ICHW2026 Speakers
This page is updated periodically as participation is confirmed and session details are finalized. Below is the current list of confirmed speakers for ICHW2026; additional speakers and topics will be added on a rolling basis as we continue finalizing the program.
Play and Flourish: Exploring the Potential of Tabletop Role-Playing Games for Enhancing Well-Being
This presentation examines how tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs)—such as Dungeons & Dragons—may support well-being beyond commonly reported benefits like confidence, empathy, creativity, and social connectedness. To capture well-being in a more holistic and multidimensional way, the study applies Seligman’s PERMA model (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment) as its guiding framework.
Using six semi-structured interviews with players aged 19–25 and reflexive thematic analysis, the findings identify multiple aspects of TTRPG play that align with PERMA and contribute to well-being, personal growth, and skill development. Participants also reported challenges, including stigma, a steep learning curve, and negative group dynamics. The presentation concludes by discussing how these insights can inform game-based interventions that leverage the benefits of TTRPGs while addressing barriers to ensure safe and effective implementation.
Using six semi-structured interviews with players aged 19–25 and reflexive thematic analysis, the findings identify multiple aspects of TTRPG play that align with PERMA and contribute to well-being, personal growth, and skill development. Participants also reported challenges, including stigma, a steep learning curve, and negative group dynamics. The presentation concludes by discussing how these insights can inform game-based interventions that leverage the benefits of TTRPGs while addressing barriers to ensure safe and effective implementation.
|
Nika Glavnik is a PhD candidate in Psychology at Robert Gordon University and holds a master’s degree in Applied Psychology. Her research examines how game-based interventions can support well-being through the lens of positive psychology. She is particularly interested in creative and accessible approaches that promote flourishing and personal growth.
|
Minimalism in the Digital Age: Exploring the Connection Between Intentional Reduction of Media Consumption and Well-Being
The digitalization of daily life has led to information overload and related mental health issues such as sleep disorders and depression. Practices such as digital minimalism and digital detox promote more intentional media consumption to support mental well-being. This study examines the triggers and well-being outcomes of digital minimalism, using qualitative interviews in Germany with 20 self-identified minimalists and 10 digital detox participants. Key triggers included stress, restlessness, social media dissatisfaction, concentration problems, FOMO, and privacy concerns. Reducing digital media use resulted in greater self-control, presence, mindful time use, and improved personal interactions. Analog activities such as reading, nature, and face-to-face conversations were found particularly restorative. Overall, less digital input was linked to improved well-being and life satisfaction.
|
Dr. Adrienne Steffen is a Professor of Business Administration at the International University of Applied Science (IU) in Germany. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in International Management, including study periods at the University of Michigan and ESC Rennes, and went on to earn her PhD in Marketing from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. Before joining academia, Dr. Steffen held roles in marketing and business development. She has published books and articles on customer experience management, sustainable consumption and minimalism.
|
Happiness in the Workplace, the ROI and Influence on a Business
This session examines the relationship between employee happiness and organisational performance in today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment. It argues that workplace happiness is not a “nice-to-have,” but a strategic driver of engagement, creativity, motivation, and team effectiveness—all of which influence productivity and long-term sustainability.
The presentation will explore what “happiness at work” entails, how organisations can intentionally foster it through culture, leadership, and everyday practices, and why prioritising employee well-being delivers a measurable return on investment (ROI). Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how happiness translates into stronger performance outcomes, higher retention, and improved bottom-line results.
The presentation will explore what “happiness at work” entails, how organisations can intentionally foster it through culture, leadership, and everyday practices, and why prioritising employee well-being delivers a measurable return on investment (ROI). Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how happiness translates into stronger performance outcomes, higher retention, and improved bottom-line results.
|
Shaun Pearce is a prominent business and community leader based in Darwin, Australia, He is widely recognised for his work in the not-for-profit sector and his extensive advocacy for Aboriginal economic development and community services.
