Tostan Archives - The Wellbeing Project

The Cultural and Ecological Treasures of the BassariThe Cultural and Ecological Treasures of the Bassari

Stories from the Hearth

Ritual Alchemist Experience With:

Antoine Boubane

Artist, Bassari Culture Ambassador, and Arts Curator for Hearth Summit Thiès
🌍 Dakar, Senegal

The Bassari, a community living in eastern Senegal and northern Guinea Conakry, face significant challenges related to environmental degradation, climate change and the erosion of their cultural heritage. Defining themselves as the “Guardians of the Earth”, their way of life, which is intimately linked to nature, is now under threat.

As farmers and descendants of hunters, the Bassari consider themselves an integral part of nature; responsible for the defense and protection of the environment on which they depend. They adopt a lifestyle that is quite respectful of nature from a young age and strive to transmit this ecological wisdom from generation to generation.

In this documentary film, emphasis is placed on the deep relationship between the Bassari community and their natural environment as a source of resilience and wellbeing. Ritual Alchemist Antoine Boubane (Black Keme) brought the treasures of the Bassari to Hearth Summit Thiès, sharing lessons from his community’s sacred relationship with nature.

Across the Hearth Summits, communities of changemakers are embracing their local cultures, revitalizing traditions and rituals, and reconnecting with the Earth as they drive transformative social change for wellbeing.

Watch the session below.

Want to go further into the stories of the Bassari?

Visit Antoine’s online atelier, where you can learn more about the sacred objects used in Bassari traditions. Discover masks, clothing, jewellery, musical instruments, hunting materials and more in this virtual space created by Tostan and Atoflow.

EXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHEREXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHER

Dive Into Stories From Around the World

Discover Ecological BelongingDiscover Ecological Belonging

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers reconnecting with the Earth and wellbeing

How to Foster Mental Health Through the Arts: The Fann Psychiatric Clinic StoryHow to Foster Mental Health Through the Arts: The Fann Psychiatric Clinic Story

Stories from the Hearth

Hearth Summit Thiès Session With:

Alassane Seck

Art Therapist, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de FANN
🌍 Dakar, Senegal

In Senegal, mental illness is a taboo subject. The Atelier d’EX-pression Artistique of the Fann Psychiatric Clinic in Dakar, created in 1999, offers a unique place where patients, visitors and artists can come to express themselves, relax, paint and drink tea in a warm and welcoming environment; a rarity in a society that strongly stigmatizes people suffering from mental illness. The association aims to make art a primary means of therapy, work and rehabilitation for people suffering from mental disorders in Senegal.

During Hearth Summit Thiès 2024, Tostan collaborated with the association to host an interactive session on art therapy. Learn more about the approach from arts therapist Alassane Seck and program participants.

Across the Hearth Summits, the arts play a central role as a therapeutic wellbeing practice and a lens through which we can explore social change.

Watch the session below.

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Dive Into Stories From Around the World

Discover the Arts and WellbeingDiscover the Arts and Wellbeing

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in the arts.

Youth Are the Architects of the Ideal Society: Sobel NgomYouth Are the Architects of the Ideal Society: Sobel Ngom

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Sobel Ngom

Executive Director, Consortium Jeunesse Sénégal
🌍 Dakar, Senegal

According to Sobel Ngom, Executive Director of the Senegal Youth Consortium, it is essential to involve young people in defining wellbeing and in finding innovative solutions to address well-being challenges.

African youth face many complex and interrelated challenges, making them vulnerable to violence, migration, depression, and many more. The economic situation and the consequences of the climate are endangering their livelihoods, leaving them uncertain about the future. The physical and mental health of young people and their overall wellbeing are negatively affected by these challenges.

It is essential to take into account young people, who are the protagonists of social transformations for a more equitable and just world. Young people, who represent most of the African population, are the architects of the ideal society.

The regional summits hosted by Tostan in Thiès aim to encourage youth engagement and intergenerational dialogue to address the challenges facing our communities.

