Human-oriented growth and well-being. Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία [eu̯dai̯mo’níaː]), sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia /juːdᵻˈmoʊniə/, is a Greek word commonly translated as happiness or welfare; however, “human flourishing” has been proposed as a more accurate translation. Etymologically, it consists of the words “eu” (“good”) and “daimōn” (“spirit”). It is a central concept in Aristotelian ethics and political philosophy, along with the terms “aretē”, most often translated as “virtue” or “excellence”, and “phronesis”, often translated as “practical or ethical wisdom”.[2] In Aristotle’s works, eudaimonia was (based on older Greek tradition) used as the term for the highest human good, and so it is the aim of practical philosophy, including ethics and political philosophy, to consider (and also experience) what it really is, and how it can be achieved.
Global Humanity for Peace Institute, is delighted to have accepted applications for the 2025 Young Changemakers Programme (YCP), a unique international opportunity for young people aged 19–27 to develop their potential as changemakers.
2025 marked the Catholic Jubilee. Inviting us to embrace forgiveness, share hope, and aspire towards renewal. In this spirit, 2025 Young Changemakers Programme (YCP) was held in Rome, offering young participants an inspiring and transformative learning journey. Through a circular itinerary that wove together encounter, experience, inquiry, and action, the YCP sought to foster participants’ self-awareness, mutual appreciation, and a deeper understanding of both local and global challenges.
Building on the innovative pedagogies of the Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes , University of Meaning , and Global Humanity for Peace Institute at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David , the YCP makes learning relevant to participants’ personal and professional development, as well as youth needs in contributing to social transformation.
The GHfP Institute is a research partner for The Ethics Education Fellowship programme (EEF). EEF seeks to strengthen the sustainable delivery of ethics education programs for children in formal education settings to advance global citizenship and build more peaceful and inclusive societies. Teachers who took part in our program report stronger competencies and an improved ability to build inclusive, respectful, and engaging classrooms, leading to better learning outcomes and students’ engagement.
On Tuesday, 11 November 2025, policymakers, teacher educators, and partners came together in an international webinar: Transforming Education: National Examples to Promote and Integrate Ethics Education – Successes, Challenges and Opportunities.
This year, the GHfP Institute was once again a contributor to the annual Well-Being Economy Forum held in Reykjavik, Iceland. Prof Scherto Gill joined the Rector of Icelandic University and former educational minister of Italy in an important panel to explore how higher education might nurture well-being. The specific focus of the session was to identify ways that universities might break silos in co-creating masters programmes dedicated to well-being studies.
Based on insights from the GHfP Institute’s experiences coordinating UNESCO Healing-Justice-Well-Being initiative, Prof Scherto Gill outlined three key points as references when developing Masters programmes in well-being: (1) a holistic conception of well-being to ensure clarification amongst components of well-being, conditions for well-being’s arising, and pathways to well-being; (2) well-being as an organising principle of the course as well as students’ experiences; (3) well-being as the course’s contents as well as the focus of students’ inquiry.
The GHfP’s MA in Peace Studies was used to showcase how well-being programmes can be interdisciplinary, engaging students as co-creators of programme contents, and orienting students’ research towards community’s well-being and nature’s thriving.
The year 2024 was a paradoxical one. As global conflicts deepened and social inequalities widened, efforts towards positive peace, well-being, and collective healing gained momentum. The Global Humanity for Peace (GHfP) Institute has been at the forefront of these efforts, fostering transformative research, facilitating intergenerational dialogue, and nurturing changemakers committed to reimagining more just and harmonious societies.
At the core of our work is a commitment to positive peace—a concept that extends beyond the absence of conflict to embrace social justice, intergenerational healing, and ecological integrity. Through research, symposia, and policy advocacy, we have sought to bridge divides, empower communities, and reframe governance structures toward values of dignity, dialogue, and care.
1. Advancing Research on Positive Peace
One of our key research areas in 2024 focused on the Pacific’s vision of an Ocean of Peace. Working alongside colleagues from leading UK universities, we explored how peace studies can support indigenous-led efforts to nurture peace as an ethos woven into governance and daily life. This research offers critical insights for regions beyond the Pacific—where tensions and ecological crises demand fresh approaches to peacebuilding.
Our commitment to positive peace also led us to facilitate high-level discussions, such as the International Symposium on Peace in the Middle East, which we co-convened in London, and a panel on the same topic that we presented during the annual Imagine Peace Forum in Iceland. Amidst the backdrop of escalating conflict, these platforms provided rare and necessary spaces for dialogue, exploring how relational peace processes can overcome entrenched divisions.
