Wellbeing unlocks learning: results from the world’s largest RCT on children’s wellbeing
Hosts: Labhya with Fonds d'Innovation pour le Développement (FID)
Supported by the Fonds d’Innovation pour le Développement (FID), an initiative of the French Government, Labhya partnered with J-PAL to conduct the world’s largest Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) on children’s wellbeing, over two years. The RCT tested whether a daily, government-implemented wellbeing class could improve mental health and learning outcomes at scale when delivered by public school teachers.
This 90-minute session, co-hosted by Labhya and Fonds d’Innovation pour le Développement (FID), invites funders and leaders to reflect on the implications of these pathbreaking results on policy, philanthropy & practice.
1 billion children globally struggle with poverty-induced stress, which makes it impossible for them to learn effectively. Children’s mental health and wellbeing are increasingly recognised as urgent global priorities. Yet much of the field remains driven by belief rather than rigorous evidence. At the same time, education systems are grappling with persistent learning gaps. This session explores new evidence showing that wellbeing is not peripheral to learning but foundational to it, and that governments can implement it at scale.
This will be a participatory session designed to create space for equal voices from funders, researchers, implementers and the audience.
Speakers:
Amina Zakhnouf is an investment officer at the Fund for Innovation in Development.
Richa Gupta, CEO of Labhya and a United Nations Young Leader
Raquel Mata, Senior Director, Global Philanthropy at Rare Impact Fund by Rare Beauty
Dr. Kevin Carney, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan, Ph.D, Harvard University. Postdoc, University of Chicago (DIL, Michael Kremer Lab)
Avinash Moorthy, Ph.D, Harvard University
Juliette Seban, Executive Director at the Fund for Innovation in Development
This venue has a capacity of 90.