Social Flourishing Institute

16/09/2025

A difficult announcement - it is with a heavy heart that I share that we are closing SFI.

Since 2017, we’ve been dedicated to creating communities where everyone can flourish. From rebuilding community in Melbourne during COVID-19, to teaching and consulting on strength-based community development in countries like Pakistan, Zambia, the Philippines, and Kenya, CBBC/SFI has worked to help individuals, organisations, and communities re-think their work—encouraging openness, inclusion, and recognition of the good that already exists.

It's with this legacy that I need to let you know the sad news that we are closing SFI. These past couple of years have been hard ones for the organisation and for me personally. We had hoped our rebranding earlier this year would signal a new beginning and for a while it did, creating an exciting buzz. However, behind the scenes a stretched, largely volunteer crew worked hard to attract new business and opportunities to teach and consult about flourishing. Unfortunately none of our efforts bore fruit and so here we are in September, tired and a little depleted, but hopeful as we remember our legacy and what has been achieved.

I take comfort in the Buddhist teaching that nothing is permanent. Things rise, and for a time they are steady—but attachment can cause suffering. With this in mind, and due to personal life changes and fatigue, I have stepped away from the organisation, and the board has accepted the recommendation to close.

While SFI may be closing, the concept of flourishing lives on. The question now is: how can each of us make flourishing a reality within our own circles of influence? Even small, positive steps can ripple outward, creating change beyond what we can imagine

I’m not disappearing. My focus is shifting to dreaming, writing, and sharing ideas about flourishing in new ways—perhaps teaching, perhaps simply sharing insights as a friend on the journey.

If you’d like to stay in touch, reach out directly or follow me on socials.

Andre Van Eymeren

27/08/2025

🌱 Join the Flourishing Hub on LinkedIn — Free!
Are you passionate about creating thriving communities—in schools, workplaces, health settings, online spaces, or society more broadly? This is the space for you!
Hosted by Dr. Andre Van Eymeren, the Flourishing Hub is a free place to:
💬 Share insights and ask questions
🤝 Connect with like-minded people across the globe
✨ Collaborate and explore what flourishing could look like in your context
Start by introducing yourself—tell us who you are, what brings you here, or what flourishing means to you!
👉 QR code or https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14726286/

20/08/2025

Why community workers feel burnt out ?

Because rising demands, limited budgets, and rigid systems create constant pressure — making it hard to keep going without feeling exhausted.

Burnout is real, and you’re not alone. Understanding why it happens is the first step to reclaiming your energy and passion.

This September, we’ll explore these challenges and work together on a practical roadmap for wellbeing and lasting change. 🌿

👉 Join us for our upcoming two-part online workshop
series:
Part 1 – The Community Work Landscape (Sept 9, 1:30
–4:30 PM AEST)
Part 2 – Overcoming Sticky Issues (Sept 16, 1:30–4:30
PM AEST)

🔗 More details via the link:
https://cbbc.supporterhub.net.au/pages/sfiwkshp.

15/08/2025

🌿It doesn’t have to be this way — let’s keep the conversation going and imagine something better together.
People are often seen as units of production, even in our ‘caring' industries. When we struggle, fall behind, get depressed, we are often subtly and not so subtly punished for our lack of productivity. This has wide ranging consequences even effecting the way we see the people we are meant to be ‘helping'.

08/05/2025

We’re excited to announce our upcoming May event—entirely online!
🤝Flourishing Australia Network is a network of like minded people who want to see their communities, workplaces and cities thrive.
We're looking forward to sharing story, learning from each other and discovering more of what flourishing can look like.
Register Here : https://cbbc.supporterhub.net.au/events/austnet

🌱Keeping Motivated for the Long Haul: We're looking forward to welcoming you to this webinar, where together we'll learn how to overcome burnout, stay motivated and live a holistic life amongst our daily pressures.
Register Here :https://cbbc.supporterhub.net.au/pages/sfiwkshp

02/05/2025

We’re thrilled to launch a powerful new series of workshops designed to support anyone working to build stronger, healthier communities.
Follow the link or contact us to learn more and take the next step!

23/04/2025

19/03/2025

At SFI, we’re all about social flourishing—but how does it actually happen? Many believe change is only in the hands of the government or people with influence. In Australia, our individualism makes it easy to feel like one voice isn’t enough. But a collective? A community moving together? That’s powerful.

Change doesn’t just come from lobbying the government. If a community can work together, then a momentum can be created that’s so great, the so called people in power have no choice but to get on board.

🌱That’s how real change has always happened.
Check out our website to learn how you can create social change in your community
🔗 https://www.socialflourishing.com.au/what-we-do

Let’s dream and work together for the change we want to see.

13/03/2025

🔥Burnout is a growing crisis in the community service sector, fueled by unmanageable workloads, limited autonomy, lack of recognition, inadequate support, and values misalignment.
According to Community Door, a Queensland-based resource hub, 34.7% of workers in the industry experience burnout—well above the national average of 27.1%📈

💬In your experience what have been the biggest contributors to burnout?
What have you found helpful to prevent burnout or recover from it?

04/03/2025

Big thank you to those who were able to attend the webinar last week. I really enjoyed sharing some of my learnings with you and hearing about the challenges you face in your work.
Love it if you could share some of your takeaways about the challenges, flourishing, working with the strengths of your community or systems thinking.
🌱What was the most helpful to you?