OUR REACH
OUR REACH
12,000
CHILDREN
2,500
PARENTS AND EDUCATORS
150
SCHOOLS
5
STATES
COURSES AND PROGRAMS
Flourishing Minds Foundation offers both small and large-group programs to enable individuals and institutions to cultivate a culture of learning and wellbeing. Our programs draw from an integrative body of knowledge at the intersection of mind, brain, education, culture and contemplative practices. By using stories, art, drama, nature exploration, play and conversations, we attempt to make complex things simple and experiential for our participants. Most of our programs are designed as explorations of these questions
– What kind of learning could contribute to human flourishing?
– How does adult wellbeing in school and in families contribute to children’s learning?
– How can our education system prepare our children to think clearly, feel compassionately and act ethically?
– How can schools, families, and communities support that kind of learning?
SMALL-GROUP PROGRAMS
Towards Individual Wellbeing and Change
Our small-group programs and certificate courses offer a healthy balance of study and experience. They are open to 20 participants or less. They are designed as learning experiences for individuals and groups who are committed to a gradual process of deep, personal transformation as the first step towards any outward contribution.
The Gardener and The Carpenter
A Certificate Course offered in collaboration with the Pune University
Why: Facilitate wellbeing and learning in schools, homes and communities
Who: Parents/Educators
Duration: 20 hours
Insight and Action
A Facilitator Training Program
Why: Understand the science and psychology of wellbeing and learning to facilitate support-groups
Duration: 6 months
Mode: Online + Residencies
Clearing in the Woods
A Fellowship for adolescents
Why: Develop clarity, focus and emotional resilience
Who: Adolescents
Duration: 4 months
Ek Taas Swata Saathi (in Marathi)
A weekly self-help group
Why: Deal with stress and emotional
trauma
Who: Anyone
Duration: Weekly
Venue: Bhor
Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT)
A group therapeutic space offered in collaboration with the Tathapi Trust
Why: Learn tools for emotional self-regulation
Who: Anyone
Duration: Weekly
Venue: Pune
WHAT OUR PARTICIPANTS HAVE TO SAY
Mona Shah
Dental Surgeon
Parent
"My husband and I attended a six-week course run by FMF at the Pune University and frankly, that was the best decision we took. Though the concepts were intricate, the experiential nature of the program made them accessible and easy to apply. We joined it with the motive of learning parenting skills but emerged as better partners, better people. 'Figure out the need that someone's behavior is trying to meet' - this, and many such golden mantras have transformed how we interact with not just our child but with anyone we meet."
Ritika Gupta
Lecturer
Azim Premji University
“How can we ask questions that promote motivation and curiosity in our children? Can our listening be effective tools to help children learn? Why cultivating compassion and gratitude are the best ways to develop self-control and grit? The six-week program examined all these questions and more using a woven mix of experiences - art, music, movement, discussions. I came back with not just information and sound advice, but also ample inspiration and hope.”
Lara Patwardhan
Academic Coordinator
Aksharnandan School
"The experience in the course created greater self-awareness in me, as a person, a parent and an educator. Learning to take a pause and pondering over how I view and respond to 'uncertainty' was an interesting personal takeaway."
LARGE-SCALE PROGRAMS
Towards Systemic Change
Our large-group programs are more suitable for individuals and organizations working to effect change in huge, complex systems. In these programs, the focus on individual transformation is coupled with engagement and thinking on systemic change.
Developing
Socio-Emotional Competencies in the Classroom
Partner Organization:
Indus Action, Delhi
Participants: Children and Teachers from municipal and affordable private schools in Delhi
Whole School Transformation Project: Cultures of Learning and Wellbeing
Partner Organization:
NEAID, Assam
Schools
Schools of the Future: Socio-emotional Balance for Deep Learning
Partner Organization:
Pratham Infotech, BPCL, Mumbai
Participants: Teachers and School Leaders
Joyful Staffrooms, Joyful Classrooms:
A Preparatory Program for School Coaches
Partner Organization:
Pune City Connect, Pune
Participants: School Coaches in Pune Municipal Corporation Schools
Teachers as Researchers:
Documenting Learning in School
Partner Organization:
UNICEF, Chhattisgarh
Participants: Facilitators in the RTE Watch Program
WHAT OUR PARTNERS HAVE TO SAY
Tarun Cherukuri
CEO
Indus Action
"Indus Action partnered with FMF in 2016 summer to run our first pilot ECCE summer camps in Delhi schools. Their expertise in early childhood education, especially socio-emotional learning grounded in the arts and constructive pedagogy were remarkable.
Based on this foundational experience with FMF, Indus Action's school readiness playbook was developed. This has been tested successfully in 100+ Anganwadis across 5 States in India and is now being rigorously tested for it's curriculum effectiveness by J-PAL in 2020-21."
Sheshagiri K M
Education Specialist
UNICEF
"Flourishing Minds Foundation works in a cutting-edge area of education where few agencies currently work, an area which is only beginning to be recognized in government circles. This is the field of parental and community support for enhancing children’s learning. Most efforts in education focus on the school and the teacher, often at the exclusion of the learning spaces available outside the school. As research increasingly shows, this is a field worth exploring. And it is here, where lessons from FMF's deep work with vulnerable communities could enrich the understanding of the broader ecosystem."
Neeladri Bora
Co-Founder
NEAID
"When we were starting with Akikaran - our project to complement and transform the government school system in North East India - FMF mentored us with the curricular design of the project. FMF's primary school curriculum -contextually relevant and developmentally appropriate- with a focus on creating a whole school culture of learning rather than obsessing on individual techniques and tools helped shape our beliefs, values and vision in a significant way. The ability of the FMF team to understand what works for one child and what works for a million, at the same time, is extraordinary."