International Day of Happiness

Dr. Tarek Elsheikh

Representative of United Nations Secretary-General and Resident Coordinator

On

International Day of Happiness

20 March 2021

Kuwait, 20 March 2021 – Today the world celebrates the International Day of Happiness, to commemorate the importance of happiness in people lives.  It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012. In 2015 the UN launched the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world. It also recognized the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty and hunger eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples. This is also a way to look at the current state of how cities/ countries are actually doing when it comes to their citizens' subjective well-being.

The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The World Happiness Report 2020 for the first time ranks cities around the world by their subjective well-being and digs more deeply into how the social, urban and natural environments combine to affect our happiness.

The importance of cities for global development has long been recognised in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, which includes targets with clear relevance for citizens' life satisfaction, such as strengthening public transport systems to reduce congestion and commuting times, reducing ambient air pollution, and improving access to green and public open spaces for all citizens.

The State of Kuwait ranked 60th on the Global Ranking of Cities index in 2020, just after Jeddah, KSA and before Manama, Bahrain. It also dropped 9 places from 51st on 2019. Kuwait is keen to enhance Kuwait’s global status to establish concepts and applications of happiness and quality of life at various levels. Kuwait has attached great importance to achieving the happiness of all citizens, residents and visitors to the country in all circumstances. This goal comes within its sustainable development priorities, by providing stability to all residents on its land. It has worked tirelessly during the covid-19 crisis to provide security and safety, provide decent livelihoods, and take proactive measures in fortifying the safety of its society and the health of its people. In the 2019 VNR Review i.e., “empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”, Kuwait committed itself to achieving a resilient society, free of inequalities and discrimination.

As the United Nations, we are happy to support Kuwait achieve its aspirations to it’s main message “commitment to all” inclusive, rights-based, equal-opportunity and dignifying development of human capital and to economic, social and environmental sustainability. The state is also committed to regional and world peace and human dignity, and to global partnership and international solidarity.

It’s a day to be happy, of course! 

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MEDIA CONTACT

United Nations Resident Coordinator Office

State of Kuwait

Asmae.aitssi@un.org

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