Global endorsement for Massey’s Clean SLATE initiative

At the centre of this engagement is the Sustainable Livelihoods and The Ecosystem initiative, now known as Clean SLATE, a Massey-led effort to develop the world’s first Sustainable Livelihoods Index (SL-I) and build global partnerships for sustainable, decent work.

UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Livelihoods Professor Stuart Carr and School of Psychology Senior Lecturer Dr Veronica Hopner co-founded and co-lead the initiative. Professor Carr recently met with senior officials at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris and presented their research to the United Nations (UN) International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva.

The Paris visit, hosted by UNESCO’s University Twinning and Networking Chair Programme, resulted in renewed support for the Clean SLATE initiative, including international endorsement for the SL-I, which has since been published under open access in the journal Sustainability.

“The visit confirmed UNESCO’s backing of Clean SLATE and opened the door for Massey to co-host a 24-hour global webinar showcasing youth voices on a number of topics,” Professor Carr says. The visit was facilitated by the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO and was followed by a meeting at the New Zealand Embassy with our Permanent Delegate/Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, who is also Deputy Ambassador for New Zealand to France.

At the ILO’s Research on Decent Work Conference, Professor Carr presented a co-authored chapter he and Dr Hopner have written for a forthcoming handbook on decent work. Their research explores the links between Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)8 Decent Work and SDG13 Climate Action and positions Massey at the heart of a global movement focused on sustainability, decent work and social equity.

The engagements have already led to new collaborations with senior advisors at the ILO and UN Environment Programme and laid the groundwork for further contributions to the SDGs and the Sustainability Agenda at next year’s International Congress of Applied Psychology Conference in Florence.

“These opportunities allow our programme and Massey’s Chair Group to influence international thinking on sustainable work and livelihoods, and none of it would have been possible without the support of REaDI,” Dr Hopner says.