Watch the interview below.

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Discover the Wellbeing Movement in AfricaDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Africa

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Africa.

It’s Time to Break Taboos Around Mental Health: Fatou Dieye FallIt’s Time to Break Taboos Around Mental Health: Fatou Dieye Fall

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Fatou Dieye Fall

Founder, Safe Open Space
🌍 Dakar, Senegal

In this interview, Fatou Dieye Fall, Founder of Safe Open Space, tells us about her journey with mental health and Safe Open Space, the first active listening platform in Senegal, which she created in 2019. Safe Open Space offers spaces where every young person can talk freely about their mental health, without fear of judgment.

During Hearth Summit Thiès 2024, changemakers addressed the growing mental health challenges among African youth and explored community solutions through sessions and workshops. A particularly impactful workshop taught changemakers skills on how to express their emotions and listen to others with empathy, promoting psychological safety and connection.

Fatou emphasizes the importance of intergenerational dialogue and the interest in destigmatizing mental health issues in the African context, including the role played by the family in this process.

The regional summits hosted by Tostan in Thiès aim to encourage youth engagement and intergenerational dialogue to address the challenges facing our communities.

Watch the interview below.

EXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHEREXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHER

Dive Into Stories From Around the World

Discover the Wellbeing Movement in AfricaDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Africa

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Africa.

Building Relationships Is the Key to Creating Wellbeing: Birima FallBuilding Relationships Is the Key to Creating Wellbeing: Birima Fall

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Birima Fall

Senior Program Manager, Tostan
🌍 Dakar, Senegal

The first regional wellbeing summit for social change in Africa, hosted by Tostan in Thiès in 2023, was an opportunity to reflect on wellbeing from a perspective rooted in African values. The conception that one can have of wellbeing differs from one place to another, from one culture to another; it is therefore important to hear the African perspective on the different aspects that affect well-being.

According to Birima Fall, Senior Program Manager at Tostan, although the notion of wellbeing encompasses a holistic dimension, one of its main foundations according to Tostan’s approach lies in relationships. It is thanks to an approach based on the relationships that communities are able to discuss, work together and make important decisions in order to accomplish their vision of an ideal of wellbeing.

Watch the interview below.

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Dive Into Stories From Around the World

Discover the Wellbeing Movement in AfricaDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Africa

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Africa.

Hearth Summit Thiès 2024 Hearth Summit Thiès 2024

Regional Hearth Summits

Days

PARTICIPANTS

NATIONALITIES

ORGANIZATIONS

About the Summit

An Intergenerational Conversation on Wellbeing

Following an incredible, first-of-its-kind Pan-African gathering in 2023, Tostan kept the fire burning with a second regional summit in Thiès, Senegal! With a focus on “Eldership and Youth, An Intergenerational Conversation on Wellbeing”, Hearth Summit Thiès 2024 was co-created with young leaders and social change agents from across Africa. Together, 165 changemakers from across Africa reflected on the power of intergenerational dialogue on wellbeing through a range of topics, including youth mental health, ecological belonging, peacebuilding and reconciliation, and paradigm shifts in funding for wellbeing initiatives.

Through practical sessions and “The Wellbeing Artisan’s Hearth”, attendees also learned and share effective tools, solutions and methodologies to enhance their own wellbeing.

With the event’s Ritual Alchemist, Antoine Boubane, changemakers also jumped into a cultural immersion with the Bassari community, renowned for their rich heritage and ecological wisdom. They discovered the Bassari’s traditional practices deeply connected to nature, their role as “guardians of the earth,” and their efforts to preserve their cultural and natural heritage in the face of modern challenges. Together, changemakers explored our deep connection to both our cultural and physical wellbeing through storytelling, artistic performances, exhibits, and art therapy.

As young Africans, we are facing numerous social, economic, and technological pressures that impact our wellbeing and challenge our aspirations. Addressing these challenges in our communities, where relationships between elders and youth are essential, requires an intergenerational approach. The wisdom of our elders offers guidance and stability, while the fresh perspectives of youth inspire innovative solutions.

