Annika Shelly is a facilitator, award-winning writer and the founder of the Ikigai Institute. Ms. Shelly has lived in Japan and holds a degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Toronto with a focus on Japanese culture, wellness practices, philosophy, and history. She grounds her work in a deep understanding of ikigai and its cultural roots and is trained in bio-energetic healing and kinhin (walking meditation).

Ms. Shelly has lived ikigai principles for the past 30 years and lectures on ikigai for companies and private individuals alike while holding Japanese wellness breakout sessions.

She also works with mental resilience projects at Karolinska Institute (KI) in Sweden -one of the world’s top research hospitals- and the Ing Marie Wieselgren Foundation in the fields of existential health and nature.

Having lived in 7 countries, Annika brings a global, compassionate, and culturally informed perspective to her work in wellbeing, and purposeful living. She has previously worked for PwC, H&M, Oriflame, UNICEF, Save the Children and the European Institute of Japanese Studies at the Stockholm School of Economics.