Since June 2015, he has led Ironbark, as CEO, through significant growth, expanding its workforce from 35 to over 130 employees and launching several commercial enterprises He operates Executive Attitudes, a consultancy that provides leadership coaching and mentoring for senior leaders of businesses and associations Recently Shaun won the Corporate Leader of the Year award in the NT News Territory Leader of the Year (2025) awards and has been named a national top 10 finalist in The CEO Magazine, AUS/NZ, Executive of the Year Awards for three consecutive years. He is deeply involved in local social initiatives, including The Man Walk Darwin and Just One Reason Limited, focusing on mental health advocacy and suicide prevention. |
A Mechanism-Based Framework for Contemplative Leadership and Emotional Well-Being
This study presents a mechanism-based framework for integrating mindfulness and loving-kindness practices to enhance leaders’ emotional well-being in contemporary organizational contexts. Drawing on Buddhist contemplative principles and interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology and neuroscience, the framework explicates the underlying pathways through which ethical sensitivity, and compassion cultivation jointly influence emotional awareness, self-regulation, and relational functioning.
|
Assist. Prof. Dr. Narumon Jiwattanasuk is a distinguished scholar and Buddhist practitioner currently serving as the Director of the MA and an Instructor for the Ph.D. program in Innovative Mindfulness and Peace Studies at the International Buddhist Studies College, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University. Her multidisciplinary expertise bridges finance and IT with Buddhist peace studies, supported by an M.B.A. from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Peace Studies.
A prolific researcher, she has authored numerous articles and books exploring mindfulness-based practices, emotional well-being, and sustainable development goals. Her academic excellence has been recognized through several prestigious honors, including the Outstanding Researcher Award and the Outstanding Dissertation Award. Beyond academia, she has served as a senior analyst for Ford Motor Company. Her work focuses on integrating Buddhist peaceful means into modern leadership and multicultural communication. |
Fostering Happier Connections: Exploring the Impact of Mindfulness Training on Interpersonal Communication and Relational Well-Being
Human happiness and well-being are deeply influenced by the quality of social connections, yet the role of mindfulness interventions such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Life (MBCT-L) in enhancing interpersonal domains remains underexplored. While MBCT-L is widely recognized for reducing stress and fostering self-compassion, its cultivation of present-moment awareness and non-judgmental observation may also provide essential skills for more mindful communication. This qualitative phenomenological study examined how MBCT-L shapes interpersonal communication and relational well-being among 18 adults aged 28 to 73 who completed an 8-week program. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed inductively using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: listening with presence, which enabled deeper empathetic engagement; shifting from automatic reaction to intentional response, reducing impulsivity in dialogue; navigating conflict with awareness, fostering more harmonious interactions; changes across relational contexts, highlighting the transferability of skills to diverse relationships; and embodied awareness in communication, grounding participants in authenticity and connection. Collectively, these findings suggest that MBCT-L extends beyond intrapersonal benefits to actively strengthen social bonds and relational well-being. Practitioners and educators should integrate communication-focused exercises into mindfulness curricula, while clinicians may adapt MBCT-L for relational therapy contexts. Future research should explore long-term impacts on community connectedness and collective flourishing.
|
Santhidran Sinnappan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. He earned his PhD in Human, Technology, and Industrial Development from the University of Malaya, where his interdisciplinary training shaped his expertise in communication, psychology, and technology studies. In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious British Academy-Newton Advanced Fellowship, recognizing his contributions to advancing global research collaborations. His international academic engagements include serving as a visiting scholar at the University of Leicester, UK (2017), the University of Trento, Italy (2018), and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, USA (2022). Santhidran’s current research focuses on behavioural sciences, media effects, internet psychology, financial cybercrime, and mindfulness, reflecting his commitment to bridging scholarly inquiry with pressing societal challenges. His work integrates rigorous academic standards with innovative approaches to understanding human behaviour in digital and social contexts.
|
From Workplace Culture to Community Care: A Relational Approach to Wellbeing
This presentation introduces the work of The Higher Ground Project, a social impact initiative focused on strengthening wellbeing and connection through relational practice in organizations and communities.
Drawing from the Project’s use of generous listening within organizational culture and its extension into Community Circles, the talk highlights how structured listening and relational practices are used to humanize workplaces, strengthen connection, and build relational capacity.
Through practices that emphasize self-awareness, storytelling, and collective reflection, The Higher Ground Project offers a relational approach to wellbeing that bridges personal growth with community wellness. This session invites participants to consider how listening and relational skill-building can serve as foundational elements of wellbeing at work, in community, and in everyday life.
Drawing from the Project’s use of generous listening within organizational culture and its extension into Community Circles, the talk highlights how structured listening and relational practices are used to humanize workplaces, strengthen connection, and build relational capacity.
