UAE has developed world’s first ‘Happiness Policy Manual’

Ohoud bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing, has affirmed that the UAE’s ‘Happiness Policy Manual’, developed by the National Programme for Happiness and Positivity, is the first instrument of its kind in the world, describing it as a benchmark for government entities to align their policies and ensure they prioritise people’s happiness.

According to the minister, the manual seeks, first and foremost, to introduce the "science of happiness" to the policy-making process, proposing innovative ways to incorporate it into current and future public policies and then evaluating their effect on the happiness and wellbeing of society.

"The manual balances personal happiness with societal aspects. It complements the National Programme for Happiness and Positivity’s efforts to empower Government entities by providing practical instruments for them to harmonise their policies and steer them towards achieving nation-wide happiness," Al Roumi added, urging all Government departments to benefit from the tools and concepts provided in the manual to incorporate happiness into their policies and programmes and, finally, evaluate their effect on target segments.

The National Programme for Happiness and Positivity organised a workshop for 100 federal policymakers to introduce the Happiness Policy Manual. The workshop included a discussion by Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics, LSE, during which he presented a number of approaches to centre government policies around happiness, illustrating them with examples of success stories that underline the role of behavioural shifts on public satisfaction.

The Happiness Policy Manual provides a systemic and practical explanation of happiness and details tools to quantify and evaluate it. It seeks to incorporate happiness into all stages of policy-making – formulation, assessment and implementation – and is an effective tool to align policies in the UAE.