Center for Healthy Minds

Event organizers today announced that the Dalai Lama will visit Madison on May 15, 2013, to lead “Change your Mind Change the World 2013,” a series of panel discussions with thought leaders from a variety of fields, including neuroscience, economics and sustainability, moderated by Arianna Huffington and Daniel Goleman.

The event is co-hosted by the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center and the Global Health Institute.

“The dialogues at Change your Mind Change the World 2013 will revolve around how science, economics, environments, emotional intelligence and health care can combine to make the world a healthier, happier place,” says Richard Davidson, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds, one of the organizers of Change your Mind Change the World 2013.

During the panel discussions, the experts will present their best work on global health and sustainable well-being, organizers say. The Dalai Lama will respond to these insights and add his own thoughts and encouragement of how to continue to bring these ideas forward in the world.

“Unsustainable consumption of natural resources now threatens the health of our planet and, subsequently, our human species,” says Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute, another of the organizers of Change your Mind Change the World 2013. “Attendees will be challenged to explore new and interconnected solutions to global health problems. The complexity of these issues requires it.”

Panel discussions will take place at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison and will feature:

– His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism, internationally revered spiritual leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner, lifelong science aficionado;

– Don Berwick, national leader on health care quality, former CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, recent administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;

– Richard J. Davidson, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds, named one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, author of The New York Times bestseller “The Emotional Life of Your Brain”;

– Daniel Goleman, psychologist, science journalist, author of The New York Times bestseller “Emotional Intelligence,” named one of the 25 “Most Influential Business Management Books” by Time Magazine;

– Arianna Huffington, author, syndicated columnist, founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post;

– Ilona Kickbusch, director of the Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva; interdisciplinary advisor on promoting health globally;

– Lord Richard Layard, professor, economist, director of the Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, co-author of the United Nations’ “World Happiness Report”;

– Jonathan Patz, whose work on global climate change led to a Nobel Peace Prize, director of the Global Health Institute and founding president of the International Association for Ecology and Health; and

– Mattieu Ricard, bestselling author, translator, photographer and Buddhist monk, author of “Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill,” dubbed “the happiest person in the world” by popular media.

Tickets will go on sale in April 2013. For more information or to sign up for the pre-sale list, visit the event website.

Change your Mind Change the World 2013 is sponsored by W. Jerome Frautschi, The George Family Foundation, Anonymous Donor, UW Health & Unity Insurance, University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Office of the Chancellor, The Eagle and The Hawk Foundation, Jeffrey C. Walker, The Baumann Foundation, Mary P. Burke, University of Wisconsin–Madison University Research Park, Madison Gas and Electric Foundation, MetaStar, Peggy Hedberg, Tim and Mary Erdman, John B. and Carol T. Toussaint, TEC, Nick and Elaine Mischler and St. Mary’s Hospital, with in-kind support from MSI, Promega and Krakora Studios.

About the co-hosts:

– Center for Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, UW–Madison

Led by neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson, the Center conducts scientific research on healthy qualities of mind such as kindness, compassion, forgiveness and mindfulness. An interdisciplinary team of scientists is exploring a wide range of ideas from the impact of a kindness curriculum in schools to the effectiveness of yoga and breathing exercises in reducing the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in military combat veterans. Through scientific research, the Center is moving closer to understanding how healthy qualities of mind can be cultivated through mental skills training to improve our daily lives and foster positive change on a global scale, to help reduce suffering and increase happiness throughout the world.

– Global Health Institute, UW–Madison

The Global Health Institute expands UW–Madison’s global health educational initiatives to examine the root causes of illness, including environmental, economic, social and political factors. Director Jonathan Patz, a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC) – the organization that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize – believes highly integrated solutions will improve health today and ensure a healthy future for all. The Global Health Institute engages campus and global partners in collaborative research to alleviate the causes of illness and cultivate the next generation of health leaders. Learn more at www.ghi.wisc.edu.