Through practices that emphasize self-awareness, storytelling, and collective reflection, The Higher Ground Project offers a relational approach to wellbeing that bridges personal growth with community wellness. This session invites participants to consider how listening and relational skill-building can serve as foundational elements of wellbeing at work, in community, and in everyday life.
|
Dr. Crystal Clarke is a social psychologist and organizational change strategist who works at the intersection of systems transformation, relational intelligence, and community well-being. She is the founder of The Higher Ground Project, where she supports organizations in transforming systems and culture and designs and facilitates reflective community practices that strengthen relational skills, self-awareness, and collective well-being. Dr. Clarke’s work bridges personal growth and social impact, helping organizations, communities, and individuals cultivate deeper connection
|
A New Understanding of the “What”, the “Why”, and the “How” of Happiness
This session includes an interactive self-assessment exercise in which participants will reflect on their current level of happiness, the level they believe they ought to have, and the level they feel they can achieve. Through this activity, each participant will learn how to measure and interpret their Personal Happiness Index (PHI), providing a practical baseline for personal and professional wellbeing development.
|
Alphonsus Obayuwana, M.D., Ph.D., is a semi-retired physician-scientist and a contributor to Psychology Today. He is currently the CEO of Triple-H Project, LLC—an entity that trains and certifies happiness coaches. He has served on the teaching faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, and the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is the author of three books on Hope & Happiness and several peer-reviewed articles on the same subject in national and international medical journals. He is the author of The Edo Questionnaire- a twelve-item self-assessment tool that has finally made it possible, for the first time, to correctly identify who is happy, unhappy, very happy, very unhappy, languishing, or flourishing in any given cohort. His latest book, entitled The Happiness Formula: A Scientific, Groundbreaking Approach to Happiness and Personal Fulfillment, was named one of the Five Must-Read Books of 2024 by Forbes. He is also a retired major in the US Air Force (Reserve). Has been married to his wife Ann for 48 years—with two sons and three granddaughters.
|
Designing for Happiness: The Invisible Influence of Our Living Spaces
Modern life places great emphasis on improving happiness and well-being through mindset, lifestyle, and personal habits. However, one important factor is often overlooked: the spaces we live and work in. Many people have experienced entering a building that looks beautiful, yet feels uncomfortable or unsettling, without being able to explain why. This presentation explores how the built environment silently influences our nervous system, health, and overall sense of well-being.
Drawing from the principles of Vastu Architecture—an ancient science of building rooted in harmony between human beings, nature, and the Earth’s subtle forces—this talk explains how orientation, layout, shape, and environmental factors affect our physical, mental, and emotional state. Vastu is not about decoration or belief, but about alignment with natural solar, magnetic, and spatial forces that support life.
Through historical examples, modern observations, and practical insights, the presentation shows how misaligned spaces can create subtle stress, and how well-aligned environments can promote calm, clarity, productivity, and resilience. Special attention is given to practical applications, especially for people who cannot design their homes from the beginning and must instead make conscious choices within existing spaces.
This talk invites participants to reconsider happiness not only as an inner process, but also as a relationship between the human being and the space they inhabit.
Drawing from the principles of Vastu Architecture—an ancient science of building rooted in harmony between human beings, nature, and the Earth’s subtle forces—this talk explains how orientation, layout, shape, and environmental factors affect our physical, mental, and emotional state. Vastu is not about decoration or belief, but about alignment with natural solar, magnetic, and spatial forces that support life.
Through historical examples, modern observations, and practical insights, the presentation shows how misaligned spaces can create subtle stress, and how well-aligned environments can promote calm, clarity, productivity, and resilience. Special attention is given to practical applications, especially for people who cannot design their homes from the beginning and must instead make conscious choices within existing spaces.
This talk invites participants to reconsider happiness not only as an inner process, but also as a relationship between the human being and the space they inhabit.
|
Tijana Radic is a licensed architect and well-being expert specializing in conscious design and Vedic architecture (Vastu). She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Novi Sad and has extensive professional experience in architectural design, urban planning, and residential development across Europe and Central America.
