Well-being is one of most important aspect of our lives, as individuals and as societies. But despite unprecedented economic prosperity in the last 35 years we do not necessarily feel better individually or as communities. Data shows that beyond a certain level of income and material stability, more money has a negligible and even negative impact on the quality of our lives.

The centre for well-being at NEF seeks to understand, measure and influence well-being. In 2009, NEF and Halloran have joined forces to better understand the variables that play a significant role in raising well-being among communities worldwide. The first major strand of work will be creating a “Global History of Well-being”. This will be a study of the nature of well-being, as experienced and described in the past, and potentially of the conditions which have fostered and damaged it. The study aims at two major outputs: the lessons that can be learnt by public and civil society policymakers who are seeking to navigate a path to a more sustainable and happier future; and the start of a more popular and widespread dissemination of the history, designed to stimulate the public debate needed to position well-being at the heart of our ideas about human progress.

The Dialogue Institute works to transform the world into a global community by fostering interreligious and intercultural scholarship, understanding and cooperation. A nonprofit organization founded at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) in 1978, the Dialogue Institute trains religious, civic and academic leaders in the skills of critical thinking and respectful dialogue so that they can build sustained relationships across lines of religious and cultural difference. Global and inclusive, the Dialogue Institute provides resources and creates networks of support among all those engaged in interreligious dialogue and action around the world.

The Dialogue Institute compliments the work of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies (JES), a peer-reviewed journal in the field of interreligious dialogue founded by Arlene and Leonard Swidler in 1964. Harry Halloran has been on the board of JES for the past 10 years.

The overall goal of the Bumuntu Peace Institute (BPI) is to create a peaceful, stable, and economically viable society. While the majority of the current initiatives to improve wellbeing in the Democratic Republic of Congo focus on economic development first and foremost, the BPI believes instead that social wellbeing starts in the hearts and minds of people, establishing a solid foundation for economic development flourish in those communities.