This is what Hearth Summit Thiès is all about: weaving a dialogue between our past and our present, harnessing the wisdom of our origins to build resilience today and fulfill our aspirations for the future.

Black Keme, artist, Bassari Culture Ambassador, and Arts Curator for Hearth Summit Thiès

THE PROGRAMME THE PROGRAMME

Learn, discover, and connect around the Hearth

AN INTERGENERATIONAL DIALOGUE

With Workshops and Embodied Practices

The program brought together changemakers of all ages to consider key social change topics and develop new skills to support wellbeing, such as:

Collaborating between elders, parents, youth, and children for wellbeing

Building trust-based, equitable, and impactful partnerships in philanthropy

Youth wellbeing, particularly around mental health, sexual health, technology, and reproductive rights

Wellbeing skills, including active listening, emotional expression, somatic breathwork, and yoga

The therapeutic benefits of the arts

Reconnecting with nature: physical, cultural, and social benefits

Communication for social change: building empathy and community, raising awareness, and influencing sustainable impact

From the Individual, to the Collective, to the EarthFrom the Individual, to the Collective, to the Earth

STORIES FROM THE SUMMIT

UNE RENCONTRE ÉCOLOGIQUE

WITH THE BASSARI COMMUNITY

Led by Ritual Alchemist Antoine Boubane (Black Keme), the Summit invited changemakers to explore the world of the Bassari, an Indigenous group from southeast Senegal. Antoine and an elder, Balingho, guided participants on a journey exploring the Bassari’s coming-of-age traditions. With meaningful dances, an atelier workshop filled with Bassari crafts and sacred objects, and energizing performances, Antoine shared his heritage with the pan-African changemaking community. Watch this introduction video to meet the Bassari.

Bringing the Warmth of Africa to the Hearth Bringing the Warmth of Africa to the Hearth

RELIVE THE SPIRIT OF THE SUMMIT

HOSTED BY

Tostan International

With special thanks to these generous sponsors, funders, and partners

Being, Consortium Jeunesse Sénégal, Girls Generation, Global Fund for Children, Grand Challenges Canada, RESCAPAR’T, Vitol Foundation, and The Wellbeing Project

MORE REGIONAL SUMMITS MORE REGIONAL SUMMITS

Discover the Wellbeing Movement in AfricaDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Africa

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Africa.

Exploring Art, Teraanga, and Social Change With Partcours at the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-ThièsExploring Art, Teraanga, and Social Change With Partcours at the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès

Learn about the upcoming collaboration between the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès host, Tostan, and renowned Senegalese art festival, Partcours.

In the heart of West Africa, where the vibrant culture and traditions of Senegal meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world, an extraordinary event is set to unfold: the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès, hosted by Tostan in partnership with The Wellbeing Project, promises to be a source of hope and inspiration for social change across the continent. At the core of the first Regional Wellbeing Summit in Africa will be a collaboration with Partcours, one of Senegal’s leading contemporary arts festivals. In the 12th edition of this renowned event, a new exhibition, “Yoonu ci biir (The Inner Pathway)”, will explore stories of inner journeys towards wellbeing through the eyes of local artists.

Wellbeing in a Changing World

In a world grappling with unprecedented challenges, the concept of wellbeing takes on a profound significance. The creation of art can be an act of hope; an expression of joy, anger, celebration. Art can provoke us to take action, move us to tears or laughter, and the creative process itself can be integral to our wellbeing.

The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès is an African-led, African-based initiative, bringing together local, national, and regional leaders. At the heart of this summit is the idea of Teraanga, a cultural concept rooted in Senegal. It reflects the belief that we are all interconnected and interdependent. What affects one individual or community has a ripple effect, impacting everyone. This concept will be reflected throughout the Summit through a dedicated space for discussion and action centred on wellbeing in the African context.

Teraanga reflects the belief that we are all interconnected and interdependent. What affects one individual or community has a ripple effect, impacting everyone.