Alongside her architectural career, Tijana has over 20 years of experience in meditation, Hatha yoga, and holistic stress management through advanced breathwork practices. She is a certified instructor with The Art of Living Foundation and has conducted more than 100 workshops internationally, including programs for the general public and academic institutions such as Purdue University, USA. Since 2019, she has led her own practice, integrating architectural design, Vastu consultancy, and education to create spaces that reduce stress and support human well-being. Her work bridges ancient building sciences, sustainability, and modern neuroscience-informed approaches to happiness and resilience. |
The Alchemy of Presence
This session draws on themes from the book RX for Resilience, reflecting on a deeply challenging and heartbreaking experience and how it became a catalyst for personal transformation. It explores how practicing openness to difficult emotions—paired with deep acceptance—can shift one’s relationship to adversity and support resilience. The session concludes by highlighting the outcomes of this process, including greater access to freedom, joy, and more wholehearted living.
|
Dr Saroj Dubey is an author, a motivational and TEDx speaker, as well as a medical doctor - a practising senior consultant gastroenterologist in Delhi NCR. Apart from his medical practice he is deeply passionate and curious about exploring life and helping others to lead a richer, more meaningful life. He takes classes where he helps people to step out from their mind identification and thoughts and become more engaged with the present moment and say yes to it in whatever form it arrives. He guides people to become more mindful and present, which in turn fosters greater joy, creativity and helps in living a more fulfilled abundant life. Dr Saroj delves into his personal experience which he has discussed in the book Rx for Resilience with great honesty and detail. He is a motivational speaker, where he motivates people to merge the dance of doing with the stillness of being. He gave a Tex talk in Pune on “The Art of Doing and Being
|
Designing Mindfulness for Learner Resilience in Entrepreneurship Education: A Three-Year Pilot Attentive to Learner Engagement
This presentation reports on a three-year pilot in entrepreneurship education at a Japanese national university, exploring how course design can support learner resilience under sustained uncertainty. Mindfulness was integrated into an entrepreneurship course as a contextually relevant element aligned with course objectives, rather than as a standalone intervention.
The design combined instructor self-disclosure related to resilience, neuroscience-informed explanations of stress and neuroplasticity, and structured yoga-based practices. Student reflections and interviews suggest some learners developed greater internal-state awareness and clearer thinking, and all final project teams independently incorporated similar practices into their own program designs—indicating uptake and transfer. The presentation concludes that personally relevant, well-integrated reflective practices can support resilience-oriented learning in uncertain real-world contexts.
The design combined instructor self-disclosure related to resilience, neuroscience-informed explanations of stress and neuroplasticity, and structured yoga-based practices. Student reflections and interviews suggest some learners developed greater internal-state awareness and clearer thinking, and all final project teams independently incorporated similar practices into their own program designs—indicating uptake and transfer. The presentation concludes that personally relevant, well-integrated reflective practices can support resilience-oriented learning in uncertain real-world contexts.
|
Hiroyuki Tonoi is an Associate Professor at Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan, working at the intersection of entrepreneurship education and academia–industry collaboration. He is actively involved in university-based startup support, bridging educational practice and real-world entrepreneurial activity.
Before entering academia, he worked as a Certified Public Accountant, contributing to M&A and IPO-related projects. This experience in high-stakes decision-making under uncertainty informs his current interest in how learners and practitioners make judgments and sustain agency. His recent work focuses on educational design for learning under uncertainty, including resilience-oriented approaches that help learners notice and recalibrate internal states through learning processes. He is interested in exploring how such designs can be further developed and refined through engagement with diverse cultural, institutional, and educational contexts. |
Food as Medicine: The Metabolic Blueprint for a Happier Life
Nourishing the body is one of the most powerful ways to enhance happiness and well-being. This session will explore The Davina Liisa Method’s Metabolic Balance Nutrition Program, a science-based approach to using food as medicine. We’ll discuss the profound connection between gut health, mood, and energy levels, providing actionable steps for optimizing nutrition to support emotional well-being.
|
Davina Liisa Pickering is the founder of The Davina Liisa Method, launched the past 5 years ago, takes a holistic & science-based wellness approach integrating Five Element Acupuncture, accredited in Bangkok, TCM with a Chinese surgeon in England, Accountability coaching ICF recognized, and German-based Metabolic Balance nutritional guidance, & supports on a cellular health level with ASEA. With a 360-degree focus on root causes, Davina’s work addresses emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and sexual well-being, empowering clients to achieve profound, lasting balance. & just recently launched the very first Davina Liisa Method Wellness Community Space & Academy by an oasis by the river.
