Latest news with #InternationalDayofHappiness
IOL News
4 days ago
- General
- IOL News
The Hangout: A (caring) bridge over troubled water
Today could be one of my favourite days of the year, right next to the International Day of Happiness, which is celebrated throughout the world on 20 March- but was actually established by the UN General Assembly on 28 June 2012. The International Day of Happiness aims to help people around the world realise the importance of happiness in their lives. I mean, we all know it's important, but sometimes it just feels a little harder to find- or sometimes even impossible. Sigh. It's the little things, though, and that's why today is so important too. It's World Caring Day today, and it was only made official in 2022. I know I harp on about spreading kindness pretty often, but I think it's so important- it can change lives like a domino effect. I also think that, with the amount of stress and struggle out there right now, we forget to be a bit more understanding and a little more compassionate. And honestly, that's totally understandable if you've just hit seven ginormous potholes in 300 metres, your 19th friend has emigrated, your fridge has just packed up, and your boss can't pay you on time. Stuff is hard. And it's getting harder. But that smile you share with a stranger in the grocery store, or that half a sandwich you give to the guy at the traffic light or stop street- it helps. It all helps. And we have to try to remember that, no matter what we're going through, someone else out there is going through worse. That little bit of love you give today might just come back to you like a boomerang tomorrow. I don't think you should ever give just to get something in return- but I'm pretty sure that's how karma works, isn't it? So- World Caring Day! What are you going to do today to celebrate it? I think it should be as important as any other big day. A public holiday even (haha kidding)! Do something, no matter how big or small, to brighten your own life- or someone else's. Be kind to yourself. Show yourself a little love. Or treat someone to a surprise, like it's Easter or Valentine's Day. We all try to do our 67 minutes for Mandela Day, so why not this too? I'm sure Madiba would be pretty happy to know there are even more days when people lend a helping hand and show a little extra kindness. World Caring Day traces its roots back to 7 June 1997, inspired by the brief but meaningful nine-day life of baby Brighid. Born prematurely, Brighid's journey sparked something powerful- Sona Mehring, a software engineer and family friend, created the very first CaringBridge website to keep loved ones informed and connected. Through this site, Brighid's family received not only updates but also an outpouring of love, support, and comfort when they needed it most. It was like an online support group- at a time when social media didn't even exist yet! What started as a simple act of care quickly grew into something much bigger- a global community called CaringBridge. This non-profit is all about bringing families and friends together during life's toughest health journeys, offering a space filled with love, comfort, and support. Since 2021, around 45 million people from across the globe have visited CaringBridge. Every hour, more than 1,900 heartfelt messages of hope and encouragement are shared with loved ones through the site. Maybe you're also in need of a little care, inspiration, or advice right now- so head over to Go for that meal you can't really afford. Tell the cashier she looks lovely today. Take yourself to the movies and switch off from all your problems for an hour or two. Or take a walk in the park with your phone on silent. Be kind to yourself and to others today- and maybe that kindness will catch on and carry over into tomorrow, and the next day too. Now, I'm already getting excited for National Hug & High Five Day, which is celebrated in the U.S. on 12 September… but I'll be celebrating it here anyway. Who's with me? Can I just say yay.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
The 25 Happiest Countries In The World Just Dropped For 2025!
