International Day of Happiness

On March 20^th, the International Day of Happiness is observed all around the world. On June 28^th, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) constituted it. The International Day of Happiness strives to raise awareness of the importance of happiness in people’s lives all across the world. The United Nations introduced 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the year of 2015 in order to improve people’s lives. Its primary development objectives are to eliminate poverty, reduce inequality, and safeguard the environment. The United Nations is inviting people of all ages to participate in the International Day of Happiness celebrations.

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History of International Day of Happiness

Jayme Illien launched “Happytalism” with Luis Gallardo, the then President of the World Happiness Foundation, before the International Day of Happiness was established. From the year of 2006 to 2012, Illien ran a campaign at the United Nations to advocate and advance the priority of happiness, well-being, and democracy. At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in the year of 2011, Jayme Illien introduced the notion of an International Day of Happiness. He wished for the United Nations General Assembly to foster happiness economics all around the world by enhancing all countries’ economic progress.

The United Nations General Assembly endorsed the concept. ” Happiness Toward A Holistic Approach To Growth”, a program of the then Prime Minister Jigme Thinley of Bhutan, was passed by the United Nations General Assembly on July 19^th, 2011. Bhutan has famously pursued the goal of “Gross National Happiness” (GNH) since the 1970s. It was first honoured in the year of 2013, after the International Day of Happiness was created in the year of 2012. The United Nations has made progress closer with World Happiness Day, building on Jayme Illien’s notion to educate people on the importance of contentment in people’s lives and the necessity to include happiness into policy decisions.

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Key Facts

• The International Day of Happiness has been commemorated by the United Nations since the year of 2013.
• On July 12^th, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution designating March 20^th as the International Day of Happiness.
• The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, are inextricably related to happiness.
  • The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a “blueprint for a better and more sustainable future for all.”
• Hunger, a lack of knowledge and awareness, a lack of cheap medical facilities, and human rights violations are only a few of the world’s leading causes of unhappiness.
• The “unhappiest cities” are almost always “situated in undeveloped nations and have experienced warfare (Kabul in Afghanistan, Sanaa in Yemen), violent conflict (Gaza in Palestine), civil wars (Juba in South Sudan, Bangui in the Central African Republic), political unrest (Cairo in Egypt), or devastating natural disasters,” according to the World Happiness Report (Port-au-Prince in Haiti).

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