|
Return as Medicine: Cultural Memory, Narrative Identity, and the Future of Global Health Equity
Cultural memory—ancestral, narrative, ritual, culinary, and intergenerational—plays a critical yet understudied role in women’s cognitive and emotional wellbeing. Return Theory is a global health framework that positions cultural memory as health infrastructure capable of strengthening identity coherence, emotional regulation, and resilience. This paper introduces the theoretical foundations of Return Theory, outlines its five modalities, and presents prototype case examples illustrating how cultural memory can be operationalized through the Cultural Memory Intervention Toolkit (CMIT). Using a design-based research approach, the paper integrates credible population level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and other public health sources to contextualize the urgency of women’s cognitive health disparities. While empirical testing of CMIT is forthcoming, the prototypes presented here offer a conceptual and methodological foundation for future implementation and evaluation. Return Theory contributes a culturally rooted, community centered model for global women’s health and proposes cultural memory as a vital determinant of wellbeing.
|
Chukwunonso Nwanze is a population health and quality specialist working in the public sector in Ohio, where she focuses on eliminating health disparities and improving the quality and equity of health outcomes across diverse communities. Her professional practice; rooted in data driven quality improvement, behavioral health equity, and systems level transformation, directly informs her work as an independent global health equity researcher.
Her research explores how cultural memory—ancestral, narrative, ritual, culinary, and intergenerational—functions as a determinant of cognitive health, emotional wellbeing, and community connection across the African diaspora. She is the architect of Return Theory, a framework that positions cultural memory as a form of health infrastructure and a pathway to resilience. Her binational work in Ohio and Nigeria integrates qualitative inquiry, participatory design, and population level insights to develop culturally grounded interventions that strengthen identity coherence and intergenerational wellbeing. Chukwunonso is an active member of the National Alliance on Ending Health Disparities (NAEHD), where she contributes to national conversations on equity, community centered research, and the future of public health practice. Her scholarship and public sector leadership reflect a shared mission: building systems, tools, and narratives that restore belonging, advance equity, and improve health outcomes for marginalized communities globally. |
Beyond the Smile: Choosing Yourself as an Embodied Pathway to Well-Being
This presentation explores how wellbeing emerges when individuals reclaim their capacity to choose themselves—especially after long periods of adaptation, self-abandonment, or survival-based living. Drawing from lived experience and years of facilitation work with women in institutional and transitional settings, this talk introduces Choosing Yourself as an embodied framework for restoring agency, dignity, and inner freedom.
Rather than focusing on pathology or fixing what is “wrong,” the approach centers on self-recognition, responsibility, and conscious choice as foundations for emotional wellbeing. Through personal narrative, real-world examples, and reflective inquiry, participants are invited to examine how unconscious patterns of over-giving, endurance, or loyalty at the expense of self can quietly erode happiness over time.
The presentation reframes wellbeing not as the absence of difficulty, but as the presence of self-trust, clarity, and internal alignment. Attendees will leave with insight into how choosing oneself strengthens resilience, improves relational integrity, and supports a more meaningful and authentic life.
Rather than focusing on pathology or fixing what is “wrong,” the approach centers on self-recognition, responsibility, and conscious choice as foundations for emotional wellbeing. Through personal narrative, real-world examples, and reflective inquiry, participants are invited to examine how unconscious patterns of over-giving, endurance, or loyalty at the expense of self can quietly erode happiness over time.
The presentation reframes wellbeing not as the absence of difficulty, but as the presence of self-trust, clarity, and internal alignment. Attendees will leave with insight into how choosing oneself strengthens resilience, improves relational integrity, and supports a more meaningful and authentic life.
|
Laura Pavlou is an independent practitioner, program developer, and facilitator whose work focuses on well-being as an embodied, lived experience rather than a performative state. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness & Integrated Social Health (WWISH) and the creator of the Choosing Yourself framework, shaped through more than nine years of community-based work with women in prison and over six decades of personal development.
Laura’s approach bridges psychology, spirituality, and nervous-system awareness, emphasizing self-trust, agency, and presence as foundations for sustainable well-being. Rather than promoting happiness as constant positivity, her work explores what supports inner stability, meaning, and wholeness through change, loss, and relational challenge. Today, Laura shares this perspective through talks, workshops, and reflective experiences that invite people to move beyond surface happiness and into deeper alignment with themselves. |
The Trainable Trio: Self-Awareness, Compassion, and Resilience
In education and leadership spaces, we often talk about self-awareness, compassion, and resilience as traits we either have or don’t. This presentation challenges the assumption that they are fixed qualities. They are, in fact, skills, and like any skill, they can be trained, strengthened, and cultivated.
