-
Health
Integrating Individual Well-Being With Environmental Systems
How cultivating a values-based, ecological worldview can help lay the groundwork for collective action toward the greater well-being of individuals, societies, and the systems in which we live.
-
Health
Addressing Trauma as a Pathway to Social Change
How understanding intergenerational trauma can help people working toward social change solve problems more effectively. Part of the Centered Self series.
-
Health
The Vision of a Well-Being Economy
We must shift how we understand and build societal health and prosperity, looking beyond economic growth to collective well-being and environmental sustainability.
-
Health
Connecting Inner and Outer Well-Being in Social Innovation Education
Why social innovation education programs need to develop students’ inner well-being alongside their knowledge of the field, and five principles to help lead the way.
-
Health
Equity and Inclusion: The Roots of Organizational Well-Being
To build healthy, resilient organizations, nonprofits need to do more than adopt standard diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. They need to acknowledge systemic racism then commit to and implement processes to upend it.
-
Health
Art for Solidarity
Art reminds us to create solidarity with people working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and of the importance of tending to well-being during difficult times.
-
Health
Bringing Organizational Well-Being to Life
By committing to a broad, participatory learning process, social change leaders can greatly enhance staff positivity and resilience, as well as increase organizational sustainability and impact. Part of the Centered Self series.
-
Health
Integrating Individual and Organizational Well-Being
By supporting individual and team resilience, and by making small shifts to organizational life that enhance well-being, organizations can improve their effectiveness and contribute to a healthier overall culture for social change. Part of the Centered Self series.
-
Health
Addressing the Critiques of Well-Being
Social change leaders can better advocate and find funding for well-being initiatives by creating a more authentic and deeper understanding of what it looks like and the difference it can make. Part of the Centered Self series.
-
Philanthropy & Funding
How Funders Can Support Individual Well-Being
A look at myriad ways funders can support the well-being and mental health of often understaffed and under-resourced grantees, and help foster healthier individuals and organizations. Part of the Centered Self series.
-
Leadership
Self-Inquiry for Social Change Leaders
How the internal work of self-inquiry can meaningfully shift our perceptions and behaviors in ways that positively impact the outer world, and how leaders of social change are incorporating the practice into their work and lives.
-
SERIES INTRODUCTIONHealth
Connecting Individual and Societal Change
Supporting the inner well-being of change makers can boost capacity for innovation and collaboration, and ultimately lead to more effective solutions to social and environmental challenges.
Centered Self: The Connection Between Inner Well-Being and Social Change
Leaders of social change and others actively engaged in building a healthy and just society face unique challenges that often take a deep personal toll. Many work at the center of social problems, often in chronically under-resourced or highly stressful environments that don’t allow for self-reflection or self-care. As a result, they experience problems such as burnout, serious health issues, and breakdowns in relationships.
While addressing these personal challenges is important in and of itself, there is also growing evidence that personal well-being lies at the heart of effectively addressing systemic social challenges. There is also growing interest in how individuals, funders, and organizations can support greater well-being in themselves and across the field.
This series, presented in partnership with The Wellbeing Project, India Development Review, The Skoll Foundation, and Schwab Foundation (sister organization of the World Economic Forum), will explore this important but often overlooked connection between inner well-being and effective social change. Contributors will include researchers, funders, and practitioners from around the world who will share strategies and actionable steps that leaders and others working in social change can implement to foster well-being at the individual, organizational, sector, and societal levels.
(Illustration by Helena Pallarés)