For immediate release
Thiès, November 22, 2023 – From the 29th of November to the 1st of December 2023, Tostan is hosting in Thiès, Senegal, a unique African gathering: The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès 2023. This gathering brings together social change agents, wellbeing experts, policy makers, African community leaders, artists and young African leaders from all over Africa. Participants and speakers, mostly youth, will explore the African lens on innovative approaches to individual, collective, societal and environmental wellbeing.
The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès 2023, is part of a global movement of Regional Wellbeing Summits launched by The Wellbeing Project to foster the wellbeing of social change agents around the world. Working at the forefront of sustainable development efforts in their communities, these actors face enormous challenges that threaten their wellbeing.
A transformative African gathering
Nearly 200 participants will attend this transformative African gathering that aims to empower individuals, organizations and communities to foster wellbeing. The Summit will address a variety of topics, including the role of spirituality in wellbeing; youth mental health; intergenerational trauma; social norms and and community development; activism and feminism; environment and sustainability in the African context; Pan-Africanism; and Art therapy for wellbeing.
Speakers, including leading civil society actors, government representatives, academics, health professionals, entrepreneurs and activists from across the continent, will share their personal experiences of wellbeing as well as local practices that promote a holistic approach to sustainable social change in the African context. In addition to panel discussions, interactive collective experiences will help foster self-reflection on inner wellbeing while exploring an African vision of wellbeing.
“Building on more than thirty years of commitment to fostering community wellbeing, Tostan is proud to host this major African gathering that will provide a space for sharing and deep reflection on wellbeing in line with our African values and identity. We believe that by coming together and sharing our collective wisdom, we can foster lasting positive social change in our communities“, Carina Ndiaye, Chief Partnerships Officer at Tostan.
“After visiting the US, Colombia, Brazil, and Belgium for four incredible, deeply-needed gatherings, the Wellbeing Summit is now happening in Senegal. We cannot be more thrilled to have Tostan host the first Regional Wellbeing Summit in Africa. In bringing together changemakers from all walks of life, we look forward to this Summit serving as a spark to help ignite a transformative wellbeing movement in Africa.” Aaron Pereira and Sandrine Woitrin, Co-Leads, The Wellbeing Project.
Youth engagement will be at the heart of the discussions at the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès. Through the “Youth Space” the Summit will serve as a catalyst for constructive dialogue, enabling young participants and speakers to share their experiences and visions of wellbeing, as well as their innovations to improve wellbeing in their communities.
“By leading positive social change in their communities, youth are playing a pivotal note in the symphony of wellbeing in Africa. Their voices will resonate deeply at the Summit, as the exchanges will undoubtedly shape our vision of physical, mental and social wellbeing for all,” Sobel Aziz Ngom, President of Consortium Jeunesse Sénégal (CJS) and Speaker at Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès.
Art therapy at the heart of the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès
The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès 2023 will explore how different forms of creative expression, whether traditional or contemporary, contribute to individual and collective wellbeing. Hence, contemporary art installations, dance and painting workshops, concerts and theater will be part of this summit, offering participants a unique experience in the exploration of individual and collective wellbeing.
In partnership with the 12th edition of Partcours, a contemporary art festival in Senegal, the Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès will also highlight individual pathways to wellbeing. A new exhibition entitled “Yoonu ci biir : The inner Path” will explore personal journeys to wellbeing through the works of Fatime Soumaré and Omar Diouf (Yafane), two Senegalese artists.
Keynote speakers include Philippa Namutebi Kabali-Kagwa (Writer, Uganda), Bagoré Bathily (Entrepreneur, Senegal), Hope Chigudu (Feminist Activist, Zimbabwe), Dr. Ndeye Khady Babou (Women’s Rights Activist, Senegal), Gerry Mackie (Academic/social norms expert, USA) Fatima-Zahra (Psychologist, Morocco), Allasane Seck (Art Therapist, Senegal), Nafissatou Diop (Director of the Sahel Women Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project, UNFPA), Sobel Aziz Ngom (Social entrepreneur /President of Consortium Jeunesse Sénégal), Zainab Conteh (Chief Councillor for the Mayor’s Office in Freetown, Sierra Leone), Rosemary Gathara (Mental Health Expert, Kenya), Maïmouna Diop Ly (Public Health Specialist, Senegal)- Awa Fall-Diop (Feminist and Politician, Senegal), Sister Fa (Artist-Activist, Senegal), Modou Fall (Climate Activist, Senegal), Melissa Wainaina (Feminist Artist, Kenya), Sahad Sarr (Artist, Senegal).
The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès partners: The Wellbeing Project- Global Fund for Children- Consortium Jeunesse Sénégal- Fondation Sococim- The Girls Generation- MIYA Africa- Association Zéro Déchet Sénégal- Ford Foundation, CGF Bourse.
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Note to Editors
About Tostan
Based in Senegal, Tostan is a community development organization with over 30 years of commitment to empowering communities to realize their vision of wellbeing based on respect for human rights. Tostan operates in five West African countries and its holistic programs focus on empowering women and girls, protecting children’s rights, promoting education, improving maternal and child health, protecting the environment, promoting respect for human rights, and abandoning harmful social practices such as child marriage and female genital cutting. www.tostan.org
About The Wellbeing Project
The Wellbeing Project is the global leader in researching and advocating for the wellbeing of changemakers, and for wellbeing in changemaking. Co-created with Ashoka, Georgetown University, Impact Hub, Porticus, Skoll Foundation and Synergos, The Wellbeing Project is a network of more than 400 organizations dedicated to strengthening the research case for inner wellbeing at the heart of social change, connecting a growing network of organizations building a culture of wellbeing, accelerating the growth of wellbeing initiatives around the world, convening Summits at the intersection of inner, organizational, societal and planetary wellbeing, and Mainstreaming a wellbeing and social change narrative. www.wellbeing-project.org
For further information, please contact:
Fo-koffi DJAMESSI, Head of Communications
+221 77 355 72 34