This session introduces The Trainable Trio within the Mindful Sparks approach, a practical framework that supports the growth of these skills in real, everyday contexts. By noticing and naming, you will learn to understand how self-awareness helps us recognise what’s happening within us, how compassion shapes how we relate to ourselves and others, and how resilience allows us to move through challenges without becoming overwhelmed.
The session will model how intentional mindful moments can shift automatic reactions into intentional choices, and you will leave with a clearer understanding of how the Trainable Trio work together, and how simple, meaningful practices can support your wellbeing. It is not about adding more to already full lives, but about working differently with what’s already there.
This session introduces The Trainable Trio within the Mindful Sparks approach, a practical framework that supports the growth of these skills in real, everyday contexts. By noticing and naming, you will learn to understand how self-awareness helps us recognise what’s happening within us, how compassion shapes how we relate to ourselves and others, and how resilience allows us to move through challenges without becoming overwhelmed.
The session will model how intentional mindful moments can shift automatic reactions into intentional choices, and you will leave with a clearer understanding of how the Trainable Trio work together, and how simple, meaningful practices can support your wellbeing. It is not about adding more to already full lives, but about working differently with what’s already there.
|
Stephanie Lill is an educator and the founder of Mindful Sparks. Originally from the UK, she has built an international career in education, working across Italy, England, China, Nepal, and Thailand, and has lived in Asia since 2007.
With over 20 years of experience, Stephanie has worked as a homeroom teacher, teacher trainer, and curriculum designer, alongside leadership roles in pastoral care and safeguarding (DSL). She has taught across Montessori, IB PYP, UK, and US curricula and continues to teach part-time, ensuring her work remains closely connected to the realities of classroom life. Stephanie is currently a PhD candidate in Sustainable Leadership, researching how mindfulness can empower educators, strengthen compassionate learning communities, and drive meaningful, sustainable change in education. Through Mindful Sparks, she partners with educators and schools to co-create thoughtful, practical approaches to well-being that support teachers, students, and the wieder school communities. |
Rebuilding the Inner Compass: How Martial Arts Shape Meaning, Identity, and Sustainable Intensity
Many high-functioning adults experience a loss of direction, meaning, and inner stability despite maintaining external competence. This presentation approaches this condition as a disruption of internal orientation rather than a lack of motivation or cognitive insight. It introduces martial arts– inspired practice as a way to rebuild internal orientation by restoring an embodied sense of direction —an inner compass that guides action, attention, and purpose. Drawing on qualitative research in traditional martial arts, therapeutic applications of embodied practice, and long-term teaching experience, the session presents martial arts not as combat systems, but as structured environments that reconnect bodily action with intention. Martial arts–inspired practices are presented as a way to restore an internal compass by integrating movement, attention, and purposeful engagement, allowing identity and meaning to be experienced through the body rather than processed primarily through cognition. Particular attention is given to the regulation of intensity—learning when to engage strength and when to release it—as a central skill for psychological well-being and sustainable functioning. The presentation argues that this embodied capacity supports resilience, identity development, and mental balance, especially during periods of stress or transition. Overall, the session offers a perspective on well-being that emphasizes embodied orientation as a foundation for meaning, identity, and sustainable vitality in modern adult life.
|
Veronika Partiková, PhD is an independent scholar, martial arts practitioner, and coach with over a decade of experience living and training in Asia. She earned her PhD in psychology from Baptist University, where her research focused on psychological collectivism, identity, pedagogy, and embodied learning within traditional martial arts. Her academic work combines qualitative methods, including interpretative phenomenological analysis, with long-term ethnographic engagement in Chinese martial arts communities.
Alongside her academic background, she is a professional MMA fighter and has spent more than twenty years training across traditional and modern combat systems. Her current work explores how martial arts function as pedagogical systems for cultivating resilience, attention, emotional regulation, and social belonging. She is particularly interested in translating martial arts knowledge into accessible frameworks for well-being, without detaching it from its cultural, ethical, and embodied foundations. |
Enjoy and Let Go: Two Easy Mantras to Happiness and Wellbeing
This talk explores how two simple mantras—enjoy and let go—can quietly transform the way we live, work, and relate to ourselves and others. In a fast-paced world filled with pressure and expectations, these practices offer a grounded path back to presence, balance, and inner wellbeing.
Through reflections drawn from real life, the session invites participants to rediscover joy in the moment and release what weighs them down—creating space for clarity, resilience, and a more sustainable sense of happiness.
