Mental Wellbeing for All 2026, Sunday 11 October, IGCIC, Vacoas-Phoenix. The second edition, marking World Mental Health Day.
The Abhyas Institute of Universal Awareness, in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture (IGCIC), brought speakers, performers and guests together for an afternoon built around one idea: meaningful change begins when we truly listen. The afternoon opened with Mangal Gaan by young Abhyasis and the lighting of the ceremonial lamp.
Alla Kozyreva, Senior Advisor | Leadership, Wellbeing & Human Development, Abhyas
Alla opened the afternoon by asking whether we truly listen or only hear words. Too often we answer with advice, comparison or judgment while someone is still speaking. Sometimes listening simply means letting a person finish their story.
Real change does not begin when we speak louder. It begins when we are willing to listen more deeply.
Sujitha Sekharan, International Operations Manager, UNDP Mauritius & Seychelles
Stigma, she said, remains one of the greatest barriers to wellbeing. A person who speaks about their struggle is not “a case” but someone with a story, and mental health is a shared responsibility in the spirit of leaving no one behind.
Real voices can bring real change.
Delphine Toulet, Wellness practitioner, 20+ years
From a shared deadline to a visit to the same salon, Delphine showed how differently people experience the same thing. Exhaustion and overwhelm are information, and compassion does not require knowing someone’s whole story.
Perhaps it is simply to make the world spacious enough for all of us.
Dr. A. Dinasingh, Director General of Health and Services, Ministry of Health
Mental health begins in childhood and runs through every stage of life, including retirement, where support is often missing. Asking for help is a sign of courage and self-awareness, not weakness.
AI can help us think, but humanity teaches us to care.
Professor Dr. Basseer Jeeawody, Founder, Emotional Well-being Institute
Each of us carries an outside we share freely and an inside of private experiences we rarely voice. When we bottle those up, they can erupt. A person’s voice includes their behavior and gestures, not just their words.
Like it or not, we are all a bag.
Dr. Manish Putteeraj, School of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Mauritius
Neuroplasticity can build resilience but can also wire in oversensitivity. Sleep, relationships, workplace stress and negative thinking all shape mental health, and mindfulness, yoga and healthy habits help.
Our limitation is within ourselves.
Maître Mridula Chooromoney, World Islands Cultural & Tourism Ambassador 2026
Built on four pillars of fitness, discipline, consistency and self-care, Mridula’s message was that we cannot expect to be understood if we have not learned to see and hear ourselves. Her tip for anxious moments: breathe deeply from the abdomen.
It starts with me.
Sarah, University of East London delegation
Being heard means taking people’s feelings seriously, respecting their choices and including them in decisions that affect their lives. Her three actions: ask how you can help, wait for the answer, respect it.
Helping is not taking over.
Aparna Ganesan, Deputy High Commissioner of India
Recalling the ancestors who crossed from India with little but each other, she offered three thoughts: we do not have to be perfect, our children need our time, and wellbeing begins with a conversation in which we listen rather than rush to solutions.
We do not have to be perfect.
Ishmeet, Abhyas
A short guided silence observation gave the room a few minutes to breathe, settle and be present with everything shared that afternoon.
Manish Domah, President, Abhyas Institute of Universal Awareness
Manish reflected on last year’s national conference and this year’s step to an international level, and on Abhyas’s work in schools, prisons, rehabilitation centers, shelters and communities. He thanked IGCIC, the High Commission of India and every speaker, partner, volunteer and participant.
Together let us transform awareness into action and compassion into meaningful change.
Arti Ram
MC of the event
Ansharah
MC of the event
Believe in Yourself
Indian classical dance by Varaluxmi Munisamy and Urvashi Lallbeeharry, a reminder to appreciate what makes us different.
Lost in Translation
A drama by the Cloud 9 team on how easily experiences are misunderstood when we do not truly listen.
A Community in Need
A documentary with voices from Abhyas’s partner associations on the healing power of being listened to.
Performers felicitated by the Deputy High Commissioner of India
The UEL delegation with the Abhyas team and guests
Delphine felicitated by Alla
Young Abhyasis felicitated for their Mangal Gaan
The event closed with a message from the founder of Abhyas: even when life ahead looks blurry, keep walking with faith in your higher self.
