesta en una experiencia tanto emocional como moral. El 31 de mayo, la artista y escritora Himali Singh Soin presenta en la misma sede “Ancestors of the blue moon”, una experiencia multisensorial performativa.
El artista contemporáneo indio Nikhil Chopra participa en la cumbre con una performance de 24 horas de duración en la galería Aldama Fabre, los días 2 y 3 de junio, en la que llevará a cabo la creación de un dibujo monumental que incorporará a la ciudadanía de Bilbao y a los asistentes a la cumbre en torno a una celebración de la comunidad y el arte.
En total, serán más de 85 artistas los que expongan en 10 sedes. La artista catalana Alicia Framis exhibirá Taking Fight en Bizkaia Aretoa UPV-EHU, del 31 de mayo al 3 de junio y el artista cubano Carlos Garaicoa presentará Soñamos en la superficie rayada de un cristal en la calle Ercilla,35 (frente al Hotel Ercilla), del 31 de mayo al 3 de junio.
Por su parte la artista vasca June Crespo, que recientemente ha participado en la 59ª Bienal de Venecia, presenta su serie de esculturas de hormigón Core22, del 20 de mayo al 15 de junio, en el exterior del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Unas piezas con las que poder interactuar y bailar, que nos recuerdan la interacción entre lo absoluto y lo efímero y lo esquivo. Durante el evento el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao acogerá también una película de Maddi Barber que documenta el camino de la materia prima hacia su transformación en cemento y piezas de arte, así como las interacciones de los performers con las obras de la artista.
Grimanesa Amorós, conocida por sus obras escultóricas a gran escala, presentará en el Atrio de Azkuna Zentroa. Centro de Sociedad y Cultura Contemporánea de Bilbao la instalación SCIENTIA partiendo de la importancia de la luz para mejorar el estado de ánimo y la salud mental de las personas. Se podrá visitar hasta el 31 de agosto.
El filme narrativo Fog Dog, se proyectará en el Auditorio del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao del 1 al 3 de junio. Una película en la que Daniel Steegman Mangrané explora los espectros del pasado y del futuro que rondan el Bangladesh actual desde la perspectiva de los perros callejeros que conviven en esos espacios. Asimismo, el artista holandés Daan Roosegaarde presentará en el parque de Doña Casilda la performance poética SPARK, con una lluvia de fuegos artificiales biodegradables como una alternativa sostenible para celebrar juntos.
Además, desde el 31 de marzo hasta el 5 de junio, el Palacio de San Nicolás en el Casco Viejo —sede de BBVA en Bilbao— acogerá la muestra “Arte y espiritualidad. Imaginar lo extraordinario”.
Ciclo de conferencias
El programa The Wellbeing Summit tendrá como epicentro al Palacio Euskalduna, donde se desarrollarán charlas, conversaciones y paneles de discusión orientados a subrayar las conexiones entre el bienestar individual, organizacional y social. Una selección de ponentes de reconocimiento internacional abordará temas como la neurociencia, la pertenencia ambiental, el trauma intergeneracional o cómo fomentar culturas más saludables. Las sesiones podrán seguirse vía streaming de forma gratuita a través de este enlace.
Además, en distintas sedes a lo largo de la ciudad habrá sesiones de trabajo y talleres que brindarán herramientas para llevar a cabo acciones con impactos significativos. En este mismo sentido, los laboratorios creativos unirán a artistas y ponentes para profundizar en temas más amplios.
El ciclo de conferencias comenzará el martes 31 con una conversación sobre nuestra relación con el planeta a cargo de Laureline Simon (fundadora y directora de One Resilient Earth), Mallika Dutt (activista y fundadora de Inter-Connected, activista), Carlone Schemee (socia en Manejo Ambiental y cofundadora de organizaciones de bienestar y cambio social) y la artista Clare Celeste.
A partir del 1 de junio se sucederán, durante tres días, ponencias que abordarán diversos temas y que arrancará en el auditorio del Palacio Euskalduna con Juan Mari Aburto (alcalde de Bilbao) Satish Kumar (ambientalista), Lorea Bilbao Ibarra (Consejera de Euskera, Cultura y Deporte de Vizcaya) o Aaron Pereira y Sandrine Woitrin (codirectores de The Wellbeing Project). En el transcurso de los días se abordarán temas como el bienestar en el trabajo, género y bienestar, la salud mental en el hemisferio sur, las perspectivas de la neurociencia, el bienestar en la educación superior, el poder de la música en el bienestar o la activación comunitaria a través de la danza.