Through reflections drawn from real life, the session invites participants to rediscover joy in the moment and release what weighs them down—creating space for clarity, resilience, and a more sustainable sense of happiness.
|
Worakamol Meepiarn (Ying) describes herself as a lifelong “work in progress,” shaped by a wide range of adventures and challenges that have strengthened her resilience and character. With an eclectic academic background spanning English, dramatic arts, and international political economy, she has pursued equally diverse professional roles—including lecturer, dean, director, translator, researcher, masseuse, coach, waitress, chef, flight attendant, and cleaner.
An entrepreneur since the age of 16, she now leads a Bangkok-based communication agency, Neighbour Media, guided by the mission to “Tell Good Things to Make this World a Better Place” and a broader purpose of improving both her community and the world around her. She is also engaged in an ongoing spiritual journey and views her personal and inner development as an evolving path. |
The 6 Principles of Happiness: A Community Intervention
In an era where community well-being is increasingly challenged by isolation and stress, "The 6 Principles of Happiness: A Community Intervention" offers a transformative workshop designed to empower participants with evidence-based strategies for cultivating lasting joy. This presentation explores how targeted interventions can enhance individual and collective happiness. The purpose of this intervention is to equip community members with practical tools to integrate these principles into daily life, ultimately fostering resilient, happier communities.
|
Dr. Bryce Jorgensen is an Associate Professor and Family Resource Management Specialist in the department of Extension Family and Consumer Sciences at New Mexico State University. As a consultant, life coach, author and speaker, Dr. Jorgensen focuses on achieving individual and relational happiness and well-being as well as financial wellness through his programs. Dr. Jorgensen is widely published in a variety of journals and has been highlighted in numerous news outlets and magazines. He has received numerous teaching and professional awards. Bryce lives in southern New Mexico with his wife and five children. He serves as a volunteer in the community and is active with a local youth group. He enjoys traveling, riding motorcycles, scuba diving and learning more about flourishing and happiness.
|
Integrating Socio-Emotional Learning in Service-Learning Projects: The Experience of Myanmar Students
The presentation is anchored on the five core Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies — self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Research has shown that the development of these competencies fosters positive social behaviors, improved academic outcomes, and healthier interpersonal relationships. This presentation will share the experience of students from the Myanmar Institute of Theology who engaged in Service-Learning projects as part of the interdisciplinary course, “Self, Society and Service: Collaborative Community-Based Research and Service”. Within this course, the students designed and implemented Service-Learning projects that responded to identified needs. The project for internally displaced children provided (a) vocational training programs, (b) interpersonal development training, and (c) trauma healing sessions using art and storytelling for socio-emotional wellbeing. The second project delivered a holistic well-being initiative for the recovery of individuals in drug rehabilitation centers.
|
Dr. Voltaire Mistades is an Associate Professor at the Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC College of Education, De La Salle University. His research interests include physics education, values education, educational technology, and teaching and learning in higher education. He currently serves as Director of the university’s scholarship program, which provides financial support for science and mathematics teachers pursuing graduate studies.
|
|
Naw Mar Moora is a passionate educator dedicated to nurturing young leaders. She serves as a Senior Faculty Member and Research Advisor in the Liberal Arts Program and previously worked as Dean of Students at the Myanmar Institute of Theology. With more than 18 years of experience in education—supported by both national and international exposure—she is committed to advancing whole-person education values and practices for students, fellow faculty members, and communities across Myanmar.
|
Crafting for Happiness & Wellbeing (Using Crafts to Build and Sustain Wellbeing in Adults)
This presentation examines craft-based activities through an interdisciplinary wellbeing science lens. While crafts like soap and candle making, resin pouring are often framed as leisure, evidence from positive psychology, arts-in-health, and occupational science demonstrates their relevance for adult wellbeing, happiness, and psychosocial functioning.
|
Rick Jensen is the Director of Resilience and Wellbeing (RWB). He provides crafting and wellbeing workshops through this small business to help build individuals resilience, happiness and wellbeing. He is passionate about trying to create connected, supportive environments where individuals feel valued and empowered.
