UpLift Nova Scotia

The UpLift Partnership is a School-University-Community partnership supporting the health and learning of school-aged children and youth using a Health Promoting Schools (HPS) approach. The UpLift core team is hosted within Dalhousie University’s Healthy Populations Institute, while operating in partnership with government, Nova Scotia Health, school communities, non-profits and the private sector. The partnership acts as a catalyst for the Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework in Nova Scotia. At UpLift, we bring partners together across sectors to create the conditions for healthy learning environments. Operating through a provincial Advisory Committee, alongside additional funding and resources, we offer the space to innovate and evaluate, uncovering the systems changes needed for school communities to thrive. A key component of our approach is engaging youth to drive the changes they want to see, through Youth Engagement Coordinators and HPS Leads across school communities. We then collaborate with decision makers to create change. Our children deserve the best possible chance to have a healthy, happy childhood and to reach their learning potential. But not all children have the same opportunities to thrive because of social, economic and physical barriers that actively hinder the very things necessary to achieve good health and well-being. We are working with school communities and our government partners to ensure consistent, equitable delivery of the proven HPS model across Nova Scotia.