WGS 2018: The Global Happiness Policy Report launched at Global Dialogue for Happiness Forum

Dubai - Co-author and renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs hails UAE efforts to drive forward the happiness agenda internationally

The first Global Happiness Policy Report was launched at the Global Dialogue for Happiness Forum by Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Professor John Helliwell. A distillation of ideas and experiments around the world, the report is produced in parallel with the World Happiness Report, and is the World Happiness Council's first effort to assemble global evidence about which policies are likely to be most effective in enabling better lives.
"The UAE is doing a great global public service by facilitating this dialogue between stakeholders and governments and driving forward the Happiness Agenda internationally," said Dr Jeffrey Sachs, Economist, University Professor and Director of The Earth Institute, Columbia University.
The report aims to help policy makers address the current crises occurring across the globe, and help speed up the process of integrating wellbeing into policy development.
"If governments continue to prioritize economic growth while focusing less on community and the environment people live in, general wellbeing can only decline", said Professor Sachs. Professor John Helliwell, Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and Editor of the World Happiness Report, added: "When you think about growth and wealth before happiness, you have got it the wrong way around. The smartest city is the social city. Always connect, always connect for good and always do it in cooperation with other people."
The Global Dialogue for Happiness serves as a curtain raiser to the World Government Summit 2018. The platform has happiness experts, government officials and representatives of international organizations discussing the science of happiness and examining ways to help governments adopt happiness policies to better the lives of their citizens. The event features workshops and sessions covering various aspects of well-being and happiness in society. The outcomes of these workshops and sessions will be compiled in a manual that will help governments raise the level of happiness across nations.
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the World Government Summit 2018 runs from February 11 to 13 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The landmark event convenes more than 4,000 participants from 140 countries, including heads of state and governments, as well as top-tier representatives of 16 international organizations.
Hosting more than 130 speakers across 120 interactive sessions, WGS 2018 features five distinct forums that examine the challenges of vital sectors for the future with a view to finding the best resolutions for the greater global good. Furthermore, over 20 specialized global reports spanning key sectors and topics of the summit are being launched during the event.