The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) held its annual conference last week in Tel Aviv over three days, and My Mind News reports on the key highlight from the summit.
What is GWS?
THE GWS is an annual event run by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI). The GWI was established in 2007 and is a non-profit organization recognized as a leading source of research and authority in the wellness industry – an industry estimated to be worth US$4.4 trillion.
Conference theme: Open Minds. Open Hearts. Open for Business
Open minds, open hearts, and open for business were the key theme of this year’s conference. According to the GWI, the theme –
The agenda was action-packed and covered a diverse range of wellness topics, such as –
- Technology;
- Scientific;
- Investments;
- Medical;
- Academic; and
- Preventative health.
350 entrepreneurs and leaders in the wellness business gathered for three days. The GWS also included more than 30 keynotes and panels.
Key highlights from the GWS
There were three main highlights from the summit in 2022 –
1. Wellness Spending = Increased Happiness and Longevity
Research carried out by Dr. Shun Wang using GWI’s wellness economy reports measuring wellness spending. Gallup’s World Polls measuring happiness and the World Bank national life expectancy and income levels, he concluded that across countries, for every $844 increase in wellness spending per person, the average happiness level increases by nearly 7%. An increase of $769 in wellness spending per capita is associated with 1.26 years of extra life.
It is the first time these data combinations have been analyzed in this way. Despite the value of the dollar, it is clear that there is a strong correlation between investment in wellness and happiness. Wellness spending is linked to positive outcomes – something that has been suggested for some time.
Dr. Shun Wang’s analysis is beneficial to anchoring a dollar value onto wellness for both governments and businesses.
Ophelia Yeung, the GWI’s senior research fellow, said that
2. The world premiere of ‘In pursuit of Wellness
At the summit, the GWI launched a new digital series, In pursuit of Wellness: The Art & Science of Living Well. This was produced for GWI by BBC StoryWorks.
This series of films was designed to broadly tell the stories around traditions, science, and innovations that underpin wellness. Wellness practices in our everyday lives and human acts such as moving, gratitude, giving, and breathing transform our wellbeing.
Nancy Davis, GWI’s Chief Creative Officer and Executive Director, stated,
This series is game-changing because it helps usher in a new era of wellness and how it is explored in the media: A wellness era that is more authentic, inclusive and joyful; more rigorous and science-based; and one that celebrates the pioneers in–and cultures of–wellness that are making a real impact on real people.
It is also pivotal for the GWI, as the power of BBC’s global platform and the audience will exponentially broaden our reach and community.
3. Announcement of the Wellness Moonshot
GWI and Fountain Life joined forces in October 2022 when GWI announced Fountain Life as an exclusive sponsor in 2023 for The Wellness Moonshot initiative launched in 2017. The mission of this public-private initiative is to –
“educate people about prevention and inspire them to take control of their health.”
According to GWI, prevention is an essential step forward, particularly as lifestyle diseases are growing exponentially, impacting a shorter life expectancy and increasing healthcare costs. This initiative aims to create monthly themed wellness campaigns that are educational and embed them into homes, schools, and businesses, potentially impacting 160 million people.
Both teams will collaborate in 2023 to educate and support millions of people to make healthy lifestyle changes.
According to Susie Ellis, GWI Chair and CEO,
“The time has come to pool our resources, knowledge, access, and funding, and use our collective megaphone on the world stage to work towards achieving a world free of preventable disease,”