The World Happiness Report for 2025 is officially here, and there's a LOT to take away from it — including the happiest countries around the world that you can visit and live in this year. Whether there's better healthcare, more community, and everything in between, some places really are just happier than others. So, without further ado, these are officially the most happy countries in the world for 2025! The 2025 World Happiness Report was aptly released on March 20, the International Day of Happiness! Published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, the is based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which surveys individuals in over 140 countries. It ranks nations by happiness using the average life evaluations over the past three years, specifically from 2022 to 2024. Participants in the survey rate their overall life satisfaction, and these self-assessments determine the rankings. To better understand the factors influencing happiness, the report examines six key indicators: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, generosity, personal freedom, and perceptions of corruption. This year, the United States isn't faring so well. This year, our nation dropped to its lowest ranking ever: number 24. According to Illana Ron-Levey, Gallup's managing director, some of the United States' decline in happiness was "at least partly attributable to Americans younger than age 30 feeling worse about their lives." "Today's young people report feeling less supported by friends and family, less free to make life choices, and less optimistic about their living standards," she added. The good news is that the research shows people are generally kinder than we assume, and recognizing this could boost our happiness and transform how we perceive those around us. Moreover, there are plenty of extremely happy countries that make desirable travel destinations. Here are some that topped the list in satisfaction. It may not come as a shock that Finland has taken first place for the eighth year in a row. The nation boasts many beneficial policies and initiatives, such as universal health care, as well as a strong social support and education infrastructure. It also has a very low crime rate. Visitors can enjoy a wide range of activities, too, from soaking up the northern lights under the Arctic sky to hiking in one of Finland's 41 national parks, seeing breathtaking architecture, experiencing Midsummer, a celebration of the summer solstice, and, of course, trying Finnish food. The runners-up to Finland include Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden in second, third, and fourth place, respectively. Just like Finland, these three countries held onto their global happiness ranking from 2024. Those hoping to visit Denmark can explore its capital city, Copenhagen, which is rich in museums and other cultural experiences, learn about the fascinating history of Vikings, and dine at Michelin award-winning restaurants. Over in Iceland, experience unbelievable 24-hour daylight from mid-May to late July, go whale watching, take a diving tour or guided snorkeling trip at Thingvellir National Park, traverse glaciers, relax in geothermal spas, and walk along beautiful black sand beaches. Finally, in Sweden, there are various vibrant cities to check out, like Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. Pop fans must visit the ABBA museum, while culinary connoisseurs need to try authentic Swedish meatballs, and nature lovers can take in all the natural beauty that Sweden is renowned for. Aside from the Nordic countries, which are dominating the globe in terms of happiness, two Latin American countries also made it into the top 10 for the very first time. Costa Rica ranked at number six, and Mexico at number 10. If you travel to Costa Rica, you can embark on all kinds of adventures, from hiking and zip-lining to surfing and river rafting. Or, in Mexico, see the archaeological site Chichen Itza, take a delicious food tour, and sit back on the sand of some stunning beaches. Finland Denmark Iceland Sweden Netherlands Costa Rica Norway Israel Luxembourg Mexico Australia New Zealand Switzerland Belgium Ireland Lithuania Austria Canada Slovenia Czechia United Arab Emirates Germany United Kingdom United States Belize Looking for more travel news? Sign up for our so you never miss a thing!
Saba Yemen
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Libya Ranks First in Maghreb on World Happiness Index
Washington - Saba: Libya ranked first among the Maghreb countries, sixth in the Arab world, and 79th globally in the 2025 World Happiness Index, led by Finland as the happiest country in the world. These results are part of the 13th annual World Happiness Report, issued under the auspices of the United Nations and based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which covered more than 140 countries. The ranking is based on the average assessments of individuals' lives over the past three years (2022-2024) and takes into account six key variables that contribute to explaining these assessments: per capita gross domestic product, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions of corruption. The report shows Libya's relative progress in the happiness index compared to its neighbors in the Maghreb region, despite the challenges it faces, reflecting improvements in some aspects related to quality of life. A new report by the World Happiness website, published today, Thursday, on the occasion of International Day of Happiness, revealed a list of the world's happiest countries for 2025. According to the new report, Scandinavian countries are among the top ten. Researchers identified several key factors that contribute to individual happiness, including social support, income, health freedom, and the prevalence of corruption. The new ranking included 147 countries. Finland maintained its top spot for the eighth consecutive year as the happiest country in the world. Afghanistan came in last, and the United States dropped one place to 24th, its worst ranking ever. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
The Guardian
22-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Wellbeing' isn't a joke – it's a tool for tackling populism
