Create Happy's Theory of Change

The Create Happy Vision

Our goal is to develop the future culture shapers of New Zealand and to impact youth holistic wellbeing through the creation, printing and distribution of our award winning, by youth for youth, national magazine.

Create Happy Magazine provides a platform for youth voice in New Zealand media. Founded by a 13 year old editor and a team of 15 journalists aged 11-17 who were graduates of Every Body is a Treasure Trust's Click Happy Visual Storytelling program. They are supported by the trust and a team of award winning storytellers.

Our Creative Hapori is the most important part of the process. The magazine is run 90% by the students with 10% of the work coming from the trust staff which is only two people. This is possible because of the scaffolding of training through Click Happy and the Compassionate Journalism that folds in the Embodied Creative Framework. And the support and training of our Talent Scouts.

The framework develops and holds the values that all decisions can be made against and teaches how to give effective compassionate critiques of each others work. Therefore it is rare that the mentors need to intervene and coach around challenges around content choices because they are baked into the heart of the program.

The bowl represents holding space for the challenging aspects of creativity. It is about having the "Guts" to see challenges through. This included finding creative ways to work with students content creators who are dispersed around the country and who are progressing through NCEA and the time demands of full time study.

The Embodied Creativity Framework

The framework that supports the work of Every Body is a Treasure Trust was developed by Mandi Lynn the trusts founder who is a Holistic Nurse, Master Photographer, Film Director, and Positive Psychology Trained Youth worker. The Embodied Creativity Framework acts as the visual container for the theory of change.

"This framework is based on study of ancient wellbeing and philosophical frameworks and pushed together with my personal experiences and experiments as an artist. It has its roots mostly in Positive Psychology research, and inquiry into the following traditions of thought Aruvedic, Stoic, Christian, Buddhist, and Taoist concepts. The Embodied Creative Framework is not religious but pulls from the core themes that run parallel in all of these philosophical approaches to life. Seeking what character traits and tools help to lend towards the greatest chance of personal moments of joy and creative mastery.

It is a working model and has evolved over time and will probably continue to evolve but it makes up the framework of how I function as a creative, how I try to adult, and how I teach.

When I find myself sliding out of balance it is a simple framework that helps to guide me back to my centre. " Mandi Lynn

"Here is the most important part of how this framework can help you as a creative.

It helps you to channel your creative energy and understand where your creative leaks are. The more you lean towards chaos the more your creative energy dissipates. The more you lean into rigidity, the more of your creative energy freezes up. So we want to develop the core character strengths and self awareness that keep our energy flowing no matter what challenges life throws at us to test our commitment to our craft.

This is a map of mastery.
Mastery of self.
Mastery of our natural gifts.

Have I mastered them...nope. I bounce frequently towards chaos as that is how my brain is wired so I have to be so careful not to get lost there but just dip back when I want a wider selection of ideas...but this map acts like an anchor to pull me back on track. Back into my flow and my development of mastery of craft.

Craft for me is as a creative mentor and a visual storyteller. Some times I faceplant. But this helps me to get up brush myself off and start again. " Mandi Lynn co-designer of Click Happy and Create Happy.