Worldwide, interest is increasing in community-based arts to promote social transformation. This study analyzes one such case. Ecuador's government, elected in 2006 after decades of neoliberalism, introduced Buen Vivir ('good living' derived from the Kichwan sumak kawsay), to guide development. Plans included launching a countrywide programme using circus arts as a sociocultural intervention for street-involved youth and other marginalised groups. To examine the complex ways by which such interventions intercede in 'ways of being' at the individual and collective level, we integrated qualitative and quantitative methods to document relationships between programme policies over a 5-year period and transformations in personal growth, social inclusion, social engagement and health-related lifestyles of social circus participants. We also conducted comparisons across programmes and with youth in other community arts. While programmes emphasising social, collective and inclusive pedagogy generated significantly better wellbeing outcomes, economic pressures led to prioritising productive skill-building and performing. Critiques of the government's operationalisation of Buen Vivir, including its ambitious technical goals and pragmatic economic compromising, were mirrored in social circus programmes. However, the programme seeded a grassroots social circus movement. Our study suggests that creative programmes introduced to promote social transformation can indeed contribute significantly to nurturing a culture of collective wellbeing.

The Brazilian Association for the Study of Alcohol and other Drugs [Associação Brazileira de Estudos do Álcool e outras Drogas (ABEAD)] is a non‐profit entity with the purpose of encouraging discussions and exchanges on advances in the prevention, treatment and research of addition. It currently brings together 840 professionals from different areas, such as Psychiatry, Social Assistance, Nursing, Psychology, Sociology, Law, in addition to community leaders, thus having an innovative and dynamic character. It organises annual national congresses and regional meetings hosting foreign guests. The society has a style that is innovative and dynamic. After more than 20 years of work, ABEAD exerts significant national influence and its members have been invited to participate in the main decisions regarding issues linked to drug abuse in Brazil. Among other achievements, it has contributed to the proposals on prevention and treatment policies and the standardization of the different levels of assistance provided by public health‐care. In addition, its members have worked closely with the initiatives made by the government and medical entities in the search for a consensus on the treatment of the different types of dependence, including alcohol dependence and smoking. ABEAD's goal for the future is to broaden its participation in the national drug policy arena and to intensify the work with other medical organizations and with the community.