Wellbeing

Sovereign Wellbeing Index

This research aimed to understand better what helps bring out the best in New Zealanders lives and how a constantly changing society can adjust to keep striving towards the goal of wellbeing for everyone. The first step to obtaining this was to better assess wellbeing at a national level and how it is changing over time.

The Sovereign Wellbeing Index aimed to show:

• The people and places in New Zealand who are getting the most out of life
• Insight in the components that build New Zealanders' wellbeing
• Who in New Zealand is best prepared to deal with the highs and lows (eg economic catastrophe, environmental catastrophe)
• What can be changed at both an individual and societal level to make New Zealand a better place to live

Free2Move events and technology

Free2Move events were designed to provide opportunities for people to get into a simple, regular exercise habit with their friends and families. Ongoing participation was the aim – not winning with fast times! Entry was free, with courses suitable for walking or running between 2.5 km and 5 km located in local parks that are easy to access.

Community volunteers organised the events – same day, same time every week – and simple technology was used to log participation and track who was establishing a good healthy exercise habit.

Free2Move technology was also used to support one-off events that encouraged physical activity, including the Active Post “Post Run” at the AUT Millennium Open Day, where kids could run alongside their sporting idols.