Join us this Giving Tuesday (November 30) for a Save the Children webinar that takes you inside our hunger appeal.

Hear from economics expert Professor Stephen Knowles from the University of Otago about some of the reasons behind poverty and the global food crisis, and the impact of COVID-19, conflict and climate change on developing countries. Stephen is joined by Save the Children New Zealand Chief Executive Heidi Coetzee who will talk about what we’re doing to effect change.

More about Professor Stephen Knowles

For much of Stephen’s research career he used cross-country data to analyse why some countries are poorer than others, focusing especially on the importance of education, health, inequality, institutions and social capital in the economic development process. In recent years he has analysed people’s preferences for the types of countries they think foreign aid should be targeted to.

He is also working on what motivates people to give money to charity, and is especially interested in analysing the factors that determine whether people have a preference for donating to international development charities (those helping people in poor countries overseas) or donating to domestic charities.

Stephen is a former Head of the Economics Department at Otago and former President of the New Zealand Association of Economists.

More about Heidi Coetzee

Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb had an unwavering belief that ‘humanity owes the child the best that it has to give’ – a statement that still informs and inspires the work and decision-making of Save the Children’s Chief Executive Heidi Coetzee every day.

A strong advocate for children’s rights and ensuring the protection and safeguarding of New Zealand’s tamariki and whānau, Heidi works to make children’s voices heard through advocacy, humanitarian and development initiatives through Aotearoa, Asia and the Pacific and to make a difference in a world where the COVID-19 pandemic has made it even harder for vulnerable children to survive the threats of conflict, climate change and food shortages.

An experienced leader with strong business, management and accounting skills gained through a career in both corporate and not-for-profit organisations, Heidi first joined Save the Children New Zealand in 2015 as Finance Director before being appointed Chief Executive in May 2017. Heidi’s business interests include developing partnerships that will positively influence strategic direction and performance, enabling the achievement of organisational objectives.