citiesRISE

In 2025, we will launch a national strategy for Centered Cities in India, launch a Centered Cities Challenge supporting advocacy in cities, and host the first Centered Cities Summit. Write to us at hello@cities-rise.org if you wish to partner with us on Centered Cities.

In this session, citiesRISE and NIUA also announced two collaborative initiatives: 👉 Young Manch: Global Call, sourcing youth-led ideas and innovations for promoting wellbeing in cities. 👉 Centered Cities, growing the network of cities in India as part of the global movement.

Matt Hughsam was at the World Urban Forum in Cairo, where he spoke on a panel together with Lovlesh Sharma (National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Parul Agarwala (UN-Habitat United Nations Human Settlements Programme), and Iain McKinnon (Global Disability Innovation Hub).

The YHP is a collaborative initiative between citiesRISE, Public Health Seattle/King County, Best Starts for Kids, ReOpp, and CCER. It started in 2020 as an effort to support young leaders to drive solutions focused on promoting wellbeing, and connection throughout King County.

Since the spring, they have collected audio interviews with different age groups through their work in preschools, youth centers, and through their own high school connections.

Hayley Nguyen and Anna Carso are part of the current Youth Healing Project (YHP) cohort. With support from the YHP 3.0, they are building out their idea of a podcast series that understands the impact of COVID on young people. beststartsblog.com/2024/09/26/you…

Thank you to all the partners (Basic Needs Basic Rights Kenya, LVCT HEALTH, Shamiri Institute, Mindful African Initiative, Center for Character and Leadership) and system leaders who came together and added valuable inputs to make this convening fruitful.

These include: 📌 Toolkit for teacher self-care and wellbeing by teachers 📌 Toolkit for curriculum mapping by teachers and government stakeholders 📌 Policy position paper by government stakeholders and partners

As part of our series of global convenings, we hosted ‘Inner Development Towards Collective Wellbeing in Schools’ in Nairobi last week. This convening was the second of a series of global events focused on the next generation of school-focused mental health & wellbeing strategies

Gratitude, kindness, and hope equip young people with key inner strengths to navigate any circumstance, whether responding to suffering or journeying toward flourishing. To learn more about this intervention in schools, drop a comment on this post.

Our intervention found creative ways to awaken gratitude, kindness, and hope, while the teacher training module highlighted self-care and how to embody a kind presence.

In partnership with NalandaWay Foundation, after implementing an 8-week-long classroom intervention, our before and after surveys with 1,714 students found statistically significant improvements in wellbeing, resilience, and social connectedness.