Edwin Macharia

Co-Founder, Axum

Edwin is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Axum. He leads work with Heads of State, CEOs, Philanthropists, and Investors, supporting them on strategy, program design and capital deployment.

Prior to starting Axum, Edwin spent 16 years at Dalberg Advisors building the firm’s presence, teams and client work across the world. He left after being elected and serving as the Global Managing Partner of the firm. Before that, he was at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and McKinsey & Company.

Based in Nairobi, Edwin currently sits on a range of global boards that reflect his commitment to transforming lives in Africa and beyond: The Nature Conservancy, Mozilla Foundation, Nabo Capital, The End Fund, Prudential Kenya and The Wellbeing Project. He is a WEF Young Global Leader, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow and was listed by Forbes as one of the 10 Most Powerful Africans in 2015. He holds a degree in biology from Amherst College.

David Simas

Managing Director, Research and Impact, Emerson Collective

David Simas is the Managing Director of Research and Impact at Emerson Collective, where he works to develop in-depth research projects and distributes findings and analysis in service of Emerson’s priorities including democracy, immigration, education, and climate.

A native of Taunton, Massachusetts, David was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in 2007. He then joined President Obama’s administration in 2009 as a Deputy Assistant to the President, working with senior advisors David Axelrod and David Plouffe. In 2012, he served as Director of Opinion Research for President Obama’s reelection campaign. Following the reelection, Mr. Simas returned to the White House as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach. In 2016, President Obama selected Mr. Simas to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. Mr. Simas holds a B.A. in political science from Stonehill College and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He is the son of two Portuguese immigrants and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Shauna, and their two daughters.

Learn more from David SimasLearn more from David Simas

3-Minute Reflections by Satish Kumar 3-Minute Reflections by Satish Kumar

Voices of Wellbeing | Yazmany Arboleda, Artist Voices of Wellbeing | Yazmany Arboleda, Artist

“MY ART PRACTICE EVOLVED FROM SEEKING OUT ACCEPTANCE AND CELEBRATION OF DIFFERENCE”

Where do we have the chance to practice imagining? And how do we do that together?

Colombian American Artist, Yazmany Arboleda, recounts his process behind developing his Hospital of the Soul installation for the Wellbeing Summit for Change. In the fall of 2019, Yazmany spent time in Bilbao, Biscay, meeting citizens from the region at a constellations retreat with specialist therapist, Judith Hemming. In this interview, he shares how the heartache and pain felt by these individual Basque civilians and their families was rooted in history and impacted by the civil war beginning in the 1930s. Getting to know these people and their stories led him to reflect on his own intergenerational trauma and the experiences of his family back in the mountains of Medellin, Colombia, as well as the ongoing racial injustice and violence in America where he now lives.

Watch his full story to hear his vision for joining the threads of belonging, interconnectedness, and true celebration of difference by using art and human connection to break down religious barriers or other social constructs that may divide us.

Chris Underhill

Social Entrepreneur and Professional Mentor

Chris Underhill MBE is a social entrepreneur and professional mentor. He has worked in the field of the Wellbeing, Resilience, and Mental Health since he started Thrive in 1978 (www.thrive.org.uk). The organisation provides to this day an opportunity for many people with different needs to benefit from gardening and horticulture whether as a hobby or a vocation. Chris is a serial social innovator and has established many organisations over the years in addition to Thrive. To give several examples: Action on Disability and Development (ADD), working in the developing world with disabled people creating systems of representation, advocacy, and policy creation. BasicNeeds in the field of community mental health worldwide, and citiesRISE in the field of mental health and the big city.

He has founded several other organisations as well, but coming up to date, he Chairs the Mental Health Collaboration of Catalyst 2030 and is cofounder of the Elders Council for Social Entrepreneurs. The Elders Council for Social Entrepreneurs gives practical support to founders as they make successions within and away from their organisations as well as the encouragement of younger social entrepreneurs as they field the complex challenges and transitions that inevitably confront them.

Chris is a well-known and sought after professional mentor and his practice, Mentor Services, has been carefully nurtured since 2000. Chris has been married to Giselle for 52 years, and they have three grown-up children and six grandchildren. He is an Elder of the Wellbeing Project and attended the Wellbeing Summit in Bilbao working on both Eldership and Mental Health within the wider context of Wellbeing. He is a recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, an awardee in Social Entrepreneurship of the Schwab Foundation, and a Senior Fellow of Ashoka. In 2000 he was honoured with an MBE by HRH the Queen for his work in disability and development.

