Working towards a holistic, beyond-GDP assessment of the preconditions for well-being, sustainability and equity, leveraging on indigenous knowledge
“Well-being, Indigenous knowledge, Sustainability and Equity (WISE)” Transformation is a pioneering science-to-policy research area of the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS).
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is still the predominant indicator used to measure the quality of our life. WISE aspires towards a holistic, beyond-GDP assessment of the preconditions for well-being, sustainability and equity, leveraging on indigenous knowledge. To transform towards a WISE society, this emerging initiative intends to bring together a broad range of interdisciplinary scientific expertise and indigenous knowledge necessary to understand the interface between well-being, sustainability and equity.
WISE Transformation aims to achieve three core goals:
- To develop holistic data and policy models to weigh all dimensions of well-being, sustainability and equity for decision makers;
- To leverage indigenous knowledge to enable cultural and mindset change towards a sustainable and equitable society focusing on well-being;
- To develop a compelling narrative for the holistic WISE framework.
While politics, media and economists traditionally focus on economic growth to gauge economic success, WISE Transformation represents the next generation of thinking and a move towards a globally inclusive narrative that values human well-being, environmental protection and equity for all.
