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Global Wellness Summit Day 2
Global Wellness Summit Day 3
Majesty in Motion Water in Every Form
Louie Schwartzberg, filmmaker & CEO, Moving Art, United States
A beautiful short video from Louie guided us through the many varied journeys of water, reminding us that we are nature and we are all interconnected: walking ecosystems with 30 trillion cells working in harmony.
The Power of Collaboration
Nancy Davis, Chief Creative Officer & Executive Director, Global Wellness Summit, United States
Nancy welcomed the audience, once again highlighting that the conference talks will be translated live into every language. She reminisced on the previous night’s welcome party – where we enjoyed St. Andrew’s lobster, a bagpipe performance, and an impressive fireworks display. Thanks to Timeshifter, we have all arrived from 43 countries around the globe, without jetlag, as we adjusted our circadian rhythms seamlessly to the new timezone.
At this watershed moment for wellness, Nancy reflected on her journey in the industry, since traveling to India and meeting the Dalai Lama, and welcomed Susie Ellis to the stage.
A Watershed Moment
Susie Ellis, Chair & CEO, Global Wellness Summit, United States
Susie welcomed the crowd and invited us to celebrate the new statistics revealing the growth of the global wellness economy.
She recalled how, at the first Summit in New York 18 years ago, Dr. Richard Carmona shared that 70% of the world’s disease is preventable. That was Susie’s ‘ah-ha’ moment and led eventually to the Wellness Moonshot, launched in 2018. The research produced by the GWI is downloaded by governments and companies across the world and the Geography of Wellness helps countries highlight their current state.
Susie posed the question “What can we accomplish together that we cannot alone?” The collaboration that happens at the GWS shapes the future of wellness around the globe.
Susie shared a personal update: after having separated from her husband Peter, three years ago, Susie spoke about the difficult journey and having sought professional help and that they will soon celebrate 40 years of marriage.
Welcome to Our Home
Nina Kohler, Strategy & Design Consultant, Kohlerco.; 2024 GWS Co-Chair, United States
As sponsors of the Summit, Nina welcomed us all to The Old Course Hotel, St. Andrews. The story of Kohler was shared via a video of their family’s history when Kohler invented the cast iron bathtub in 1883. Kohler is now a ‘maker of experiences’ not just products as it strives to innovate and create a positive impact on the planet.
The Challenge of the Century: Water
J. Carl Ganter, Founder, Circle Of Blue, United States
WATER
J. Carl became fascinated with water after diving into subterranean caves and exploring new worlds of water. “What we do here at the summit will define our water future!” J. Carl proposed.
Throughout history, water has been central to whether civilizations thrived or failed. The fact that our planet has water is precisely why we exist. A closed ecosystem – we only have so many sources of life-sustaining water.
Dehydration causes severe impairment and humans can only survive 3 days without water. If we don’t manage our water, the cost of inaction will be 3.1 trillion USD. With water levels reaching their lowest in recent years, if water is not readily available, populations are forced to move. Mexico City came close to a ‘Day Zero’ this summer – almost running out of water. Across India, contaminated irrigation water leaves vegetables unfit for consumption according to those who grow them.
Climate is water, the cycles are changing and via water, we will experience these changes. The solutions to these challenges do exist. The goal is to have all organizations communicating and collaborating to work together. The only hope for water’s future is one that we deliberately design.
Widening the Tentpoles
Freddie Moross, Founder & CEO, Myndstream; 2024 GWS Co-Chair, United Kingdom
Freddie, who comes from a family in the music business, first attended the summit 4 years ago in Boston asking the question: “What is the effect of music on wellness and how can we help?” Working with Christine Clinton, Freddie now brings music to children in communities and schools alongside touch therapy.
Freddie welcomes newcomers and invites them to engage in conversations with fellow thought leaders at the summit.
You Are Your Brand: Strategies for Companies & CEOs
Jeremy Jauncey, Founder, Beautiful Destinations, United Arab Emirates
Jeremy arrived onto the stage in his kilt, to discuss creating content. Having played rugby for Scotland, his pro career was ended by an injury. Jeremy now works in digital health, working to help diagnose conditions before they require medical intervention.
Jeremy’s business, Beautiful Destinations, is one of the largest and most influential online travel communities in the world.
What can you do to connect with your consumers? Consumers are looking to social media for ideas and travel inspiration. 90% of millennial and Gen Z travelers are looking first to social media. Social commerce is a trillion-dollar industry.
Younger consumers are going to Instagram and TikTok to make travel and brand decisions. Rich video content is the best way to connect with consumers. Social media knows you better than you know you! Within three clicks it will start sending you curated content.
What should you do to build your brand on social? Make LOTS of short-form videos. Reels and stories that catch people’s attention. Written content is great, but video is the game changer. Create video itineraries of the experience you are offering.
Impact: We Can Do More Together… Now
Aradhana Khowala, CEO, Aptamind Partners; 2024 GWS Co-Chair, United Kingdom
Aradhana emphasized the importance of connection. Caring about wellness means caring for the planet and humanity, as all systems are interdependent. If systems are not working in harmony, everything breaks down. We are part of a bigger system and we are all reliant on each other.
We are here at the GWS because we care about the future of wellness, we need to stop thinking of wellness as a personal achievement. Being here is an opportunity to connect and grow, look for ways to collaborate and build bridges. Together we can do so much more!
