WGS 2018: Governments Need To Prioritize Wellbeing Of Citizens, Say International Experts

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, renowned economist and Chair of the World Happiness Council, 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 prioritize the wellbeing 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, Professor 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 in the world community.”