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Aims and Principles
This network is interested in how we develop our understanding of ourselves and our relationships with others to promote mutual well being and healthier, more compassionate societies. This involves promoting relational values, focusing on emotional literacy and building resilience.
Wellbeing Australia is concerned with discovering what this means for different people, exploring ideas and sharing good practice. We hope that individuals, schools, organisations and communities will send information about what they are doing and what has helped them move forward. This will build a bank of knowledge, resources and ideas that will support and facilitate social capital across the region.
What we need for our children and the future of Australia
A sense of purpose and supportive relationships add most quality to our lives and promote resilience and well being.
Many of the issues facing Australia have their roots in poor relationships, unsupportive environments, the harmful expression or management of feelings, lack of empathic understanding and denial of agency leaving people feeling powerless.
These issues include bullying in schools and in the workplace, breakdown in relationships, family and community violence, depression and suicide, behavioural difficulties, addictions, child abuse, social injustice, racism, dishonesty at many levels, unethical or inhumane practices, policies which focus on economic efficiency rather than human value, isolation, a sense of hopelessness, lack of agency and even terrorism.
Many individuals and organizations are working with these varying difficulties but the underlying issues are similar. Wellbeing Australia aims to raise the importance of addressing emotional and social understanding and competencies and their ethical application - in schools, communities, organizations, families and government.
Wellbeing Australia promotes the following:
- optimal interactions between individuals, groups and systems
- personal and professional integrity
- a constructive, positive and solution focused approach
An emotionally literate person does not make an emotionally literate classroom / family / organisation / school / society – active steps need to be taken to construct this in:
- promoting mental health and resilience
- enhancing positive communication
- strengthening relationships
- fostering empathy and compassion
- addressing conflict
- exploring alternatives to violence
- encouraging problem solving that takes account of feelings
- ensuring everyone has a voice
- focusing on the positive and the possible
- building optimism and hope
- optimising academic attainment
- building supportive environments
We believe emotional and social literacy
- can be learnt and developed
- encompasses individual knowledge and skills, ethos, culture and communication
- is not a soft option but a challenge for everyone
It means working in the following ways:
- Collaborating to promote inclusive well being rather than a blame culture
- Encouraging reflective thinking and dialogue
- Pro-actively addressing underlying issues rather than reacting to and 'treating' symptoms of distress
- Seeing problematic behaviour as the outcome of unhelpful and/or damaging experiences rather than as a problem within the individual
- Focusing on the humanity we all share, respecting difference and valuing diversity
- Promoting discourses on the importance of:
- ‘negotiation’ rather than ‘winning’
- ‘being open to learning ‘ rather than ‘being right’
- ‘being thoughtful’ rather than ‘being tough’
- ‘self awareness’ rather than ‘self-seeking’
- ‘agency’ rather than ‘control‘’
- what is meaningful, not only what is measureable
- listening’ as central to good communication
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