Click here to learn more about Mentor Services.

Connect with Chris Underhill on social media :

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 The Wellbeing Summit 2022

THE WELLBEING SUMMIT 2022, PLANTING THE SEED FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE EVENT

The Wellbeing Project believes in environmental awareness and social inclusion. Sustainability was one of the organisational key guiding principles for The Wellbeing Summit’s first edition in 2022. From the event design, inspired by supporting the circular economy model, to measuring and planning for the reduction of carbon emissions; every aspect of the Summit was designed with sustainability in mind.

We set two main objectives:

Implement strategic actions towards holding a responsible event.
Better understand our carbon impact by measuring the event footprint.

We also looked to include programmes and themes in the Summit that would create discourse and raise awareness of our planetary crisis. We were supported in achieving these objectives by our partner UreCulture who specialises in environmental sustainability planning for cultural agents and non-profit organisations.

With The Wellbeing Summit 2022 Sustainability Report we want to transparently share with you our journey and commitment towards sustainability.

Our first steps in 2022Our first steps in 2022

Strategic actions taken to reduce our environmental impact

Travel

As the primary source of emissions during an event, it is essential to be aware of the impact caused by traveling, to monitor it, and put in place preventive measures.

What we did:

Provide recommendations for responsible travel, including the invitation to delegates to make impactful donations in compensation for the carbon impact.
Offer Economy Class tickets to speakers, artists and grantee delegates.
A free hybrid option was also set up, with digital access through our event platform for participants wishing to follow the plenary sessions and have access to online exclusive content.

Materials

During any event, resources are widely used. Following the circular economy methodology, we tried to minimise resource consumption and waste wherever and whenever possible.

What we did:

Paper-free event.
Use of already existing buildings (no event tent/marquee).
All materials for the Welcome Pack were sourced locally (Spain and Portugal).
Yute tote bag instead of cotton tote bag.
No goodies, the only gift was a plantable pin with mint seeds.
All attendees’ badges were made of plantable seed paper and the badge holders of recycled cardboard.
No single use carpet.
All furniture was rented instead of bought and most was made from sustainable or recycled materials.
Stage of the Welcome Cocktail made from recycled wood pallets.
Staff t-shirts made from organic cotton and locally sourced.
No plastic bottles, but water fountains.

Food

The catering offered has an important environmental impact and it is crucial to opt for responsibly sourced food.

What we did:

All our caterers committed to using organic (or equivalent), local and seasonal products.
Vegetarian options were always available (low-carbon options).
Except for the Welcome Cocktail and the Lunch Box on the last day, all attendees were provided with lunch vouchers – to be used in local restaurants close to the main venue – in order to have a positive impact on the local economy and avoid waste systematically created by catered lunches.
The catering offered at specific smaller events was provided by a local association employing young people at risk of marginalisation.

City and venues

The selection of the appropriate hosting city and venues are key to reducing the impact.

What we did:

Selection of a small city and specific venues which were all at maximum 15 min. walking distance between them and, alternatively, reachable by public transportation.
A public bus at an affordable price ran every 30 min. from the airport to the city centre.
For transportation of attendees with specific accessibility requirements, artists and speakers pick ups and production staff, electric cars offered by one of our sponsors were used.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

The Wellbeing Project is deeply committed to inclusivity, therefore creating an event in which everyone would feel represented and included was key. We also believe that the ecological challenge is a global one and that it can only be tackled by a diverse, inclusive and united community.

What we did:

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 was a “by invitation only” event in order to carefully curate the invitee list and ensure diversity and inclusivity. An example: 83 different countries and 6 continents represented. Still, anyone could express their desire to participate through a self-nomination process and each candidate was taken into consideration and carefully evaluated before being invited.
Selection of speakers and artists to ensure diversity and inclusivity. An example: 54.2% female speakers; 60.2% female artists.
Sponsoring for delegates with diverse backgrounds: 53.4% of delegates had a subsidy of their ticket. This could range from a partial subsidy all the way to a free ticket to attend TWBS 2022. For 10.4% of delegates The Wellbeing Project covered the ticket, the flight and the accommodation.
Management of visas to ensure diversity: 151 visa requests were managed by The Wellbeing Project.
All venues were accessible for people with disabilities or impairments and a support team was available on demand to guarantee full accessibility to everyone. An example : 7 accessibility requests for the full duration of the event were promptly attended.
Yoga mats and pillows were redistributed to local associations working with homeless people.
The catering offer at specific smaller events was provided by a local association employing young people at risk of marginalisation.
A contact list of babysitting services available in the city was provided on TWBS 2022 website.

