Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern

My plan to save the world:

When I think about how we can make our corner of the world a better place, one of the first things that comes to mind is the very thing we teach our children – kindness.

It’s often taken for granted, but looking out for one another has always been a part of our culture here in New Zealand. Being kind is part of who we are, whether it’s shown through big acts like our response to the Canterbury earthquakes, or through everyday gestures, like that neighbour who shares the spoils of their feijoa tree with the whole street.

Kindness, of course, isn’t a plan to save the world. By itself, kindness can’t stop the effects of climate change, and it can’t change the systems that lock people in poverty and promote inequality. Those big challenges, the ones that our Government is focused on solving, require structural change, serious investment, and forward thinking to fix.

But that doesn’t mean kindness or empathy can’t change lives. It might not save the world in and of itself, but it can be how we get there.

Take climate change, for example. Here in New Zealand, we might not be the first to suffer the worst impacts of climate change, but that doesn’t mean we can, or should, ignore the struggles of others. Our Pacific neighbours are already dealing with rising sea levels and further afield in Greenland, the ice shelf is melting away.

The solutions to climate change will be innovative policy, behaviour change and new technology, but the path to these solutions is a sense of empathy – albeit on a global scale. Every country needs to look beyond its borders and work together, for the benefit of all humanity. If we all show a little kindness, we can achieve real, meaningful change.

Being empathetic doesn’t mean avoiding hard decisions, or being soft on the big issues. But if kindness and compassion aren’t part of decision-making – whether that’s globally, at a government level or in our neighbourhood – we all lose. 

Maybe, just maybe, what we teach children is one of the most powerful tools we have. The simple act of kindness.

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– Illustration by Peter Campbell with thanks to Rita Angus

A little kindness goes a long way. 1% of the average Kiwi’s income is less than a $1.50 per day but that can go a long way too when there’s lots of us giving. Even better – giving feels good!