On Thursday 30 September 2021, more than 58,000 Cognita students, parents and colleagues around the world will celebrate our third Global Be Well Day (GBWD). This annual event is an opportunity for all our schools in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America to have a simultaneous and unified celebration of student wellbeing and it forms just one aspect of our overall focus on wellbeing.  Beth Kerr, Cognita’s Group Director of Wellbeing, tells us more.

For the last two years, GBWD has largely focused on the physical contributors to wellbeing from our Be Well Charter so this year, we will be encouraging a greater emphasis on the mental contributors – connecting, doing and giving. This seems particularly relevant as we come to terms with the continuing impact of the global pandemic on our mental health.  

The Covid pandemic has put tremendous pressure on our ability to ‘Be Well’, and we know that our students’ mental health has been particularly impacted. For example, in its most extreme form, anxiety is a clinical disorder that impacts around 7% of children and adults worldwide, but a 2021 review suggested an increase in the prevalence of anxiety since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, with 25-40% of the child and adolescent population experiencing heightened feelings of anxiety.  

However, we also understand from the evidence that connecting with yourself and with others, doing a meaningful activity and giving to help others are all incredibly powerful ways of strengthening our mental health. Through exploring these wellbeing contributors in more detail, we hope to equip our students and colleagues around the world with the understanding about why it is important to fit in these fulfilling activities in their day to day lives. 

For further information about our Be Well Charter and other relevant wellbeing resources, click here.