WEAll 2021 Round Up

This holiday season, the WEAll Amp team wants to thank our members and friends around the world for collaborating, experimenting and celebrating with us this year. Your work and your passion IS the Wellbeing Economy movement and it’s thanks to you that we’re more hopeful than ever about our chances of bringing a better economic system to life. 

Click here to download this roundup as a beautiful PDF.

Wellbeing Economy ideas gain momentum

Anyone else feel like you’re hearing the term “Wellbeing Economy” everywhere?
2021 saw the continued spread of Wellbeing Economy ideas, as WEAll members continue to champion the agenda and grow the movement. 

• The European Union has recognised the need to shift to a Wellbeing Economy and enshrined it in legislation
• The need for a Wellbeing Economy was debated in the UK Parliament – with many references to WEAll and our members! This follows a public petition which gained more than 70,000 signatures.
• The World Health Organisation has increased its interest in Wellbeing Economy ideas, setting up a New Economy Experts Group and Economy of Wellbeing Initiative (also being advised by brilliant WEAll members).
• Canada included a wellbeing/quality of life framework in their 2021 budget.
• The University of Glasgow recently hired Dr. Gerry McCartney as the world’s first Professor of Wellbeing Economy.

The WEAll family expands across the world

When it comes to growing the Wellbeing Economy movement, that’s the kind of growth we like.

This year, WEAll’s powerbases have expanded and deepened all over the world.

• There are now eight thriving WEAll hubs established and at least ten more in development. Our hubs have run successful events, secured funding and gained media attention in their countries.
• WEAll now has 274 organisational members – more than double the number we had this time last year. What’s more, there are now WEAll members on every continent.
• There are more than 3000 active members of the WEAll Citizens platform, and this year they’ve become more engaged in events and working groups.

Big moments for the WEAll Amp team

It’s been a huge year which is impossible to sum up in one sentence. To give you a feeling for the things our team is most proud of, each of us has shared one highlight.

• Rabia Abrar: “The Launch of the 2019 Happy Planet Index. A great tool to help people re-consider how we define the ‘success’ and ‘efficiency’ of our economy”
• Marina Gattas: “Truly honored to have joined the incredible WEAll community this year and so proud of the launch of the Brazil Hub in such polarized political times!”
• Ana Gomez: “The publication of the Policy Design Guide in Spanish. This means so much for the Spanish-speaking community and for WEAll.”
• Lisa Hough-Stewart: “Kicking off four pilot projects with WEAll hubs to implement the Policy Design Guide process. Truly bringing Wellbeing Economy ideas to life.” 
• Amanda Janoo: “The co-creation and launch of the Policy Design Guide. This has led to the creation of a global Policymakers Network bringing together changemakers in government committed to building a more just and sustainable economic system.” 
• Isabel Nuesse: “The many publications we put out this year from our membership. From the Policy Design Guide to Failure Demand to the Health and Environment paper – it shows such dedication from our membership and real evidence that a Wellbeing Economy is necessary.”
• Katherine Trebeck: “Presenting to the Director Generals of the European Commission at their annual retreat was a real moment! Also seeing more interest in the Wellbeing Economy amongst states in my home country of Australia.”
• Stewart Wallis: “Seeing the influence of our members’ work – including how the Health and Environment Policy Paper has directly influenced the WHO.”
• Michael Weatherhead: “Common Ground Fest. The biggest in-person awareness raising event we’ve done, and it worked! Also, the publication of our Failure Demand report – it got noticed and set us up to draw in more support to do the new system solutions.”

Rounding up the round up

There’s a sense that WEAll, and the Wellbeing Economy movement more broadly, has shifted up a gear in 2021. Wellbeing Economy ideas are in more demand than ever, and we’re also seeing more funders really start to recognise the value of our work.

WEAll has been through a strategic review process this year, which has helped clarify our next steps – and also the enduring value of our founding principles. At our heart, we are about connection and collaboration.

We’ve made it right to the end of our round-up without mentioning the pandemic – but of course this has been another challenging year for all of us and our communities. We feel deeply for the losses of loved ones that our WEAll community has suffered. It hasn’t always been easy for our small team either: we miss each other, we miss our members and although snippets of human connection have energised some of us this year, they’ve been too fleeting. We’re grateful for the technologies that allow us to connect and collaborate with members all over the world – and we also hope to see more of your faces in person in 2022.

WEAll publications in 2021

• WEAll Policy Design Guide in English and en Español
• Failure Demand: Counting the true costs of an unjust and unsustainable economic system
• Tapping into a Wellbeing Economy: Lessons from Scotland’s craft breweries about the importance of local production
• Brazil Build Back Better in English and in Portuguese
• Five Pathways Towards Health-Environment Policy in a Wellbeing Economy
• Water in a Wellbeing Economy 
• Stories for Life (in partnership with Spaceship Earth and Green Economy Coalition)
• Happy Planet Index (in partnership with Nic Marks and New Economics Foundation)
• Business and a Wellbeing Economy: Creating Thriving Businesses and a Thriving Scotland
• Being Bold: Building budgets for children’s wellbeing (by Dr Katherine Trebeck with Amy Baker)