|
Trends and Gender Differences in Students' Subjective Well-being (SWB): An International Comparative Analysis
This research verifies the main factors determining the well-being of 15 and 16-year-old students, drawing on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 and 2022, the analysis covers five countries, The United Arab Emirates, Spain, Hong Kong (China), Mexico, and Panama, selected due to the availability of comparable well-being indicators across both assessment cycles. Students’ life satisfaction is employed as the core indicator of well-being and analyzed through Ordered Logit models, complemented by Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition to examine gender disparities and their underlying mechanisms. The results indicate that school-related factors, particularly bullying, sense of belonging, and school location, play a central role in shaping adolescents’ life satisfaction. Family support and socioeconomic resources are also positively associated with well-being, while mental health variables, especially anxiety and body image, emerge as increasingly influential over time. Furthermore, the analysis identifies persistent gender gaps in life satisfaction, with girls systematically reporting lower levels of well-being than boys. The study reveals that these gaps are predominantly driven by factors beyond observable characteristics that remain unexplained. These findings underscore the complex interplay of school climate, family environment, and individual mental health in shaping adolescent well-being, highlighting the need for targeted, gender-sensitive educational policies.
|
Dr. Juliane Borchers is an economist with a PhD in Applied Economics. With six years of experience in the field of social economy, she has contributed to research development with diverse teams and continuously strengthened her methodological expertise. Her work includes statistical analysis of large-scale databases using software such as Stata and R.
Her research is motivated by the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on reducing inequalities, education, well-being, poverty, and social public policies. |
Precious Pain: Turning Life’s Wounds into Wisdom
What if your pain was not a weakness, but a wisdom-keeper? A messenger carrying secrets to your deepest healing and freedom? For too long, we've been conditioned to push pain away, to suppress its whispers, and to deny its presence.
But what if, instead, we chose to listen? To honor pain's presence, and to explore its hidden teachings? By doing so, we may just discover that pain is not an enemy, but a catalyst for growth, transformation, and self-discovery.
In this journey, we'll explore the transformative power of pain, and how it can be a doorway to emotional liberation. We'll examine the ways in which our relationship with pain shapes our experience, and we'll uncover practical tools for embracing pain as a guide on our path to wholeness. Join me on this journey, and discover the wisdom that lies within your pain.
But what if, instead, we chose to listen? To honor pain's presence, and to explore its hidden teachings? By doing so, we may just discover that pain is not an enemy, but a catalyst for growth, transformation, and self-discovery.
In this journey, we'll explore the transformative power of pain, and how it can be a doorway to emotional liberation. We'll examine the ways in which our relationship with pain shapes our experience, and we'll uncover practical tools for embracing pain as a guide on our path to wholeness. Join me on this journey, and discover the wisdom that lies within your pain.
|
Preet is a holistic therapist and gifted channeler, renowned for her profound wisdom on life's intricacies. With a unique ability to peel back the layers of reality, Preet guides individuals through a transformative journey of self-discovery. Her insightful approach reveals the interconnectedness of all things, illuminating the path to inner harmony and balance. Through her work, Preet empowers others to awaken to their full potential, nurturing a deeper understanding of the world and our place within it.
|
The power of Letting go: A Positive Approach to Personal Well-being
This research examines the psychological significance of “letting go” and its contribution to overall well-being. In contemporary life, many individuals carry emotional burdens—stress, guilt, rumination, and attachment to past experiences—that can undermine mental health and life satisfaction.
The study conceptualizes letting go as a cognitive–emotional process grounded in positive psychology, with particular relevance to acceptance, mindfulness, and emotion regulation. Drawing on a focused literature review and empirical observations, the paper explores how releasing unhelpful thought patterns can strengthen resilience, psychological flexibility, and emotional equilibrium.
Findings suggest that letting go not only reduces psychological distress but also supports self-compassion, optimism, and a deeper sense of inner peace. The study concludes that cultivating the practice of letting go may serve as a practical, evidence-informed strategy for promoting holistic well-being.
The study conceptualizes letting go as a cognitive–emotional process grounded in positive psychology, with particular relevance to acceptance, mindfulness, and emotion regulation. Drawing on a focused literature review and empirical observations, the paper explores how releasing unhelpful thought patterns can strengthen resilience, psychological flexibility, and emotional equilibrium.
Findings suggest that letting go not only reduces psychological distress but also supports self-compassion, optimism, and a deeper sense of inner peace. The study concludes that cultivating the practice of letting go may serve as a practical, evidence-informed strategy for promoting holistic well-being.
|
Dr. Rizwana Parvez has been a Professor of Psychology for the past 22 years. She earned her M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Her research focuses on health psychology, and she currently supervises two students conducting research in psychology.
|
