Dubai-UAE: 11 February, 2018 –   Governments need to identify and integrate sound pathways for encouraging and measuring happiness, said Meik Wiking, Chief Executive Officer of the Copenhagen-based Happiness Research Institute and author of The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search for the World’s Happiest People.

Speaking at a session titled ‘Searching the World for Happiness’, Wiking drew attention to some of his work at the Institute. He discussed what he found when travelling and trying to locate the world’s happiest people, exploring three key questions: How do we learn from the happiest people in the world? How do we spread happiness? And how do we turn citizens into changemakers?

Highlighting how people can feel gratitude towards the government, Wiking said: “Many people ask us in Copenhagen, ‘Why are you so happy?’. One example I often give them is because we pay high taxes. This may sound unusual, but this is because we see them as investments in quality of life – improving our education system, businesses, social security, and livelihoods for men and women. In Copenhagen, many of us cycle to work, to university or to college. We don’t do it just because it’s good for the environment or for our physical health – but rather because it is fast and convenient given the immense investment in our infrastructure by our government. This reduces worry and stress.”