Gregory Renand

The Z Zurich Foundation (the Foundation) is further scaling up efforts to combat the negative impacts of climate change and has announced its latest initiative – the Urban Climate Resilience Program (UCRP), set to launch on 1 January 2023 and support urban communities in ten countries across the globe.

The Urban Climate Resilience Program is a collaboration between the Foundation, several members of the Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance and a number of city networks.

“The need for adaptation has evolved to be both more urgent and more permanent than what any of us could have predicted. Against this backdrop, we welcome the launch of the SharmEl-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda at COP27 and are pleased to bring this new contribution which further complements our existing climate adaptation work. We are excited by the prospects of this new urban program and invite the public and private sectors to join us in this important journey: the time to act is within everyone’s term-of-office.” says Gregory Renand, Head of the Z Zurich Foundation.

Indeed, climate change is transforming our planet. With disasters increasing in scope and intensity, the most vulnerable in our society are those who already suffer the greatest impact – on their homes, livelihoods and safety. The Foundation is committed to supporting vulnerable urban communities to thrive, positively adapting to the shocks and stresses of various climate-related disasters.

“Building resilience at a community level is dependent not only on local action, but on the systems that impact that community,” says David Nash, Climate Change and Partnerships Senior Manager, Z Zurich Foundation. “Our program will help identify tailored local solutions which communities can work on with our partners. It will also harness Zurich’s own networks to engage the wider private sector in scaling those solutions. And by working directly through our partners with the local authorities we aim to influence the ways in which systems can be adapted to better support vulnerable people.”

The Urban Climate Resilience Program consists of a four-step approach:

• identify and engage with urban communities in need
• conduct in-depth analysis of each community’s climate-related issues
• plan, develop, deliver customised solutions
• capture learning and scale the program

Over the past year, the Foundation – together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Plan International, and Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities) – has rolled out pilot programs in approximately 40 highly vulnerable communities in cities across Colombia, Ecuador and the US.

In January 2023, we intend to launch this program in seven more countries in collaboration with Zurich’s local offices and the following charitable organisations:

• C40 Cities in Italy, Japan and Malaysia
• ICLEI in Turkey
• R-Cities in Malaysia and UK
• IFRC in Australia and Spain

Linda Freiner, Zurich’s Head of Sustainability adds: “As an insurance provider, we see firsthand how climate change impacts urban areas with multiple and interconnected hazards. Zurich’s employees in these ten countries will volunteer their expertise to support the development and delivery of intervention plans. Our commitment to supporting community resilience and adaptation is unwavering. A sustainable future depends on it.”

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Justin Delaney

The Z Zurich Foundation, has pledged a two-year grant to improve the mental health and wellbeing of New Zealand’s primary and high school students through an education approach called Mitey. This local grant program will be run in collaboration with the Sir John Kirwan Foundation and Zurich New Zealand.

Mitey takes a school-wide approach to mental health education, bringing teachers, students and communities together around a common goal – mentally thriving children. The collaboration further cements Zurich Australia and New Zealand’s commitment to supporting mental wellbeing in the community, not only in terms of raising awareness but also through supporting practical and positive behavioural change.

“With an estimated one in seven adolescents aged between 10 and 19 living with a diagnosed mental illness globally^[1], supporting Mitey in New Zealand is one of many important ways that Zurich is living out its commitment to mental wellbeing in the community,” said Justin Delaney, CEO Zurich Australia and New Zealand.

Mitey is being rolled out to schools in Auckland and is set to go nationwide, reaching thousands of students and positively impacting the lives of tens of thousands of people, including teachers, students and their families.

Sir John Kirwan says the Z Zurich Foundation pledge will help grow Mitey’s school base across the country and increase the number of coaches who work directly with schools.

“Mitey is about inspiring change. It’s about exciting our kids in the way we teach them about their own mental health and those of others. That’s why the Z Zurich Foundation’s pledge is so important. It will enable us to expand the positive impact of Mitey to more schools and initiate the change we need in child mental health.”

Zurich Financial Services Australia Head of Brand, Marketing & Corporate Affairs Linda Griffin said the launch of Mitey meant Zurich now had mental wellbeing initiatives across both Australia and New Zealand to support local communities where it conducted business.

