WELLINGTON: New Zealand unveiled its inaugural "wellbeing" budget Thursday (May 30) in a move set to cement Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's reputation for compassionate leadership in the wake of the Christchurch mosque massacre.Ardern, widely praised for her respectful handling of the March shooting in which 51 Muslim worshippers were gunned down, described the budget as a world-first attempt to change the way economic progress is measured."We have so often heard New Zealanders calling for early intervention and investment in challenging issues to save both money and lives in the long run," she said."That is exactly what this budget delivers."It is her government's second national budget, but the New Zealand leader said it was the first to be centred on the concept of "collective wellbeing", putting people before economic indicators.While dismissed as marketing spin by critics, Ardern views it as a way to deliver the reformist agenda she campaigned on in the 2017 election.The budget … [Read more...] about Ardern’s ‘wellbeing’ budget brings New Zealand good vibes
Wellbeing
Saving Nature key to human wellbeing: UN biodiversity chief
The degradation of Nature threatens mankind just as much as climate change, Robert Watson, outgoing head of the UN science panel for biodiversity, has warned ahead of a stark assessment of the state of our planet. The former head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Watson has a unique perspective on how global warming and biodiversity loss -- two of the most pressing problems humanity faces -- overlap and exacerbate each other. He spoke to AFP ahead of the unveiling Monday of a UN assessment of Nature -- the first in 15 years -- written by 150 scientists and drawing from 15,000 published studies and government reports. Threat to social cohesion Q. Is the destruction of Nature as much of a threat to humanity as climate change? A. Degrading Nature affects food and water security, the regulation of climate, even social cohesion. It threatens human wellbeing at least as much as climate change, and the causes and solutions for both overlap. The way we produce food and energy … [Read more...] about Saving Nature key to human wellbeing: UN biodiversity chief
An app to help unlock memories of persons with dementia
SINGAPORE - Visiting the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station to see trains. Slurping on syrupy ice balls while riding a ferris wheel at Great World Amusement Park. Watching a Teochew opera in Chinatown. These are some of the memories that Singapore residents with dementia could soon be reminded of, with help from a digital app developed by a group of museums in England, under an agreement inked on Monday (April 29). The My House of Memories app - a key part of a dementia awareness training programme - is designed to be easy to use, with moving icons and animations used to reorientate persons with dementia. Built by National Museums Liverpool, it stores visuals of hundreds of social history objects from museum collections to elicit memories in dementia patients and coax them to share their past with their caregivers. Likewise, the upcoming Singapore version of the app will feature curated objects and photographs from the Republic's National Collection, which is managed by the National … [Read more...] about An app to help unlock memories of persons with dementia
Stepping up to the CROWN
THIS SATURDAY, May 4, will see the formal investiture of the current Chakri monarch with regal power when His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 66, accedes to the throne as King Rama X, succeeding his beloved father, His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). The late King died on October 13, 2016 and the National Legislative Assembly acknowledged his heir’s accession the following month. “I accept the invitation in order to follow His Majesty King Bhumibol’s will and for the benefit of all Thai people,” the monarch said in reply to the invitation during his inauguration on December 1, 2016. More than seven decades have passed since the last Royal Coronation – that of King Bhumibol – on May 5, 1950. The coming ceremony is steeped in traditions that date back to the 13th century. The first coronation in the Chakri Dynasty was that of King Rama I in 1782, soon after he established the present Rattanakosin Era. His Majesty … [Read more...] about Stepping up to the CROWN
Sandakan by-election: Vivian Wong wants to deliver late father’s promises
SANDAKAN: DAP candidate for Sandakan Parliamentary by-election Vivian Wong Shir Yee wants to deliver the promises made to the constituents by her father, the late Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt, that have yet to be fulfilled. Wong, 30, said many ideas and aspirations have not been fulfilled by her late father, the incumbent Sandakan MP, who died of heart attack. “As a child who follows my father political struggles and worked for him during his tenure as a people’s representative and Sabah Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister, I really want to deliver the promises made to the people that have not been fulfilled by my father. “I adhere to the principle of my late father to finish what one has started,” she said during a talk at the Taman Mesra People’s Housing Programme (PPR) here last night. The youngest of four siblings said her father’s spirit and determination had been an important impetus to him in his political struggles, especially … [Read more...] about Sandakan by-election: Vivian Wong wants to deliver late father’s promises