An integral part of this discussion is the critical role of the arts in fostering creativity, self-expression, and wellbeing in diverse African communities. Believing in The Wellbeing Project’s motto – that wellbeing inspires welldoing – the Summit will explore the arts as a key tool for discovering and unlocking opportunities for social change.

Fatim Soumaré, Senegalese artist. Credit: Tostan

The Arts for Wellbeing: Collaboration with Partcours

For this transformative summit, Partcours has teamed together with Tostan to curate an immersive art experience exploring the concept of wellbeing. The exhibition, “Yoonu ci biir (The Inner Pathway),” will feature the work of two remarkable local artists, Fatim Soumaré and Omar Diouf (Yafane), who have taken unique paths to find their creative practice and viewpoints on wellbeing.

“Art allows me to express, without constraints, my hopes of connecting with our ancestral practices and oral traditions. My works not only reflect cultures inherent in African craftsmanship; they also subscribe to an interdisciplinary dialogue. They bear witness to the progress and ingenuity of collective practices to develop and sustain social and economic activity. Through the thread-craft traditions of the women’s collective I created in 2021, I explore the traces of their existence to ensure the collective preservation of their material and immaterial memory.”

Fatim Soumaré is a Senegalese artist living in the Sine Saloum region who has a deep passion for textiles. She has preserved the ancestral African tradition of falè, the hand-spinning of organic, rain-fed cotton. Fatim’s art is not just a visual experience but a tactile and emotional one. Through her art and home textile brand, she employs a collective of 200 craftswomen, connecting them to their heritage and a source of livelihood.

“Art allows me to express, without constraints, my hopes of connecting with our ancestral practices and oral traditions. My works not only reflect cultures inherent in African craftsmanship; they also subscribe to an interdisciplinary dialogue.”

— Fatim Soumaré

Omar Diouf (Yafane), Senegalese artist. Credit: Tostan

Omar Diouf, also known as Yafane, is a self-taught artist from Mbour, Senegal. A farmer by day, his artistic universe is adorned with diverse and beautifully recycled materials, from shells to mirrors to plastic waste. He infuses his lived experiences in his artwork, bridging elements of sustainability and creativity in his creations.

“For me, art contributes a lot to my community. My creative knowledge and abilities are companions for both me and my community. Art contributes to our African cultural heritage and is an important legacy for the benefit of future generations.”

The art installations, thoughtfully created by these two artists, will be showcased at the Sococim Foundation Cultural Center in Rufisque, near Senegal’s capital, Dakar. The opening night will coincide with the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès, bringing together artistic expression and reflections on wellbeing from an African perspective.

“Art contributes to our African cultural heritage and is an important legacy for the benefit of future generations.”

— Omar Diouf (Yafane)

This collaboration is a unique opportunity to connect local changemakers, artists, and wellbeing practitioners from across Africa to share ideas and experience the profound impact art can have on wellbeing, and wellbeing on art.

As Partcours’ curator Mauro Petroni noted, “Our two featured artists’ inventions explore very different paths. However, both start from their own intimate lives and arrive at the same point.”

In Yafane’s work, he explained, we can see a forward journey from his roots. As a farmer, he lives in a field that is his space and his workshop. Completely self-taught, he accumulates all sorts of things and arranges them to achieve an expression of skilful simplicity. This allows him to go wherever and land wherever – totally uninhibited.

Meanwhile, in Fatim’s pieces, we can see the reverse as she journeys towards her origins. Having set off from another world, she comes to the collective source to rediscover the simple wisdom of tradition. From there, she continues a journey without contradiction into the poetics of woven thread and the social lives of women artisans. She takes us with her, with her lightness and her laughter.

Petroni concluded, “At some point in history, thanks to wellbeing, they crossed paths. Fatim and Yafane will be our guides and our examples, teaching us the understanding and expression of their human experience.”

