INTRODUCING THE WELLBEING CHANGEMAKERS HUB

The Wellbeing Changemakers Hub is a safe, caring, and courageous learning-for-action space co-created by the Ashoka community and our allies.

The intention for this space is: 

  • Connection: Meet other wellbeing champions in our network with whom we can model, teach and advance wellbeing.
  • Peer Learning: Better understand how wellbeing impacts our work. Learn from each other's experiences. Develop together wellbeing approaches/recommendations for our teams, organization, and ecosystem. 
  • Alignment: Develop a common understanding and vision for the work on wellbeing in our teams, organization and network.
  • Making: Become Ashoka's Wellbeing Community of Practice and Strategy. 

Insights from our journey

Wellbeing, Systems Change & Everyone a Changemaker (EACH) vision

Below you will find the recording of our first session: with a systems view we deep-dived into the interconnection between wellbeing, systems change, and the Everyone a Changemaker vision.

We reflected on what wellbeing means to us and listened to each other's definitions and stories. We learned that wellbeing is subjective and interdependent, context-specific, holistic and integrated, dynamic and regenerative. We deep-dived into the connection between wellbeing, systems change, and the Everyone a Changemaker vision, and we were reminded of how wellbeing is not only individual but directly related to the collective and can be enhanced by our shared support and connection to one another. 

Watch the Recording   Download the presentation    Read the main insights

Inner Wellbeing & Social Change

Below you will find the resources from session 2 where we deep-dived into inner wellbeing and social change. 

In this session, we then listened to AdamMolyneux-Berry's story – Ashoka Fellow and co-founder of CoCo Labs, and how his wellbeing journey influenced his life, leadership and systems change work. We reflected on how his story resonated with our story and shared our main learnings and challenges in our journey. We then deepened into opportunities, ways, and practices to cultivate wellbeing as individuals and in leading our teams for wellbeing. As well as identified challenges and systemic barriers that we face in this personal and collective journey.

Download the presentation    Read the main insights

Team & Organizational Wellbeing

Below you will find the resources from session 3 where we deep-dived into the role of organizations in supporting employees' wellbeing and mental health. 

Patty First from The Raben Group- a national public affairs and strategic communications firm inspiring change across all sectors, presented the results of the report "From Burnout to Wellbeing. Building a Sustainable Immigration Movement".  

The results report that burnout is high among immigrant advocates which is extremely aligned with the trend in the field of social change of high levels of burnout and stress documented by several studies from ecosystem organizations in the past years. 

Patty shared some recommended interventions, we shared our experience at Ashoka, and we listened to your experience and insights. Change needs time, shifts in organizations or teams need to be systemic and happen on three levels: mindset, cultural, and operational. Organizational programs and offers cannot replace the individual work of self-discovery and development, but leadership can set the example, model the shift, and ensure that employees’ wellbeing and mental health are a strategic priority.  

Download Patty's presentation    Download our presentation

When looking at burnout it's important to hold a holistic perspective which means holding polarities that complement each other but seem opposite such as our individual responsibility of self-care AND organization’s conditions to support wellbeing. 

Read the main insights from the session   

 

Wellbeing Ecosystem

Below you will find the resources from session 4 where we explored what we can do together moving forward to advance wellbeing in our ecosystem. 

We reflected on our own contribution and engagement in wellbeing at Ashoka and shared the areas of interest that are emerging. Some that were shared: connection with nature, financial incentives, regenerative work culture, intergenerational trauma, family resiliency, and systemic acupuncture.  

The session continued with a presentation of the diversity of our network and Ashoka’s constituencies to reflect on how we can engage them in wellbeing. We then shared some of the challenges (and potential) that came out in the previous conversations that we think are worth for us to address and tackle. We shared them through the lens of the 4 levels we are considering (individual, team, organization, and ecosystem). 

The presentation sparked amazing reflections and we invited you to envision our ecosystem in a 5-year period where wellbeing is fully integrated into our work and ecosystem.

  • What had to radically change in the current systems constructs (structure, function, intention, etc) for wellbeing to be included in our work?
  • How did wellbeing become fully integrated into our work?
  • What had to happen to get there?

Download our presentation    Read the main insights from the session   

Book recommendation: "Rest is resistance" by Trisha Hersey (The Nap Ministry). She looks at rest through the lense of tackling white supremacy and capitalism.

Additional Wellbeing Resources for Inspiration

Wellbeing Lab Resources page

Here you will find all the useful tools, practices, and resources that we covered last year in the Wellbeing Lab. They focus more on the individual level and can be used to support you or your team in developing your capacity to be well and lead, especially in times of hardship.

Click here to discover more

Wellbeing toolkit

This is a toolkit built by our community for our community. Please help us develop this together and share more with us: What practices and resources support you to be well? 
 

 

Open the Wellbeing Toolkit here

The Wellbeing Project

The Wellbeing Project is catalysing a culture of inner wellbeing for all changemakers. On their webpage you can find interesting resources, events, opportunities, and much more. 

Access The Wellbeing Project page here

Spiritual Changemakers Initiative

For 40 years, we have been observing that many changemakers and social entrepreneurs who work to create an inclusive and equitable world learned those values through their faith traditions and/or what we call “Spiritual Systems”. The Spiritual Changemakers Initiative is our way to collaborate with a spiritually diverse network to address the most pressing issues of our time, and amplify the voices, stories, and insights from those we call Spiritual Changemakers.

Discover more here

Supporting System Changers Report

In this report, we outline three features of entrepreneurial support that have become – through years of testing around the world – top priorities for Ashoka’s Fellowship support program. The role of system thinking, leadership, and wellbeing is a guideline for social entrepreneurs to create equitable, positive & lasting change in their fields.

Read the Report

Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem?

A report from McKinsey Health Institute. Employers have invested unprecedented resources in employee mental 
health and well-being. With burnout at all-time highs, leaders wonder if they can make a difference. This research suggests they can.

Read the report

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