Cultivating Wellbeing: Building Foundations for Happiness with Systemwide Practices

for Educators at all levels, Counselors, and Student Support Professionals

“We need multiple different sources of happiness.” (Arne Næss, ecologie & well-being)

„Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and happiness.” (Viktor Frankl)

Needs & context

To flourish, we define a local culture and a shared vision for well-being and happiness, beginning with women and building a solid foundation for the entire community. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate, introduced a transformative model for supporting women’s well-being, showing that when the health and happiness of women and mothers are prioritized, the positive impact extends across families, communities, and generations.”

Well-being is inherently collective; it cannot be fully experienced in isolation. When future mothers have access to supportive, culturally grounded structures, they lay the groundwork for resilient citizens and for communities capable of continuous growth, learning, and mutual care.

This training, dedicated to community facilitators working with future mothers—our “Caregivers”—focuses on developing the core competencies needed to practice and promote well-being and happiness in everyday life.

Our interventions center on cultivating “circles of belonging” and creating support systems where each mother can connect with herself, with others, and with the place she inhabits. Through ecological approaches to happiness, and by nurturing awareness of how we pay attention and how we give our time, participants will learn to sustain the chemistry of happiness among mothers, helping them remain connected to vitality and joy regardless of external circumstances.

Aesthetic communication becomes an essential tool, enabling mothers to express their authenticity and contribute to a community where the common good is prioritized. We want each participant to leave with practical skills and strategies that strengthen the well-being agendas of new and future families.

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Module 1 Circles of Belonging

Building Relationships and Trust with: 1. Oneself 2. Others 3. The Place Where I Am.

How we relate to ourselves, to others, and to the place where we find ourselves. How we rebuild these lifelong learning relationships. A toolkit to identify inequitable and unsustainable cultural molds and to generate new ones that support a community where all life can flourish.”

 

 

Module 2 Ecology of Happiness

Developing the competencies to access decision-making capital (autonomy) at any moment; resilience (the ability to feel one has autonomy, regardless of external conditions that are beyond one’s control).

 

Module 3 Cultivating attention and time

The competency of accelerating development through JOY: understanding and practicing the ecology of attention, addressing the concept of limited vs. integrative mindset. Skills and self-regulation in the form of ‘there is plenty of time’; the flexibility to observe attention, relaxed and focused. Learning about attitude.

 

Module 4 The science of communicating happiness- the aesthetic language

We develop the capacity to receive information and update the image of the one who learns happiness. The willingness to let go of what you thought you knew and to learn from a new perspective.Transformative competency, observing attitude – what we do with what we learn.

At the end of this training program, well-being facilitators/activators can expect to develop a deep understanding of the dimensions of the flow experience (well-being), which are essential for supporting future families.

They will experience perception of attention and time as patterns, helping future mothers to integrate action with awareness. Participants will acquire practical skills to support freedom from the fear of failure, creating a space where mothers can enjoy the present moment. They will also explore ways to help mothers adjust their perception of time, transforming every experience into a reward in itself (auto-telic). In the end, facilitators will leave the program with concrete tools and strategies that will enable them to activate well-being among future families thus contributing to the creation of a supportive environment that facilitates a step towards a local culture of well-being and happiness as foundation for resilience and sustainable education.

Generative scribing by Kelvy Bird, MIT PI, the mutuality of development and learning

Paths to learning process

  •  Integrative practices for each of the five key competencies, supporting the inner facilitator’s learning process.
  • A toolkit for well‑being interventions, adapted to local cultural needs and community realities.
  • Community practices among peers — coaching circles that encourage collaboration, mutual support, and shared learning.
  • Methodologies for artful communication using an aesthetic language inspired by Arawana Hayashi and Ricardo Dutra (MIT).
  • A network‑based methodology for facilitators to co‑construct the local formula for happiness and well‑being agendas.

Location & Organisation
Stockholm, Sweden

Skarpnäcks folkhögskola is a great place for a systemic program aimed at improving the well-being of communities of learning. A calm and friendly environment close to nature, which helps participants feel at ease, yet in the heart of a European capital.

The venue invites creativity and allows people to move through the learning process with ease. Being in a natural setting helps everyone relax and focus better. This makes it a great space for inner growth and building connections with others through embodied practices.

Participants will receive a practical guide, and they are invited to book their accommodation nearby area. Costs related to traveling, accommodation, and meals are to be paid by each participant.

We will invite participants to join the virtual learning space where they will access detailed agenda, a toolkit for practices and supporting material for the course approximately. 1 month before our program. By accessing the virtual learning space you will be able to meet the rest of the cohort.

  • 2027 Edition from 1st to 5th July

Trainers & guest faculty

Irina Sadakova (Host)– Adult Education and educational facilitator Qi gong guide, EPALE ambassador; MA in Educational Science, specialization on Embodiment Practices and Polyvagal Method, Releasing Trauma Instruments. Compassionate Inquiry-informed educator, somatic. 

Andreea Gatman –  ICF Certified Coach, U Lab (MIT) practitioner systemic thinking and social arts, Humphrey Fellowship on “Thriving Communities” with MBA in Public Governance Modul University Vienna, MES Graz University, and BA in Political Science (Bologna University). Coordinated the GOGreenGOExtinct Social Arts part of Helsinki Design Week. For 7 years trainer in educational programs in Finland

Carol Williams – ecologist researcher, project coordinator at Wisconsin University, double majored in Arts and Ecology, PhD in Ecological Science. Systemic thinker and instructional designer for adult learning and training, particularly for advancement in sustainability, organizational evolution, social justice, health and wellbeing

Cultivating Wellbeing: Building Foundations for Happiness with Systemwide Practices

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