Mindfulness event for the European Parliament - Online Event

At the end of 2020, the Mindfulness Initiative was delighted to take part in the first ever mindfulness inquiry event for the European Parliament.

Hosted by The European School of Administration, and facilitated by Jeroen Janss from the Inner Green Deal Initiative, the event was the first of its kind, connected MEPS with experts in the mindfulness field to explore the role of mindfulness in address health, politics and the climate change crisis.

The event featured dialogues on:

• Health - MEP Sara Cerdas and Dr. Anne Speckens spoke of the impact mindfulness can have on mental and physical health, and how if implemented systematically it can improve the effectiveness of health care at a lower cost.

• Climate Change - Jamie Bristow from the MI took part in a dialogue with Finnish MEP Alviina Alametsä from Finland, in which they discussed the role of mindfulness in addressing and responding to the climate and broader environmental challenge. Jamie spoke of the need to acknowledge and develop our inner capacities in order to bring about the necessary external changes needed to address the climate crisis. He also spoke of the fundamental role mindfulness can play in underpinning intentional collective action in order to achieve that change more effectively and sustainably (see Mindfulness - Developing Agency for Urgent Times).  

• Politics - Chris Tamjidid from Awaris, and Deputy Belgium Prime Minister Petra De Sutter spoke of the role of the mindfulness in politics, and how it can help busy MEPS in their day job, but also how bringing mindfulness and compassion into politics can have a transformative effect on the way that decisions are made.
  
  

A huge thank you Members of the European Parliament, Joanna Sprakett, Steve Dreggs, and Jeroen Janss for involving us in this exciting and groundbreaking event.  

You can view all of the talks from this event, as well as highlights, on the Inner Green Deal's youtube page.

The Mindfulness Initiative will be focussing on the role of inner capacity building in addressing climate change through further work and projects this year - for more information visit our Activate Change page.