Last week's International Day of Happiness lives on. Not so much in the US, where the chaotic uncertainty engineered by Donald Trump and his Project 2025 supporters is creating misery, and not just for the public servants fired or suspended from their jobs. It might also be difficult to see how the goal of happiness is rated in Whitehall when the UK sits only one place above the US in the United Nations' annual world happiness index. The UK slipped from the 20th most happy country to 23rd in this year's index, while the US dropped one position to 24th, both well behind the Nordic countries, which lead the world, and many others including Mexico, Australia and Belgium. It would be wrong, though, to put the UK in the same bracket as the US because the Treasury – often considered among the more hard-hearted of bureaucratic organisations – is on a very different journey to the course being set in Washington. While Elon Musk is busy tearing through USAID and Trump is waving executive orders that dismantle the education department, the UK finance ministry has committed to include wellbeing, for which we can substitute the word happiness, when judging the benefits of public spending. In the vicious budget fight going on at the moment in Whitehall over the three-year spending review, departmental chiefs are supposed to stop, smile and for the first time show how their policies will impact the wellbeing of recipients and the nation. In this respect, the UK will be leading the world. How well this task will be performed is a concern for anyone who has worked inside Whitehall. There will be plenty of civil servants who consider wellbeing a woolly term, especially in the militaristic upper echelons of the public sector, where mental health days and stress workshops are considered laughable diversions, and, if they are embraced, act as a figleaf over a debilitating, 19th-century command-and-control management structure. There will also be opposition from those who consider wellbeing a diversion from the central task of sparking the UK economy back into life with a 'whatever it takes' growth agenda. It would be easy to adopt a cynical attitude – one that highlights the welfare cuts expected to play a major role in balancing Rachel Reeves's budget and asks how they will affect the wellbeing of benefit recipients. That would be easy – and wrong. As Professor Richard Layard says, there is hard data for Treasury officials to get their teeth into if they need to be convinced of wellbeing's importance. Layard, an eminent economist at the London School of Economics, believes happiness has 'never been more important'. 'As this year's World Happiness report shows, unhappiness is the main cause of populism, which is the scourge of our era,' he says. 'By contrast, in Britain the spending review process offers hope, since it explicitly targets wellbeing.' One of the most interesting chapters in the report is written by a group of French academics, showing how populism can be explained, not by economic conditions, but by a broader sense of wellbeing in the population. According to Layard, it has long been known that whether a government gets re-elected depends more on the life satisfaction of the people than on the state of the economy. That may be, but, for policymakers, having some recent evidence could be the spur they need to take action. For instance, in the US, there is a link over the past decade between steadily declining life satisfaction and voters changing party in each presidential election. The remarkable performance of the US economy should correlate with high levels of satisfaction in incumbent presidents and Congressional representatives. Not a bit. Similarly, in Britain, high historical levels of life satisfaction in 2019 led to the Conservatives being re-elected while low levels of satisfaction in 2024 led to their defeat. 'So it's not 'the economy, stupid', it's 'wellbeing, stupid',' says Layard. In 2020, the Treasury green book of spending guidance was revised to include an assessment of all benefits, psychological as well as financial. In the spending review, wellbeing coins will be allocated and then converted into money to indicate whether policy initiatives should go ahead. But as Layard and the French academics – led by President Macron's confidant Yann Algan, from the Paris business school HEC – say in the report, the message is broader. The research shows that when people are dissatisfied with their lot and lack trust in their fellow citizens, they become rightwing populists, while people who are dissatisfied but trust their fellow citizens become leftwing populists. Reeves will be concerned about keeping the government's finances on track in the spring statement on Wednesday, and might delay policies promoting wellbeing if they are seen to cost money. The evidence is that this would only feed Nigel Farage's Reform party, and possibly leftwing splinter groups. Labour needs to avoid this outcome.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Columbus ranks among world's happiest cities
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Are you happy? If you live in Columbus, you just might be. For the first time, Columbus joins a list of the 200 happiest cities on Earth, according to the latest World Happiness Report. It's the only Ohio city to make the list and comes in ahead of other American cities like Boston, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. In addition to Columbus, 17 other U.S. cities were on the list. Despite this, the U.S. has fallen down the list, from a peak of 11th place in 2012 to 24th place this year. It's the first time in the report's 12-year history that the U.S. is ranked outside the top 20. Despite the U.S.'s ranking, more of the country's cities have joined the list this year. New York ranks as the happiest city in the country, making the list at 17th place. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the second-happiest city in the U.S., coming in 30th place. The report used a number of indicators it says contribute to happiness, including affordable housing, environmental impacts, inclusive policies, government transparency, and more. The American cities on the list and their rank: New York City (17) Minneapolis, Minnesota (30) San Diego (34) Washington, D.C. (43) Salt Lake City (56) Columbus, Ohio (63) Los Angeles (70) Seattle (80) Baltimore (84) San Antonio (89) Nashville, Tennessee (96) Indianapolis (112) San Jose, California (119) Boston (131) Portland, Oregon (141) Orlando, Florida (176) Phoenix (181) Houston (198) The World Happiness Report 2025 was released on Thursday – the International Day of Happiness. For the eighth year in a row, Finland was named the happiest country. Nearby Denmark was second and its capital, Copenhagen, was named the happiest city. To see the full Happy City Index, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