The Wellbeing Project
The Wellbeing Project tiene como objetivo crear e impulsar un movimiento de cambio en la cultura del sector de la innovación social hacia una cultura con mayor bienestar para los actores que la componen. Trabaja en cocreación con más de 20 organizaciones como Ashoka, Skoll Foundation, Porticus, Impact Hub, the World Economic Forum, Georgetown University, Stanford University o the Greater Good Sciences Center de Berkley. También cuenta con una red de más de 200 organizaciones globales, regionales y locales como Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Danone, Aspen Institute, Mondragon Team Academy o Tec de Monterrey que apoyan activamente y son actores de este movimiento de cambio.
Colaboradores: BBVA; Bizkaia – Government of Biscay; BMW; City of Bilbao; Latham & Watkins; Azkuna Zentroa; Canadian Embassy of Madrid; Community Arts Network; Draiflessen Collection; Fundación Universidad-Empresa; Greater Good Science Center; Guggenheim Bilbao; India Development Review; JCDecaux; MIT Media Labs; Museo De Bellas Artes de Bilbao; Panta Rhea Foundation; Reino de los Países Bajos; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Schoepflin Foundation; Science Gallery; Steelcase; Stanford Social Innovation Review; Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary; The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global; The Rubin Museum of Art; Science Gallery; and Ursula Hauser Collection.
Ponentes: Rajni Bakshi, Briggs Bomba, Mbarka Bouaida, Kate Byrne, Laura Calderon de la Barca, Aneel Chima, Chantharavady Choulamany, Gary Cohen, Andrea Coleman, Dr. Richard J. Davidson, Suparna Diwakar, Peggy Dulany, Mallika Dutt, Gabriela Gandel, Russ Gaskin, Rosemary Gathara, David Germano, Sennay Ghebreab, PhD, Jay Coen Gilbert, Dr. Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Ramsés Gómez, Edgard Gouveia Jr, Vanessa Haigh, Zarlasht Halaimzai, Reggie Hubbard, Lorea Bilbao Ibarra, Luzette Jaimes, Shruti Jayaraman, John Kania, Nadine Kaslow, PhD, ABPP, Dr. Barry Kerzin, Dr. Julia Kim, Dr. Sará King, Satish Kumar, Edwin Macharia, Juan Mari Aburto, Aikatarini Makrogamuraki, Katherine Milligan, Wanja Muguongo, Rukudzo Mwamuka, Kumi Naidoo, Haifa Najjar, Dr. Deepa Narayan, Wellington Nogueira, Clara Oyuela, Cristiane Ferraz Prade, Father Timothy Radcliffe, Monira Rahman, Imam Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi, Rabbi David Rosen, Sharon Rosen, Zainab Salbi, Carolin Schmee, Jessamyn Shams-Lau, Laureline Simon, Vanee Surendranathan, Chris Underhill, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Justin Michael Williams, Louisa Zondo.
Artistas y proyectos artísticos: Grimanesa Amoros, Yazmany Arboleda, Loreto Aramendi, Miroslaw Balka, BBVA Art Collection, Birdheart, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Kenyatta Emmanuel, Brooklyn Rider, Janet Cardiff, Nikhil Chopra, June Crespo, Alicia Framis, Carlos Garaicoa, Aaron Huey, Eva Lee, Madalitso Band, Hope Masike, Emeline Michel, Mohau Modisakeng, Aakash Odedra, David Strathairn, Maciej Kulakowsk, Daan Roosegaarde, The Rubin Museum – Mandala Lab, Sonja Schenkel, Falu Shah and Karyshma, Himali Singh Soin, Daniel Steegmann Mangrane, Science Gallery Bengaluru, Shirley Tse, Silkroad, Ursula Hauser Collection, Jazmine Williams, Gerald Wirth, Bishop Chantel Wright and Songs of Solomon, Vocalia Taldea, Thomas Cabaniss, Josu Elberdin, Zirkozaurre.
