UAE, February 13, 2017 - As many as 68 private entities have joined the ‘Happiness Meter’ initiative developed by the Smart Dubai Government Establishment (SDG), which is a tool for measuring happiness in alignment with the Happiness Agenda. The agenda, which has been implemented under the supervision of the Smart Dubai Office (SDO), aims to explore and measure the sources of happiness in Dubai as part of the efforts to achieve the ambitious goal of raising happiness levels in Dubai to 95 per cent by 2021.

Following the partnership agreement signed in September 2016 by SDO and the Department of Economic Development (DED), as the implementation of the Happiness Meter is a pre-requisite to winning the annual Dubai Services Excellence Scheme award, 51 private entities joined the initiative with DED coordinating between the member companies of the DSES and SDG, the technology arm of SDO.

The Happiness Agenda includes a roadmap developed following a careful study and is composed of a range of policies and programmes ensuring that government entities are supplied with the necessary tools and appropriate support structures to effectively implement the happiness strategy. The Happiness Meter has recorded an overall happiness level of 90 per cent during 2016.

'The Smart Dubai Office is leading Dubai’s smart transformation with leading technological innovations to increase efficiency and improve people's everyday experiences in in line with the vision of making Dubai the happiest city on Earth,” said H.E. Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General, Smart Dubai Office.

She added: 'We at Smart Dubai believe that happiness can be achieved and effectively measured. Linking private entities with the Happiness Meter's central database will provide us with data to revise and continually improve our smart transformation strategy by understanding happiness levels across services provided to the city residents’ and visitors. Based on the results, customer experiences will subsequently be analyzed, improved and developed in line with the leadership's directives emphasizing that 'the people's happiness and welfare is a matter which cannot be delayed'.'

Expressing his appreciation for the 68 private entities joining the Happiness Meter initiative, H.E. Wesam Lootah, Chief Executive Officer, Smart Dubai Government Establishment, said: 'Launch of the Happiness Meter initiative contributes to building a distinctive smart city where the elements of sustainable well-being are available to the citizens and residents of Dubai and its vibrant business sector, considering that the Happiness Meter is the first of its kind in the world for measuring delightful experiences citywide.'

'Because achieving happiness requires the concerted efforts of individuals and the government and private sectors, it being a key partner in pushing the wheel of development forward, we at SDG, the technology arm of SDO, work as one team and seek to forge partnerships with all public and private sectors to ensure impactful living experiences in Dubai,” Lootah added.

Launched in October 2014 by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Happiness Meter enables the sources of happiness in Dubai to be explored and measured by deploying dedicated devices for measuring happiness across customer service centres, on websites and in various electronic touch points. As a result, Dubai has become the world's first city to measure the happiness of its population, visitors and tourists on a daily and interactive basis.