"The size and internationality of the conference was impressive: 900 guests from more than 60 countries - from all five continents. That made for a special flair and a great diversity of perspectives," finds Björn Lampe, board member of our sister betterplace.org, who met Anja Adler and Joana Breidenbach at the Wellbeing Summit for Social Change in Bilbao in early June. For all three, it was the first major conference since the pandemic began. Words like "unfamiliar," "overwhelmed," "way too much" come up in describing it.
"On a very personal note, I was often overwhelmed yesterday. There is just way too much on offer from morning to night, people, prompts for conversation, products, installations. I'm trying to engage more with only little today.",Anja writes to the team in Berlin after the first day in Bilbao and continues, "In the conversations I've heard again and again that people want more time to communicate with each other and digest." She's not the only one to pick up remarks like this at/about events. Many who have spent most of the last two and a half years in their home offices are no longer used to bustling events.
On the first day of re:publica, which takes place a week after the Summit in Berlin, one person tweeted that he left the arena grounds, where the 3-day festival for digital society was hosted, in tears after 15 minutes. Another only stayed in the attractive outdoor area (Badeschiff, Hoppetosse, etc.) because there were way too many people running around inside without masks. For most, the encounters with crowds at the first conferences, meetings and festivals after the long break in events due to the pandemic are as unfamiliar as they are exciting.
"It was very nice to finally meet unknown people outside of a screen, to exchange ideas with them, to get to know them. The same was true for collective experiences such as all participants* dancing together. At the same time, the relevance of personal responsibility remains high: even after the Summit in Bilbao, there were corona infections again. Personal Wellbeing does not work without responsibility for the people around you", Björn comments on his experience in Bilbao.
When asked what inspired him there, he replies that it was, firstly, the strong link between the "classic" educational content and the diverse cultural inputs. "Art played an equal role at the Summit and always provided interesting interventions, which was a marked contrast to other conferences I had attended before Corona. This had a strong impact on my perception of the three days in Bilbao - in a positive sense. In addition, I found it interesting to experience the diversity in which people all over the world deal with the topic of wellbeing, newcomers as well as "old hands". This resulted in exciting conversations as well as interesting workshop experiences."
Joana, who has been working for many years to ensure that the topic of Wellbeing arrives in Germany, writes in her blogpost about the Summit: "Within a few years, the topic of Wellbeing has gone from a non-topic (or even taboo), arrived in many areas of the social sector and is taken seriously by changemakers and activists. Many philanthropic funders have also recognized the importance and are beginning to address it and fund wellbeing initiatives. However, we can also see clear differences: while hundreds of participants from the Global South had traveled to Bilbao and many large American and European foundations had sent representatives, most German funders were not there. And this despite the fact that they had been specifically invited. By global standards, the topic of wellbeing still seems to generate little resonance in Germany."
How important, therefore, to hear Björn say in his position as a board member that his awareness of the need for reflection had been heightened. "Particularly in myself, I notice again and again how much everyday life and its tasks take over me and how little time there is to take two or three steps back and look at issues or developments with distance. Especially in the context of the Corona pandemic, this is all the more necessary. betterplace.org has undergone rapid change in the last two and a half years, and a real reflection on this has not yet taken place. But that would still be absolutely necessary both for the well-being of the colleagues and the organization itself."
The topic of wellbeing should land in companies and with sponsors. It is particularly gratifying when politicians already feel addressed and recognize the need for a change in thinking. Anja's report from a "Fireside Conversation" on Wellbeing and Policy, in which two ministers from Jordan and Argentina called for a new narrative for Wellbeing that is no longer growth-oriented, exploitative, but instead pays attention to the health of the planet and people. The panel also repeatedly addressed social injustice as the biggest challenges to global wellbeing, Anja is pleased to note. She was most moved by a comment from Juan Ignacio Maquieya, Executive Director of a school for young politicians in Buenos Aires, established by Pope Francis. He talks about a new training for politicians* who learn to listen. They are trained in the perception of their three levels (body, feelings and thoughts) and, as one of the first exercises, they draw a huge mural together, training attention and appreciation.
Joana's conclusion after the days in Bilbao: "There is a lot to do!" You can read her observations in the form of ten short theses here.
Picture: Joana Breidenbach