Measuring our footprint: Our 2022 carbon audit

Like any human activity, major events impact their environment and the planet. We are fully aware of this responsibility and understand the opportunity The Wellbeing Summit has to lead by example. It was crucial for the Wellbeing Summit to carry out an audit and measure the carbon impact of the event, as we can only change what we measure.

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 carbon audit and footprint will act as our baseline to track and measure improvements in our 2025 edition.

Raising awareness for our planetary crisis to help create change Raising awareness for our planetary crisis to help create change

We considered it fundamental to include environment-related content in the Conference and Arts Programmes in order to inspire, help raise awareness and create change.

What we did:

Examples of environment-related content in the Arts Programme:

Examples of environment-related content in the Conference Programme:

Satish Kumar, peace-pilgrim and environmentalist – Opening Plenary Session and morning meditation
Kumi Naidoo, human rights and environmental activist – Closing Plenary Session
Laureline Simon, founder and director, One Resilient Earth; Mallika Dutt, founder Inter-Connected, activist, social change leader; Carolin Schmee, partner at Manejo Ambiental; Clare Celeste, artist – Workshop “Our Relationship with Nature: How Climate Change Impacts Emotions”

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 Sustainability Report

Discover The Wellbeing Summit 2022 Sustainability Report, created in partnership with UreCulture and its team of environmental researchers and climate change consultants. With this report we have taken the first step in the fight against climate change: measuring carbon emissions.

The report outlines all the sustainability actions taken during the 2022 Summit and reviews the event’s carbon emissions. This is a significant step towards a more sustainable world and a great tool to identify areas of improvement with a commitment to continuously advancing.

Sustainability Report

Looking Towards The Wellbeing Summit 2025

In 2022 we planted the seed to align with best practice in sustainable and responsible events planning for The Wellbeing Summit 2025.

Some preliminary ideas include:

Study environmentally-friendly modes of transportation to travel to the Summit.
Deepen our knowledge on how to reduce waste and support a circular economy, in collaboration with our providers and partners.
Look for providers and partners who share our values and are taking concrete steps to reduce their environmental impact.
Research innovative solutions for inclusivity as, for example, access riders.

Over the next two years we will continue to research and look for innovative solutions to reduce our environmental impact, promote eco-friendly and socially inclusive practices and design a sustainable experience for our attendees and stakeholders.

``How can we have a deep inner realisation about collective power?`` ``How can we have a deep inner realisation about collective power?``

Join us for a transformative episode of “Voices of Wellbeing” as renowned artist Deepa Narayan shares her inner realizations about the collective power within oppressed groups. Discover how embracing joy, letting go of self-judgment, and opening the heart can unleash a transformative force beyond individual capabilities. In “Connecting with Each Other,” Deepa emphasizes the significance of taking time to nurture joys, explore emotions, and foster genuine connections with others. Understanding and sharing gender stories become essential components for both personal wellbeing and fostering social justice. Prepare to be inspired as Deepa Narayan ignites a spark within you, urging you to tap into the power of collective action and embrace a mindset free from stress. Let’s come together, celebrate joy, and create a world where wellbeing and social justice thrive. Don’t miss this captivating episode of “Voices of Wellbeing” and join the movement of collective power. Remember to subscribe to our channel for more insightful content, and share this empowering video with others to spread the message of unity and transformative change.

``Time melts walls and barriers down`` ``Time melts walls and barriers down``

Join us in this transformative episode of “Voices of Wellbeing” as artist Mohau Modisakeng shares the powerful role of art in healing trauma and shaping South Africa’s future. Discover how art connects people to their history, fosters resilience, and breaks cycles of poverty and trauma. Witness the transformative power of art as Mohau inspires hope and dialogue for a brighter tomorrow. Don’t miss this compelling exploration of art’s profound impact in South Africa.