Learning for Well-Being Europe

'Learning for Well-Being' is a joint initiative launched by a Consortium of European Foundations. Founded in 2009, as part of the European Foundation Centre (EFC), the Consortium brings together six foundations to share understanding and good practices under a common theme and to collaboratively take the vision forward.

learning for wellbeing

The GHFP is one of the founding members of the 'Learning for Well-Being' Consortium and has played an active role throughout. In 2009, our Research Fellow Dr Scherto Gill contributed two working papers to develop a conceptual framework of 'learning for well-being', drawing on the GHFP's work on human-centred education. These papers highlight that childhood and youth are important part of a person's life, not just preparation for adulthood, and special attention ought be given to children's needs and voice so that children and young people can play a part in promoting their well-being.

	The Consortium Partners are: Bertelsmann Stiftung Evens Foundation Freudenberg Stiftung Robert Bosch Stiftung Universal Education Foundation

	please also refer to the European Institute for Education and Social Policy project page on
	Learning for Wellbeing

In July 2009, the GHFP hosted and co-convened with the Consortium Secretariat a two-day workshop in Brighton, England. The purpose of the workshop was to investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to measuring children's well-being in a number of disciplines. The workshop concludes that it is crucial to understand children's well-being holistically in order to truly promote children's well-being in diverse environments. In November 2010, the GHFP hosted and sponsored a consultation meeting in Dar Moulay Boubkher in Marrakech, where worldwide well-being experts are invited to provide feedback and comments on the first draft of the 'Learning for Well-Being' policy document.

The Wellbeing Consortium's current initiative includes developing a policy document that intends to create a common conceptual framework, policy principles and shared discourse for promoting children's well-being in Europe. This work has led to a wide-ranged consultation amongst multiple stakeholders on the child's well-being and its relationship to education, learning, health and so forth.

	The policy document, in particular, emphasises the significant role that education and schooling plays in nurturing children's well-being, but also points out the need to take a broader view about a child's learning environment, which goes beyond the school and includes the family, local community, public spaces, online environment and more. This policy document will allow different policy arenas to work concertedly in proritising well-being in policy actions.
	The GHFP is co-sponsoring an expert meeting to discuss issues related to child well-being research and data development. This meeting, to be held in November 2011 in Paris, is co-organised by the OECD, the Learning for Well-being Consortium of Foundations in Europe, UNICEF, IRC and the European Commission.