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20 March 2017: International Day of Happiness



The General Assembly of the United Nations announced in 2012 that the first International Day of Happiness would commence in 2013. Happiness Day aims to increase public awareness of the benefits of happiness.

The original idea came from the Kingdom of Bhutan. The population of Bhutan is thought to be among the happiest in the world due to their holistic approach to life and the amount of importance that is placed on the wellbeing of people and communities.

On Happiness Day people are encouraged to be happy and spread happiness to others. An example of a community activity for the International Day of Happiness in 2014 included an initiative Live Happy, and a large ‘happiness wall’ at the University of Pittsburgh that invited people to write down ways that they share happiness. There were 30 such happiness walls erected in cities across America, such as in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Dallas. Many cities across the world have now adopted the initiative of the happiness wall.

“Sharing happiness is not just one day or one promise written in magic marker and placed on an orange wall,” said Deborah K. Heisz, co-founder, CEO and editorial director of Live Happy. “It’s a way of living that honours our common humanity and reminds us that it’s in our power as individuals and communities to change the world for the better with small acts that shift a moment to the positive.” She added that “happiness as we define it embraces suffering and human connections, growth and possibility and gives us the courage to live fulfilling, authentic lives. It is about what matters most in life, and that’s why it means so much to us to see how many lives just one wall, one conversation, one hand-written card can touch.”

Many cities across the world have now adopted the initiative of the happiness wall. In 2016, there were 100-plus walls in schoolyards, malls, office parks, town squares and airports in 70 cities around the world from Rio de Janeiro and Vancouver, British Columbia, to Honolulu and Mexico City.

On International Day of Happiness, and throughout the year, people of every age conduct happiness activities through small deeds of kindness, generosity, and gratitude.







MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).


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