WoW Newsletter: December 2021

Welcome to the Wheel of Wellbeing (WoW) – a simple framework designed to improve people’s health, happiness and wellbeing by focusing on six areas – Body, Mind, Spirit, People, Place and Planet. This monthly newsletter provides a roundup of the latest wellbeing tips, activities, research and resources to inspire better health and wellbeing. Tap into them – for yourself, your families, workplaces, schools and communities – and help create a happier world for us all!

We are all connected. What unites us is our common humanity. I don’t want to oversimplify things – but the suffering of a mother who has lost her child is not dependent on her nationality, ethnicity or religion. White, black, rich, poor, Christian, Muslim or Jew – pain is pain – joy is joy.” Desmond Tutu

The global, environmental, social and economic challenges of the last 18 months have drawn into even sharper focus how we are all inter-connected and how any solutions rely on us working together. So this month we are focusing on the people connect section of the wheel and the importance of tolerance, common humanity, understanding and relationships.

WoW Days of the Month

Why not use these inspiring international days to create a focal point for wellbeing activities in your school, workplace or community.

5^th December – World Soil Day

World Soil Day 2021 (#WorldSoilDay) and its campaign “halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity” aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, fighting soil salinization, increasing soil awareness and encouraging governments, organizations, communities and individuals around the world to commit to proactively improving soil health. Campaign resources are available here

5^th December – International Volunteer Day (IVD)

The act of volunteering is found in all cultures, languages, and religions. Each year, hundreds of millions of people volunteer their time and skills to help make the world a better place. Not only does volunteering help improve the lives of others but it has many physical and mental health benefits for the person volunteering. On the 5th December, people around the world will celebrate IVD with volunteer fairs, group clean ups, blood donations, conferences, exhibitions, fundraising, workshops and volunteer recognition events.

10th of December – Human Rights Day

“Where, after all, do
universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home —so
close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. […]
Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.
Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in
vain for progress in the larger world.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Human Rights Day is celebrated each year on December 10, the date on which the Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. All over the world, this occasion is used to promote respect for human rights and human dignity as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

16th November – International day of Tolerance

“Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the
rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of
being human.” Declaration
of Principles on Tolerance

The International Day of Tolerance aims to foster mutual understand among cultures and peoples. It is more important than ever in this era of widening conflicts that are characterized by a fundamental disregard for human life.

20th December – International Human Solidarity Day

Solidarity is a fundamental value of international relations. It based on the concept that those who either suffer or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most. In the context of globalisation and the challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of international solidarity is essential. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda is centred on people and planet, underpinned by human rights and supported by a global partnership determined to lift people out of poverty, hunger and disease. The 2030 agenda for sustainable development was adopted by all the United Nations members states in 2015. It is built on a foundation of global cooperation and solidarity.

International Human Solidarity Day is:

a day to celebrate our unity in diversity
a day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements
a day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity
a day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals including poverty eradication

a day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.

Watch and Listen

Fascinating Ted Talk by Anthropologist Robin Dunbar about how many friends your brain can cope with and the importance of investing time in the quality of relationships.

WoW Spotlight

WoW – kids teaching kids

This month we shine the Spotlight on North Arm School:

“It was truly
inspiring to hear and see the students teaching other students about the Wheel
of Wellbeing and aligning each of the Wheel’s six themes to practical daily
activities.” Vickie Jaenke

Kids teaching kids – it’s a simple concept, but one that been use with great success at North Arm State School. 10 year six pupils used the WoW framework to create a 40-minute learning experience about an environmentally sustainable future and how it could boost happiness, health and resilience. They outlined how the wheel’s six themes of Body, Mind, Spirit, People, Place and Planet could be aligned with practical activities in the garden and kitchen (the Living Classroom), drawing attention to the relationship between individual wellbeing and a healthy, sustainable environment. They demonstrated how
individual steps involved in the garden and kitchen could be linked with each of the Wheel’s themes and actively engaged their audience by inviting them to
make Marigold Rice Paper Rolls with produce they had farmed from the Living
Classroom.

Eva Campbell and Mei Flood were two of the year six students who took part. Eva said “Through different workshops, we spoke about what we wanted for our future and how the Gubbi Gubbi and Kabi Kabi people looked after our land before we came to be here.”

Mei commented “The one thing we hope everyone can learn about the wheel of well-being is that by using it you can have a happier, healthier and more resilient life, which all connects to a more environmentally sustainable future.”

In other news …

WoW it works!

A recent study by Griffith University concluded that “the WoW framework can be an effective framework for guiding wellbeing promotion activities, with participants championing a ‘ripple effect’ across individual, family, friendship, professional and community networks.”

A thematic review identified three key areas for the success of WoW:

Increased community involvement and communication
Improved health, emotions and behaviour
The flexibility to be applied across a range of settings

You can read the full article here

Great Articles and Websites

The Limits of Friendship

A New Yorker article about Dunbar’s Number

Is Social Connection the Best Path to Happiness?
Another great article from the Greater Good Centre at Berkeley University

Volunteering – Wellbeing – Volunteering: a Virtuous Circle?
A review of 17,000 published reports about volunteering

Volunteering to Improve wellbeing
A short article about volunteering in Australia from the Teacher Magazine

I’m FREE!

Please feel free to use all or parts of this newsletter for your websites, blog, social media, newsletter or other communications to inspire your group members

Certain links in this newsletter lead to websites which are not under the control of Implemental Worldwide CIC.. Implemental Worldwide CIC has no control over and accepts no liability in respect of materials, products or services available on any website which is not under the control of Implemental Worldwide CIC. Any opinions expressed in these external links and materials do not necessarily reflect the view of Implemental Worldwide CIC. Some of these links may request additional information and it is at your sole discretion as to if you wish to provide this. Any advertisements or promotional material contained in the links to websites and other materials, are not endorsed by Implemental Worldwide CIC and Implemental Worldwide CIC makes no commercial gains through these links.