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Education Beyond School Walls

What do you do when you have children craving adult attention in a neighbourhood with disconnected adults fearful of ‘trouble-making’ youth? A school in Wisconsin, USA conducted a community survey and learned that the community did not know anything about the school.  What the neighbours did identify in the survey was that there were young people running around the neighbourhood causing trouble. The survey results prompted the school to ask: How do we extend education beyond the walls of the school and utilize the gifts and the assets of the neighbours, organizations and institution in the community?

New Zealand’s Novel Idea: A Well-Being Budget

Societal well-being is as important as economic well-being. This was the key message from New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, at the 2019 World Economic Forum. This was a bold statement made even more poignant given the announcement that the New Zealand government will present a “well-being budget.” This signals a new decision-making focus, one that ensures impacts on the quality of life for citizens are considered, rather than the traditional focus on just the financial impacts. In practice it means that any decisions made, policies implemented, and money spent by the government will need to demonstrate how they benefit New Zealanders and how they work across ministries and party-lines to ensure ongoing positive impacts. 

A New Chapter for Cities Deepening Communities