DUBAI: Professor Jeffrey Sachs, renowned economist and Chair of the World Happiness Council, has led a plenary session to discuss the findings of the first Global Happiness Policy Report on the opening day of the sixth World Government Summit, WGS 2018, in Dubai.  In the session titled, “Insights and Reflections from the Global Happiness Policy Report,” industry experts highlighted key takeaways from the report, unanimously agreeing that governments need to prioritise the well-being of their citizens.  Fellow World Happiness Council members, economist Richard Layard and psychologist Martin Seligman, joined Professor Sachs in the discussion along with economist Jan-Emmanuel De Neve.  Initiating the dialogue, Sachs said, “If you teach happiness and propound altruistic philosophy, you are actually happier. This report is a compendium of important case studies on the application of the science of happiness and will help governments understand, measure and monitor happiness around the world. Only 22 of the 193 governments present at the United Nations currently have happiness policies in place. Our mission is to spread this information to the world community.”  Layard, in turn, observed that tackling mental illness and the stigma that surrounds it remains a challenge today. “Even in developed nations, only a quarter of people with mental illnesses and similar conditions get treated. This would cause an outrage if these numbers reflected treatment for physical disabilities,” he said.

www.gulftoday.ae/portal/40edca98-a238-4a3c-88d4-a7195aae1423.aspx

Related publications

‘World Happiness Report 2017’, John Helliwell, Richard Layard and Jeffrey Sachs (Eds).

http://worldhappiness.report/