This Saturday, March 20th, is the International Day of Happiness. Every year I get excited about the launch of the World Happiness Report and other happiness policy related activities. This year I am even more excited because I get to join some fascinating women for a virtual panel hosted by Seva Exchange as part of the Global 24-hours of Happiness Summit.
Our event, “The Science (and Stories) of How Animals Make Us Happy” will be moderated by Monica Medina of Our Daily Planet, and feature Stephanie Marken of Gallup and Lisa LaFontaine of the Humane Rescue Alliance, along with a fostered baby goat. Stephanie will share brand new data about happiness trends in 2020, and Lisa will describe how companion animal sheltering has changed over the last year and what that may mean for the future. I will talk about research around how wild animals and nature make us happy and why that isn’t reflected in policy (yet!) It has been a tough year, but there are some bright spots, and we will highlight a few of them. This promises to be an interesting discussion, and I hope you will join with questions of your own. Please click here to learn more about our panel and to register.
March 20th was designated International Day of Happiness in a 2012 United Nations resolution that also recognized the “relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives.” The UN marks this event every year by holding an event in New York to release the relults of the World Happiness poll and discuss some of the most interesting findings. This year the event is virtual and open to the public. Find out more and register to attend here.
I also have the great pleasure of interviewing my friend and coauthor of “Preaching Happiness,” Ginny Sassaman at 3 pm (eastern) on Saturday as part of the Seva Exchange happiness event. You can find out more about that event and register here.
I know that many of us feel the need for happiness and well-being in our lives and in our policies more than ever, and I believe we are actually getting closer. I can’t wait to see you on Saturday at any or all of these events!