2. Healing the Harms of Inhumanity
For over three years, the GHfP Institute has played a pivotal role in the UNESCO Collective Healing Initiative, developing intergenerational dialogue & inquiry (IDI) methodologies to address the historical and ongoing harms of structural injustice. In 2024, our Collective Healing Circles (CHCs) expanded in communities in 14 countries across 4 continents, offering a structured yet deeply transformative process of communal healing and contributing to the well-being of future generations.
Our newly launched Handbook for CHC Facilitators & Co-Creators, presented at the UNESCO 30th Anniversary of the Routes of Enslaved Peoples, is now a key resource for collective healing practitioners worldwide. The CHCs—led predominantly by women and youth—are proving to be caring spaces where communities can acknowledge past traumas, restore dignity, and co-imagine just futures.
3. Rethinking Governance for Human and Planetary Flourishing
In a world where political and economic systems often prioritize short-term gains over collective well-being, we have continued our efforts to articulate principles of well-being governance. Our latest publication, Beyond Instrumentalised Politics, proposes an alternative vision—one where governance is guided by non-antagonism, equality, and a deep commitment to the well-being of all.
These ideas underpinned our plenary session at the UNESCO Well-Being of Future Generations Forum, where we engaged policymakers, scholars, and youth leaders in co-constructing pathways for a future where governance is not merely about managing crises but about fostering societal transformation.
4. Transforming Education for Well-Being Futures
Education remains central to our vision for positive peace. In collaboration with the Fetzer Institute, we conducted research into how relational approaches in schools can enhance student well-being. Our findings are informing global efforts to integrate caring and ethics-based education into curricula, ensuring that schools nurture not only academic success but also emotional and moral resilience.
As part of this commitment, we are proud to be a research partner in the Ethics Education Fellowship Programme, working with six ministries of education in Asia and Africa. This initiative is a testament to our belief that education is not just about preparing for the future but about shaping it.
Looking Ahead: A Call to Action
The challenges we face today—from environmental degradation to erosion of democracy, and to youth disempowerment—are complex, but they are not insurmountable. The work of the GHfP Institute in 2024 has demonstrated that peace, healing, and politics of dignity are not abstract ideals but lived realities that we can co-create.
As we move into 2025, we invite partners, educators, policymakers, and communities to join us in advancing this vision. Whether through research collaborations, policy dialogues, or grassroots peace initiatives, each effort contributes to a larger movement towards a world where peace is not just the absence of war, but the presence of justice, dignity, and well-being for all.
G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20) has convened diverse interfaith actors inspired by the G20 agendas since 2014. Through dialogue, and analytic work, IF20 aims to enrich the G20 process by bringing the wisdom, experience, and voice of diverse faith communities alongside other global constituencies. IF20 Education Working Group (Edu WG), chaired by Prof Scherto Gill, has been actively contributing to policy recommendations relevant to the annual G20 themes.
For 2024, the IF20 Edu WG hosts an international symposium on The Centrality of Harmony in Education in the Global Retreat Centre, Oxford on 1-3 July. It focuses on comprehensive analysis in terms of how Harmony in Education may enhance interfaith/intercultural collaboration, positive peace, inclusive citizenship, climate awareness, and co-flourishing with Nature.
Harmony, in this context, is a philosophy advanced by His Majesty King Charles in his 2010 seminal book entitled: Harmony: A New Way of Looking at our World. The notion of harmony is extremely potent as it allows us to recognise that separation from each other and exploitation of Nature have resulted in present social and ecological catastrophe impacting all. Harmony in Education is thus an imperative for the present and future generations to learn to embrace our interconnection and interdependence and return us to a just world and sustainable planet.
The Symposium gathers IF20 Education Working Group partners, such as ADYAN Foundation, Guerrand-Hermès Foundation, Scholas Occurentes, Salzberg Global Seminar, and other international educational organisations, including King’s Foundation, Harmony Institute, the Harmony Project, Education Policy & Administration, Government of NCT of Delhi, India, and WES Networks Brazil, to explore how Harmony in Education can contribute to 2024 G20’s theme of Just World Sustainable Planet.
During the Symposium, each participant/contributor will make a presentation on their relevant work under the G20 2024’s theme. Then the participants will dialogue and discuss policy ideas around integrating Harmony Education in public schooling.
Questions to be considered during the Symposium:
What are our understandings of harmony in the context of global challenges? How might we integrate harmony in our ways of being?
In what ways might harmony contribute to the G20 2024 theme – Just Society Sustainable Planet?
How can education help advance harmony?
What policy ideas should we propose to G20 leaders in terms of integrating harmony in education?
What case studies might demonstrate the imperative of harmony in education and its contribution to the G20 2024’s concerns, especially in terms of justice, sustainability and good governance?
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