Helen in Auckland
A message from Minh.
Across the world, foundations and think tanks are scrambling together data to recognise the true impacts of lockdown on our mental health and to advise us on how we might mitigate further damage through Covid-19 waves to come.
One such think tank is the Helen Clark Foundation, headed by the former Prime Minister of New Zealand and ex-Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, where we worked as colleagues for 8 years.
In August, Helen kindly took time from her grueling schedule to share her personal experience of lockdown and discuss with us the topic of loneliness and her take on the handling of the pandemic by female leaders.
My sincere thanks to Helen for sharing her hopes, worries and insights. And my thanks to you, dear visitor, for your continued interest during these extraordinary times.
Best wishes,
Minh Pham
Helen in Auckland.
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Sabbatical
Sabbatical.
And for the first few weeks of the lockdown, people hadn’t yet adapted to Zoom calls, which because of where my work is tend to be awkward time zones of New Zealand.
So I enjoyed it, but with one downside, and that was my very elderly father and not being able to go near him. Luckily, he has good care around him.
But for me, it was like a sabbatical at home.”
Auntie Helen
I would talk to my neighbours, walk along and people would shout out,
'There’s Auntie Helen, please come and take a photo!'"
Physical distancing
Physical distancing.
Women Leaders
Goto first pageWomen leaders.
But I think people are recognising the achievements of women such as Jacinda Ardern, the female Prime Ministers of the Scandinavian countries, Angela Merkel, of course, the woman leader of Taiwan, as well.
Photograph: A young Helen, a young woman leader.
I don't think so!
I don't think so!
We see breathless reports about vaccines being around the corner. Hello?! I don’t think so!"
Can't let our hair down.
Rather than these frankly crazy scenes in the northern hemisphere of people crowding onto beaches. We have to get it into our head that physical distancing remains important."
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