FestiWell Event Series Celebrates 1st Year of Co-Creation
Under the headline “Taking Well-Being Forward”, FestiWell 2021 took place as a hybrid event that aimed to highlight research and education, values, actions and further opportunities to create, advance and foster well-being.
The event featured online panel discussions and a variety of lectures on topics related to well-being, such as sustainability and equity. The programme highlighted research related to individual, societal, and environmental well-being, as well as best practices for collaboration and open education within EUniWell.
The joint online programme included six core events: the official FestiWell Opening, the Launch of the 3rd Seed Funding Call, the inaugural lecture of the EUniWell Open Lecture Series, spotlight events on the EUniWell Research Arenas and Mobility Opportunities within EUniWell, and the Introduction to Open Education Resources.
“Our core events were primarily designed to highlight opportunities for participation in EUniWell and to raise awareness of EUniWell among internal and external networks,” says Lena Kulmala, Senior Internationalisation Officer at Linnaeus University. “In addition, satellite events were organised and led by various partner universities. These satellite events were mainly aimed at engaging audiences with interesting and innovative well-being related content aligned with EUniWell's core themes and values, and showcased the strengths of each university in advancing well-being for staff, students and society.”
The programme
On the first day of FestiWell, the University of Cologne organised an online panel discussion on the subject “Dimensions of Sustainability”. Hosted by EUniWell Chief Development Officer Prof. Dr. Beatrix Busse, the panel was composed of top-level researchers of the University of Cologne from various fields as well as a student representative. The discussion shed light on the relationship between sustainability, diversity and well-being. The University of Florence hosted a hybrid MiniCOP26 workshop, a simulation of the Conference of the Parties, the annual meeting of countries that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. During a talk show, organised by Leiden University, academics shared updates and research outcomes in four key research arenas of EUniWell: Health; Individual and Social Well-being; Environmental Well-being and Urbanity; and, Teacher Education. Talk show host Oscar Kocken led participants through the developments made so far within the four research arenas. A digital event and creative activity involving the Barber Institute of Fine Arts was organised by the University of Birmingham, and Leiden University offered the opportunity for a mindful walk. The first day concluded with a cooking class by the University of Cologne for participants to enjoy.
Alongside the official core events, on the second day FestiWell, the audience had the opportunity to participate in a hybrid Entrepreneurial Alumni Student Talk, held in Nantes, with a young entrepreneur working on upcycling of organic waste, Richard Hugou. Interdisciplinary research was also at stake, with a lecture and exchange on Environmental Humanities delivered by Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, Prof. Dr. Kate Rigby, organised by the University of Nantes. Another satellite event organised by Linnaeus University was a unique music event promoting young people's mental health through music and creativity.
The event series concluded with an inspiring closing session organised by Linnaeus University and Semmelweis University.
The entire programme was available to the public free of charge, and most of the live sessions were recorded and are available here.
Beyond the programmes available online, the universities of Cologne and Nantes as well as Semmelweis University also organised face-to-face well-being activities on their campuses during FestiWell. A summary about the Semmelweis Well-Being Days is available here.
We would like to warmly thank all our contributors and participants who have helped to make our first FestiWell such a colourful and inspiring event.
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