Period poverty: New Zealand to provide free sanitary products to schools
Period poverty is a term that describes where girls or women are unable to afford or access sufficient menstrual hygiene products. It is often seen as a problem confined to developing countries, but several studies have exposed that period poverty impacts millions of people in the world's Read More...
The case for shifting to a four-day workweek for post-pandemic life
At The Optimist Daily, we’re putting a lot of focus on what the world can do after the pandemic to create a healthier, more sustainable, and more inclusive society. In New Zealand, one idea that was suggested by prime minister Jacinda Ardern is starting to gain a lot of traction: shifting to a Read More...
COVID-19 has been eliminated in New Zealand as country eases restrictions
It was just a couple of days ago that we published a story in praise of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Guiding a country through a pandemic is a high-stress task for any political leader, but Ardern has shown the world how to stay calm with her clear, personable style of leading, which Read More...
NZ Prime Minister assures children Easter Bunny is an essential worker
Amidst the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is assuring children across the country that the Easter Bunny is an essential worker and will be able to continue egg distribution on schedule this Sunday. The response came after reports Read More...
How volunteer vets are saving the world’s fattest parrots from extinction
While the Optimist Daily may not have a favorite bird per se, the kākāpō is definitely one of our favorites. The kākāpō is a colorful parrot with intricate patterns, and it so happens to be the world’s fattest parrot. Endangered parrot Unfortunately for our feathered friends in New Read More...
Schools in New Zealand offer new climate change curriculum for school kids
With climate change being among today’s most prominent topics on social media, kids these days get most of the information about the crisis from the internet, which is typically overflowed with distressing environmental news. This can not only give them a sense of powerlessness but also have an Read More...
New Zealand’s rarest bird is having its best breeding season in decades
The kākāriki karaka, also known as the orange-fronted parakeet, is New Zealand’s rarest mainland forest bird. Around the world, it was estimated that the population of this critically endangered species ranged between 100-300. But this breeding season has apparently been the most the fruitful Read More...
Scientists in New Zealand are using ‘eavesdropping’ technology to protect birds
This week we’re giving extra attention to birds, bees and all the pollinators that keep our ecosystems in order. For today’s edition, let’s have a word about the Hihi bird—a rare species of bird that was recently reintroduced to a nature reserve in New Zealand after being regionally extinct Read More...
New Zealand unveils world’s first ‘wellbeing’ budget to help the vulnerable
It’s a familiar story seen in countries around the world: even while a nation’s economy is growing, marginalized communities aren’t benefitting from any of the fruits of that growth in their daily lives. Such is the case in New Zealand where wealth disparity is on the rise despite steady Read More...
To get more people on the bus, we need to look towards Auckland, New Zealand
The city of Auckland in New Zealand has seen their population grow steadily since 2000—at around 2 percent per year. Despite this, transit ridership numbers were stagnating, something that many growing cities have struggled with. Eager to get citizens away from their cars and into public Read More...