Fatim and Yafane’s creations will be one part of the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès’ larger programme, which will feature local and regional arts and music to help foster self-reflection and shared connection. West African song and dance, contemporary art installations, and theatre will be woven into the Summit – inspiring a unique individual experience that can lead to collective action and wellbeing for all.

“Yoonu ci biir (The Inner Pathway)” will open on Thursday, 30th November at 17:30 at the Sococim Foundation Cultural Centre, where attendees can meet the artists who will participate in a dialogue on art and wellbeing.

Those in Senegal can enjoy the exhibition from 30th November to 31st December 2023 as part of the collaboration between Partcours and the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès.

Wellbeing in West Africa: How We Gather TogetherWellbeing in West Africa: How We Gather Together

Guest post by:

Carina Ndiaye, Chief Partnerships Office, Tostan

In Senegal, we call it Teraanga. It stands for openness and sharing, meaning: “we invite you to come in.” This cultural norm is present throughout the region and across the continent. Words like Ubuntu in southern Africa portray acknowledgment, respect, and coexistence. In Senegal, through Teraanga, the concept behind the Hindi word Namaste (meaning: “the light in me sees the light in you”) is extended and reinforced to say, “what is mine is yours.” This applies not only materialistically but also to the earth, the sun, the sea, and the unseen. From visitor to member, from transitory to influenced, in our culture, the ‘you’ never stands alone. What affects you also affects me and my community, and community includes anyone who walks our way and crosses our path.

As Tostan agreed to host the first African Wellbeing Summit, joining The Wellbeing Project and key partners hosting similar summits around the world, Teraanga has been a foundational concept for us. It is an entry point into the broader West African cultural systems that value people and their shared history and interconnectedness and that prioritize interdependence over independence.

Our upcoming African Regional Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès 2023 reflects our dedication to embracing community-centered models that resonate with our core values. Locally-driven initiatives and capacity development for communities are critical paths forward, as our CEO Elena Bonometti has pointed out. But at the heart of our vision is Teraanga, where openness and sharing guide us in meeting the multifaceted challenges that our world faces. In Senegal, when challenges arise, a community gathering – referred to as a “pénc” in Wolof – is called to bring together the community for discussion. The Summit will be a globally-connected pénc, embodying the essence of African-based, African-led collaboration and growth in wellbeing. This is not just a “nice to have”; it is essential to our collective wellbeing and social cohesion.

There is a deep respect here for where people come from and for who and how they are. Many traditions create space for people to be seen, acknowledged, and recognized. Through greetings, names, joking, showing respect, and almost countless ways of engaging, we witness and reinforce one another. We see more clearly the threads interweaving our collective well-being. These traditions aren’t technical solutions or abstract topics; they are ways of meeting and gathering together, of creating spaces and openings where we can understand one another, share our perspectives and passions, and work better together.

With over 32 years of experience as a Senegal-based organization, welcoming partners from more than 50 countries far beyond Africa’s border, at our Tostan Training Center, we have come to understand that these ways of welcoming, these traditions for creating space, for seeing and being seen, can be powerful. As our global community seeks to find ways to support increased wellbeing in a context of increasing urgency and challenge, we hope our African Regional Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès 2023 can contribute and share these ways of coming together.

Through our collaborative planning for the Summit, we have found some important themes to explore together. These include mental health, digital wellbeing, wellbeing in the workplace, and others. But the success of our conference won’t be limited to topics, action plans, or best practices. It will also depend on how people feel when they leave, how they can sustain connections, and whether they have found some new ways of inviting change into their lives, their organizations, their work, and our world.

About the African Regional Wellbeing Summit in Dakar and Thiès, Senegal

Join us for the first African Regional Wellbeing Summit in Dakar and Thiès, Senegal, hosted by Tostan from November 29th to December 1st, 2023.

The Summit will be an opportunity to engage in workshops, panels, and social moments to explore wellbeing, especially for those working in service for community-led development, from diverse African perspectives. Discover themes including mental health and its impacts on wellbeing, the role of religion, youth, and digital health.