Working Groups

The eamba Working Groups develop specific topics relevant for broadening eamba’s perspective and informing the strategic dialogues.
These groups also create and implement activities to benefit the members, e.g. continuous learning, retreats, and peer reflection, ensuring tailored responses to the needs of the eamba Community.

eamba gratefully acknowledges the work of the Working Groups.
Here is a list of the currently active groups with a description of objectives.

Interested to participate?
In each description you also find a contact.

Intention: offering a platform  for associations / affiliates and their members in order to connect, to inspire through shared experience and to encourage continuous learning. Bi-weekly online meetings on structurally important issues especially if urgent.
Active since March 2020.
More info on this webpage: eamba Exchange
Contact: Katharina Mullen. Teresa Ranieri. Christof Spiessens
To contribute, please contact the Exchange service team at exchange@eamba.net

Intention: creating the various communications of eamba and ensuring a consistent flow of relevant information and resources, including creation and updating of:

  • eamba website
  • eamba update / newsletter.
  • socials (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook)
  • eamba communication plan.
  • support of local eamba associations’ communication strategy & activities
  • European campaign activating decision makers to create mindful societies.

Contact: info@eamba.net Katharina Mullen.
Active since February 2022.
We welcome colleagues with a professional background in communication (and marketing) to join this working group.
Please contact  info@eamba.net

The International Panel for Acknowledgement of Mindfulness-Based Programs (MBPs) takes up responsibility to evaluate mindfulness-based programs: newly developed ones and adapted programs, moderated as well as follow-up programs.
Since 2023, IPA continues the work of its predecessor – the MBP TaskForce. During a pilot project (2019 – 2022) the MBP TaskForce developed criteria for evaluation and acknowledgement.
Intention: evaluating and acknowledging innovative mindfulness-based programs (MBPs), validating their alignment with MBP-criteria regarded as crucial to quality for endorsement. This results in supporting the decision-making processes of potential participants searching for evidence-based MBP-protocols, respectively preliminary approved protocols.
Active since 2019.
More information on the evaluation process.
List of acknowledged MBP’s.
Contact ipa@eamba.net Teresa Ranieri.

Intention: consistently offering retreats to nourish teachers and their teaching. eamba Retreats connect teachers of eamba members / affiliates in practice and offer opportunities for networking.
Active since 2019. All information.

Retreat in France in collaboration with AFEM Association Française des Enseignants MBSR.
Contact: Katharina Mullen.
To participate / contribute, please contact us at retreat@eamba.net

Retreat in Germany
Contact: Tatini Petra Schmidt. Teresa Ranieri. Katharina Mullen.
To participate / contribute, please contact us at retreat@eamba.net.

Intention: offering a practice-based Conference or Festival to support the mindfulness teachers’ community, organised in principle by the local association hosting the General Assembly.
In 2024 the eamba Conference will be organised in collaboration with the Croatian colleagues of Mindfulness Inicijativa Hrvatska – eamba
‘MINDFUL SOCIETIES –  CARING COMMUNITIES ‘

Active since 2019.
Each year a Festival group is composed by the local eamba Association organising the Festival / Conference.
See the Festival webpage to get contact details of who is organising when.
For general requests please contact the eamba Board at info@eamba.net

Intention: exploring and stimulating concrete steps to create diversity in colour, gender, social/financial background, functional variability and age regarding MBP-teachers as well as participants in mindfulness-based programs. Resulting in mindfulness practice being accessible also to people who are now underserved.

We look at dominant narratives that shape the mindfulness industry. We find inspiration in the growing emergent movement focused on a justice-infused mindfulness and liberatory wellbeing: social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion are indispensable in sustainable development.
This working group stimulates inclusiveness and encourages mindfulness teachers to bring awareness to mechanisms of exclusion.
We benefit from experience and inspiration of Cathy-Mae Karelse, who is actively participating in this working group.
Cathy-Mae is a specialist in deep systems change and decolonisation with 20+ years’ expertise in social transformation. In the last decade, she has extended her work to social health policies and systems and is a recognised thought leader in diversity, inclusion and belonging.

We warmly invite you, colleague mindfulness and compassion teacher, to learn with us and to join this exploration. Let’s take action towards a more diverse mindfulness landscape in Europe.
Active since 2018.
Contact: Katharina Müllen at exchange@eamba.net

Intention of the working group Science Communication: sharing insights from scientific research to strengthen the evidence-base of MBP effects and offer MBP-teachers input for answering questions which their (potential) participants have in mind.
To contribute, please contact Katharina Mullen at exchange@eamba.net

Finding Funds for European projects
Intention: to tap into funds available at European level  for mental health care and for education.
If you have experience in writing proposals to respond to ‘EU Calls for Proposals’ or in obtaining funds from other sources, then please contact the eamba Board to get a working group started for increasing eamba’s possibilities to initiate and to finance special projects.
Contact: Katharina Müllen at info@eamba.net