Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will join Waikato community leaders to launch the region’s first set of wellbeing targets to end poverty, fight inequality and act on climate change.

The 17 Waikato targets will be unveiled during the Waikato Wellbeing Summit being held this Friday (SUBS 14 FEB). The targets are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Timely and Relevant) and provide a powerful tool for councils, iwi, philanthropic organisations, businesses and community organisations to inform decision making and take collective action.

“As a region we have many organisations doing great work,” said Waikato Plan project sponsor Eugene Berryman-Kamp. “But just imagine us channelling all that energy and resource into achieving the key things that really matter to our community.

“That’s the power of the wellbeing targets – they make us stronger together. These targets offer a powerful tool to enable our region to work together more effectively, leverage investment and measure our collective impact.”

Mr Berryman-Kamp’s thoughts are shared by WEL Energy Trust chairman Mark Ingle, who said this is a necessary and exciting shift – from siloes to interconnectedness, from an economic framework that measures only profit, to one that cares about profitable impact.

“As far as we know, this is the first time a region has looked at the whole system – across the environment, community and economy and all the players in the system – to agree on targets we can work toward to achieve wellbeing.”

The Waikato Wellbeing Project identified the specific targets through a series of intensive workshops with hundreds of local leaders and experts last year. The targets are based on the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations as a blueprint to help citizens, governments, businesses and organisations achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

Oversight for the Waikato Wellbeing Project is being provided by the Waikato Plan Leadership Committee, with the project being led by WEL Energy Trust and Waikato Regional Council with support from Waikato-Tainui, Trust Waikato, Hamilton City Council, D.V. Bryant Trust, the University of Waikato NAR Foundation and Momentum Waikato.

The Waikato Wellbeing Summit is being held on Friday, 14 February at Claudelands Arena in Hamilton. To find out more on the wellbeing targets, see waikatowellbeingproject.co.nz

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