The Rio Summit brought together, for the first time, the key global decision-makers and agents of change to seek a more healthy, equitable and safe future for the planet. Principle one of the Rio Declaration (United Nations 1992) clarifies that ‘Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.’ Since then, major international declarations and conferences have confirmed that the wellbeing of individuals and of communities are essential for a sustainable future. This is evident in recent assessments which include wellbeing as a key indicator for sustainable development (Institute of Wellbeing 2009).
The Happy Planet Index (New Economics Foundation 2006) and the Child Wellbeing report (UNICEF 2007) provide important insights into wellbeing changes needed for a sustainable future. The UK Government also recently reported research exploring Mental Capital and Wellbeing (Foresight 2008) which is to inform national responses in this area. At the same time, the French Government commissioned a report which assesses the country's performance so that quality-of-life issues, such as the environment, leisure time and health, share the stage with hard economic growth data (Stiglitz 2009). Such assessments are timely as health, wellbeing and sustainable lifestyles continue to be at the forefront of public and private programmes and are increasing their profile in national assessments of sustainability.
Our Research Focus
Wellbeing research is driven by a need to better understand the quality of life of individuals, communities and society as a whole and to identify key determinants for the improvement of wellbeing within a range of contexts. This IRIS strand has a particular focus on evaluation methods as they apply to ongoing health, education and sustainability projects. IRIS is able to bring together researchers with interests in community, health, education, sport, physical activity, leisure, countryside and social care to investigate wellbeing from a range of perspectives. Such research serves to identify initiatives that promote and improve wellbeing in relation to sustainability, inform policy and strategies for sustainability as well as enable further comparative research.