Wicked Wellbeing
With our Wicked Wellbeing project, we kickstarted our Wellbeing Literacy Research Lab in 2024 - a youth-led exploration into what wellbeing really means, and how we can better understand and support it through inclusive, creative, and participatory methods.
Through a series of workshops, labs, and co-design sessions, young people from Sweden and Denmark led conversations on emotional literacy, inclusion, and mental health. Together, they built resources to help others reflect, connect, and grow.
Inspired by our lab sessions, we created a set of tools for facilitators, educators, and youth workers. It’s designed to help others spark meaningful conversations and creative exploration around wellbeing.
🧪 The Wellbeing Literacy Lab
A space to reflect, learn, and co-create.
Over the course of 8 live modules, we gathered in digital and physical spaces to explore themes like:
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Emotional literacy
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Inclusion and community
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Power, identity, and wellbeing
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Mental health and systemic barriers
Participants worked with reflection tools, storytelling activities, and participatory methods to map their wellbeing experiences and develop shared insights.
🧑🤝🧑 Who Took Part
34 participants, aged 15-26, joined us from across Sweden and Denmark. Through workshops, labs, and creative reflection, they became Wellbeing Investigators - shaping the themes, tools, and insights that now form the heart of this project.
34
Certified Wellbeing investigators
Partners and
collaborators
5
Lab sessions hosted
4
“To me, wellbeing is a multifaceted concept that in its core denotes one's satisfaction with life. It should also be supported by the community and structural frameworks. This became clear to me when we learned and discussed the critical approach to wellbeing. A lens I hadn't considered looking through, yet now seems so obvious.”
- Veronika, 22
“It has provided me with necessary tools to better understand my own wellbeing and all the options there actualy is. It was the retreat that stood out to me, because it was what I have learning in practice and meeting likeminded people.”
- Alexandra, 23
✍️ Wellbeing Literacy Workbook
Hands-on activities, reflective exercises, and creative prompts
Our Workbook is a resource for anyone wanting to explore wellbeing with young people in a meaningful, accessible way. Designed from insights gathered during our labs, it offers structured exercises that encourage personal reflection, group dialogue, and collective learning.
Inside, you'll find:
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Guided prompts for exploring personal and shared experiences
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Exercises to identify wellbeing needs and barriers
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Tools to support emotional self-awareness and resilience
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Space for creativity, journaling, and group sharing
Use it in: classrooms, workshops, peer support spaces, or at home with youth groups.
🧘 The Retreat Model
A care-based in-person format for deeper reflection
The Wicked Wellbeing Retreat brought participants together for a safe, immersive space focused on compassion, connection, and slowing down. Drawing on the learning and methods from the Wellbeing Lab, the retreat format prioritises mental health, inclusion, and trust-building.
Key elements include:
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Empathy-based facilitation
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Grounding exercises and gentle group rituals
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Tools to explore identity, belonging, and wellbeing
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Space to rest, reset, and reflect together
This model is now available for adaptation by other organisations.
🃏 The Association Cards
A creative way to talk about emotions and experience
This illustrated card deck was designed to open up difficult or nuanced conversations around emotions, identity, and wellbeing. Each card includes a visual symbol and a descriptive phrase, encouraging users to connect with complex feelings in new, expressive ways.
The cards help:
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Build emotional vocabulary and confidence
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Create a shared language across diverse experiences
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Unlock storytelling and personal insight
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Prompt conversation, reflection, or art-based responses
Use them as: icebreakers, check-in tools, or discussion starters.
💻 Live Session Learnings
Reflections from the virtual Wellbeing Literacy Lab
During our 8-module digital lab, participants joined live online sessions to explore wellbeing themes in real time. We developed a virtual learning space that was interactive, accessible, and deeply reflective - even across borders.
What we learned:
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Young people value digital spaces for deep learning and connection
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Shared digital rituals (check-ins, visuals, chat prompts) foster trust
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Remote sessions can build powerful community when care and structure are present
This approach shows how digital facilitation can hold space for critical youth-led learning. Interested in designing your own virtual lab or learning journey? Get in touch!