“We have a mission to be a champion of mental health and wellbeing in the community. Through initatives like Mitey in New Zealand and Tackle your Feelings in Australia, we are working towards creating a world where every young person is supported to achieve positive mental wellbeing,” Ms Griffin said.

In Australia, Zurich, in collaboration with the Z Zurich Foundation, supports three mental wellbeing programs for youth: Tackle Your Feelings, a national program delivering mental health training at community AFL clubs across Australia; The Raise Foundation, a youth mentoring organisation; and Beyond Empathy, an arts organisation that uses its influence to change and enrich the lives of indigenous youth facing recurring hardships.

In addition, the Z Zurich Foundation launched a global partnership with UNICEF to promote young people’s mental wellbeing. The program aims to benefit more than half a million adolescents and caregivers in seven countries and hopes to reach 30 million people worldwide through a communication campaign.

More about Mitey

Each participating school is given a Mitey coach together with access to an online learning platform offering tools and resources. The secret to Mitey’s success is its coaches who are senior trained teachers and work directly in schools. They provide support and professional development to senior leadership teams and teachers setting them up to confidently and sustainably deliver effective mental health education school wide. Educating students in all aspects of mental health lays the foundations for them to nurture their mental health for the rest of their lives.

Mitey has been developed by education specialists at the University of Auckland and co-designed by a range of schools and communities, combining a deep and considered knowledge and understanding of what is required to embed mental health education in New Zealand schools. Mitey is about upskilling an entire teaching workforce so that they can confidently teach mental health education in the classroom in the same way they teach literacy and maths.

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[1] UNICEF’s “The State of the World’s Children 2021” flagship report – https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-children-2021

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Gary Shaughnessy

Z Zurich Foundation and UNICEF has launched a three- year partnership that aims to promote mental well-being among young people worldwide. 

The partnership will equip 400,000 adolescents and 150,000 caregivers in seven countries with information, skills and strategies on how to care for their own and each other’s mental well-being. It will also support a global communication campaign that aims to reach 30 million people and promote positive conversations and connections that increase awareness, knowledge and action around mental well-being. 

An estimated one in seven adolescents aged between 10 and 19 lives with a diagnosed mental disorder. While adolescence can be a period of heightened risk for developing mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, it is also a critical time of life for establishing healthy behavior patterns and social and emotional learning that can bring life- long benefits. To reduce the rising burden of mental disorders, efforts to promote mental well-being among all young people and their caregivers are critical. However, despite growing awareness about the negative effects and financial costs of mental health conditions on lives and communities, wide investment gaps persist, particularly for mental health promotion and prevention programs. 

“Positive mental health helps us to think, learn and build our lives. But for too many young people, psychosocial distress is disrupting their daily lives, negatively impacting their health, and preventing them from thriving,” said Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships. “The COVID-19 pandemic has only added to the pressures on young people and their families, putting the mental health of a whole generation at risk. With this partnership, we are kick-starting an urgent response to a crisis that the world cannot afford to leave overlooked and underfunded.” 

UNICEF and Z Zurich Foundation are announcing the partnership at the Leaders on Purpose CEO Summit during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. As well as supporting programs and campaigns, the partnership seeks to build a coalition of public and private sector leaders who are willing to take action to promote the positive mental well-being of young people—including by scaling up the programs piloted through the partnership—and to support global and local advocacy on the importance of investing in mental health promotion and prevention for adolescents. 

“Today we are launching a global movement that envisions a world where every young person is supported to achieve positive mental well-being. This is an increasing and vital challenge. Working together we can turn the tide and help many young people realize their potential. Join us,” said Gary Shaughnessy, Chair of the Z Zurich Foundation.

The programs supported by the partnership will start in Vietnam, Mexico, Indonesia, Nepal, Colombia, Ecuador and the Maldives. Program tools and approaches developed in these countries will focus on the delivery of interventions that build mental health literacy, strengthen social and emotional learning and skills, as well as improve caregiver and adult support. The materials developed will include information on emotional regulation, stress management and problem solving, among other topics. Teaching methods will include storytelling, peer learning and learning through role models, and will leverage a variety of digital, school, and community platforms for distribution. The global campaign supported by the partnership will launch in early October 2021, in the run-up to World Mental Health Day. 

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