Groundbreaking Technology: Turning Waste Into Water
Sarah Livia Brightwood, President, Rancho La Puerta, Mexico
At Rancho La Puerta, Sarah, who studied landscape conservation, showed how the land around Tecate, Mexico, has changed over the years. Tecate, with a population of 130,000, less than half of the wastewater is treated and the rivers have all but dried up. Reliant on the Colorado River, running through the US. The Colorado River has been overallocated to places further north and coupled with climate change, now no longer reaches the sea.
Rancho La Puerta now treats wastewater to reclaim the water used at the property and irrigates a 40-acre park created for the city of Tecate. The treatment plant is net carbon zero and zero waste and can be replicated in other locations.
Wellness Is Serious Business: Let’s Get Serious About Wellness
Katherine Johnston, Senior Research Fellow, Global Wellness Institute, United States
Ophelia Yeung, Senior Research Fellow, Global Wellness Institute, United States
The Wellness Economy has now reached $6.3 trillion USD and it continues to grow at a significant pace. The wellness economy bounced back with incredible growth post-pandemic.
The strongest growth leaders:
CAGR (compound Annual Growth Rate)
Wellness Real Estate: 18.1%
Mental Wellness: 11.6%
Public Health, Prevention & Personalized Medicine: 15.2%
Recovery driven by tourism:
Wellness Tourism: 4.5%
Spas: 4.1%
Not fully recovered post-pandemic:
Thermal / Mineral Springs: -1.2%
Workplace Wellness: -0.02%
The wellness economy is projected to reach $9 Trillion by 2028.
Wellness Matters to Global Audiences… and They Are Showing Up by the Millions
Gemma Jennings, VP of Programme Partnerships, BBC Studios, United Kingdom
Claire Small, Executive Producer, Programme Partnerships, BBC Studios, United Kingdom
BBC StoryWorks will soon launch the third season of their groundbreaking series, In Pursuit of Wellness. Through personal stories about hope connection and empathy, this wellness series connects with audiences around the world. The new series will focus on time, space, mind, and body.
Wellbeing At Work: Insights From The World’s Largest Study On Employee Wellbeing
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Professor Of Economics And Behavioural Science; Director Of The Wellbeing Research Centre, University Of Oxford, United Kingdom
Jan-Emmanuel brought insights into workplace wellbeing on a scale never before seen.
Happiness, stress, job satisfaction, and purpose were all measured throughout the course of the study.
This data set, collected since 2019 takes results from over 25 million people worldwide and found that only 22% report high wellbeing at work. There are huge variations within this data set and within industries. The Breakers Hotel, a company that prides itself on its workplace wellbeing programs, scored the highest!
Wellness at work is largely driven by a sense of belonging, trust and achievement, rather than pay and flexibility. Wellbeing matters for productivity, attraction, and retention.
Biohacking: Separating Fact From Fiction
Anna Bjurstam, Wellness Pioneer, Six Senses, Sweden
In Conversation with Dave Asprey, CEO, Upgrade Labs And 40 Years Of Zen, United States
Dave shared his story of weight loss, and improving his body composition and brain function. Having suffered from cognitive dysfunction and premature aging in his 20s, Dave started the biohacking movement, learning from those older than him what worked, even though it wasn’t supposed to work according to the medical community.
The term, Biohacking, invited the younger generation to get involved and take control of the internal and external environment influencing the body’s function.
Upgrade Labs brings biohacking and therapies that are driven by data to their clients. Dave’s most beneficial practices include taping over flashing smoke detector lights and clipping curtains together to remove light filtering through, as these things disturb sleep.
Over 90% of people who spend five days training their brains see improvements in their relationships afterward. High-end clients are not typically considering investment in dollars, but in time, effort, and suffering.
The Future Of Hospitality Is Not What You Think
Neil Jacobs, CEO, Six Senses, Singapore
Neil spoke about true wellbeing as the integration of self. At Six Senses they ‘taste the earth’ at each site before breaking ground and bring their corporate sacred geometrist to approve the site and guide the design. Sustainability is now at the core of their philosophy, eliminating single-use plastics and developing solutions to minimize waste.
Their wellness mission includes empowering their hosts who in turn look after their guests. By supporting the local communities around each property, they can positively impact the people of the region. Knowledge and innovation needs to be shared across the industry for the collective good.
Youth Is Not Always Wasted On The Young
Lewis Swire, Founder, Curious Times; Co-Founder, The Global Young Entrepreneurial Society, United Kingdom
Introduction By Thierry Malleret, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Monthly Barometer, France
Lewis started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of ten and went on to found ‘The Curious Times’, to foster connection for young people during COVID. The difference between those at the top and those just below, is often mindset. Lewis attributes his success to his dancer mindset, and created a handy acronym:
DANCER Mindset
Discipline
Adapataiblity
Nourishment
Curiosity
Effort
Resilience
The average 17-year-old spends about 6 hours per day on social media. Suicide rates and self-harm are increasing in today’s youth and this is largely due to social media content. Social media is a weapon of mass consumption. Reel it in – a youth-led campaign to end social media addiction aims to lobby for legislation, educate, advise and support.
From Doom To Hope: How Great Stories Inspire Change In Politics, Religion And Climate Crises
Martin Palmer, President, Faithinvest, United Kingdom
Martin acknowledges that bad religion uses fear and guilt to shame people and that what we need more of, now more than ever, is hope and love. We are storytellers above all else, while data is important it is not who we are at our core. We connect via stories and shared experiences, and that is where we must focus.