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Co-creators Ashoka, Impact Hub, Porticus, Skoll Foundation, Synergos Institute, and Georgetown University will convene experts to discuss the intersection of wellbeing and intergenerational trauma; neuroscience; spirituality and rituals; diversity, equity and inclusion; economics; and technology
BILBAO – BISCAY, SPAIN (April 4, 2022) – Today, The Wellbeing Project announced its first-ever Wellbeing Summit for Social Change, a global event bringing together social change, governmental, arts and business leaders working at the intersection of individual and collective wellbeing, in Bilbao-Biscay, Spain from June 1-3, 2022. The summit represents a critical moment in driving systemic cultural change for the improved mental health and wellbeing of all changemakers.
The three-day summit will consist of ground-breaking talks, conversations and panel discussions highlighting the connections between individual, organizational and societal wellbeing. Speakers will delve into how a deeply embedded culture of wellbeing can alter and inform our approach to driving positive systemic change.
The arts play an integral role in the development of a new language for inner wellbeing and social change and can provide a greater understanding and expression of the human experience. The summit will bring exhibits, newly commissioned works of art and a vibrant performing arts program to Bilbao. Involving more than 85 artists at 10 venues, the event offers participants and the residents of Bilbao to take an emotional and interactive journey exploring wellbeing.
Inspiring and creative immersion labs will pair artists and speakers for deep-dives into topics that include neuroscience and wellbeing; intergenerational trauma; spirituality and rituals; diversity, equity and inclusion; business and organizational wellbeing, economics and wellbeing; and technology and wellbeing.
“The Wellbeing Project is on a mission to initiate and bring to life a culture of inner wellbeing and Bilbao-Biscay is the perfect place to unite a global audience of changemakers, artists and activists,” said Aaron Pereira, Project Co-Lead for The Wellbeing Project. “We aim to create a profound experience and understanding of wellbeing in the context of social change leading to a personal and collective call to action.”
“This summit will represent the work of extraordinary people and institutions from over 60 countries and five continents,” added Sandrine Woitrin, Project Co-Lead of The Wellbeing Project. “Attendees and the community at large will experience innovative mechanisms to express and explore their inner selves through art and innovative thinking.”
The Wellbeing Summit chose the location in Bilbao, in the region of Biscay, because it is an international hub for art and culture. It is an example of a place in the process of deepening its transformation by focusing on a Charter of Values that centers on improving the wellbeing of its citizens and the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Bilbao is pleased to host this first edition of the Wellbeing Summit for Social Change, which, I am sure, will help to set the road map for this new revolution in the making,” said Juan Mari Aburto, Mayor of Bilbao. “Over the years, Bilbao has been committed to a model of urban and human development that guarantees the possibility of realizing full and dignified life projects for all the people who live and work in this city. Our commitment to human wellbeing has become an international model that will help us to build hope for the future.”
The participants of this event will attend largely by invitation to ensure a diverse, representative and pluralistic community of attendees. This will be the first of two global summits The Wellbeing Project will convene with the second to be announced for 2024. To learn more and apply to attend, please visit here.
Following the in-person summit, there will be virtual elements available to the public hosted by Parker J. Palmer, Author, Educator and Activist; Founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage and Renewal (USA) and Sharon Salzberg, NY Times Bestselling Author and Meditation Teacher (USA).
Partners include BBVA; Bizkaia – Government of Biscay; City of Bilbao; Latham & Watkins; Azkuna Zentroa; Canadian Embassy of Madrid; Community Arts Network; Draiflessen Collection; Guggenheim Bilbao; MIT Media Labs; Museo De Bellas Artes de Bilbao; Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary; The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global; The Rubin Museum of Art; Science Gallery; and Ursula Hauser.
About The Wellbeing Project
The Wellbeing Project is a global initiative focused on catalyzing a culture of inner wellbeing for all changemakers and structured in four pillars – model programs; research and evaluation; learning, convening and enabling; and storytelling and connecting. The organization is inspired by love, care and compassion for all the people who work to build a better world, as well as to support the many causes and movements for which we all work. The Wellbeing Project is co-created with Ashoka, Impact Hub, Porticus, the Skoll Foundation, the Synergos Institute, and Georgetown University.