can happinesshelp redefine progress –a view from bhutan...can happinesshelp redefine progress –a...
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Can happiness help redefine Progress – A view from Bhutan
The answer to this question all depends on how you frame happiness and progress!!!
Rather than give you hard and fast definitions of these terms, I will try to show that there are many different ways that happiness and its related terms can be understood and how in Bhutan’s case this very shifts the perception of progress.
To begin with let’s try to get a feeling for what the differences are between the concepts of happiness, wellbeing, life satisfaction and purpose or meaning in life, drawn from over 40 years of research into happiness and well‐being from the ‘western’ academic literature.
Key Premise:Progress should be more than just growing the economy and progress should focus on increasing happiness and wellbeing of societies and nature.
I will focus on Bhutan as a case study and emphasize that in some countries happiness is considered a “self‐help” pursuit and in others it is more of a collective enterprise. Therefore happiness can be a seen as a social phenomenon as much as it can be an individual experience.
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Before I share the perspective from Bhutan I want to illustrate that there are many ways to define or explain happiness. International (mostly ‘western’) happiness research of the last 40 years distinguishes between life satisfaction, happiness as an emotion and other concepts like the purpose or meaning in life.
a) What do these terms mean?b) When do we experience them?c) How long do they last?d) How are they different from each other?
To help us get a better understanding of these various concepts I would like to invite you to participate in this very short exercise.
I will ask you three short questions and you can write down your answers for yourself or just keep them in mind. You will not have to share your answers and insights unless you want to, and there are no right or wrong answers.
1. On a scale from 0 – 10, how satisfied are you with your life overall?2. On a scale from 0 – 10, how happy are you feeling right now?3. On a scale from 0 – 10, Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are
worthwhile?Note: 0 = not at all , 10 completely
Now, take a few moments to reflect on what factors you thought about when you tried to score yourself. Most people will mention some of the factors listed in the diagram (next slide).
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• Population of 770,000• Tibetan Buddhist religion practiced since the 8th century• World’s youngest democracy• HM 4th King introduced democracy with first elections in 2008• HM 4th King coined the phrase “Gross National Happiness is more important than
Gross Domestic Product”• Setting the course for development in Bhutan (slow, cautious up until now)
History• Buddhism since 650 CE• Unified country since 1634• Monarchy since 1907 ‐ Wangchuck dynasty• Joined UN in 1971• Constitutional monarchy 2006• 5th King ‐ Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ‐ 2008• First democratic elections 2008• Constitution enshrines pursuit of GNH as government responsibility 2008• Measures its progress with GNH Index since 2005
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Culture• Shaped by Buddhist tradition, Himalayan geography• Cultural values and ethics – code of practice (honesty, integrity, gratitude, respect)• Care for wellbeing of the nation• National dress (kira, gho)• Song, dance, storytelling, music, sports• Annual festivals for transmission of oral history• Translation of cultural & spiritual values in the GNH concept
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Society• Welfare State (health and education are free)• Life expectancy increased from 45 to 70 years since 1988• Infant mortality decreased from 140 per 1000 birth to 15• About to Graduate from LDC status in 2020• 99.9% of all households connected to electricity• 62.8% live in rural areas• Poverty reduced from 31% in year 2000 to 8% in 2018• 2500 monasteries, 12,500 monks and nuns• Ranked 25 out of 180 countries on the global corruption perception index• Ranked 97 out of 154 countries on the World Happiness Index
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Economy• Monitoring GDP since 1980s – development• Small economy ranked 170 out of 195 countries• Annual GDP of US $1.9 billion (similar to annual revenues of companies like Daimler
or Samsung)• GDP growth rate 7.6% in 2015• Per capita GDP US $2,843 p.a.• Agriculture (16.2%), construction (15.5%), hydropower (14.3%),
tourism (3.6%)• 34% of export – hydropower to India
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Nature & Environment• 72 % of land area forest cover under constitutional protection and • More than 42% of Bhutan's land area are protected areas such as national parks and
wildlife sanctuaries• Only country in the world that is carbon neutral, • bio‐diversity hotspot with 5600 vascular plant species in its forests, 200 species of
mammals (all of Europe has 219 mammal species)• 27 of Bhutan’s mammals are globally threatened. (such as Bengal Tiger and Red
Panda. • 770 bird species (all of Europe has 700 bird species) • 900 species of butterfly (Europe has 482 species) every year more birds, butterfly and
insects species are being discovered in Bhutan• human activity in protected areas is monitored to the extent that mountain climbing
is not allowed in Bhutan (tallest virgin peak in the world: Gangkar Phuensum at 7570 meters has never been climbed)
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Development of the Beyond GDP debate
1930s – Simon Kuznets ‐ GDP
1968 – Robert Kennedy’s speech on the limitations of GDP
1970s – HM 4th King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Gross National Happiness
(GNH)
1984 – The 1st “Other Economic Summit”
1990s – Emergence of Genuine Progress Indicators (GPI)
1994 – Canadian Wellbeing Index base line measure
2007, 2010 & 2013 – GlobeScan Beyond GDP surveys
2007 & 2010 Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness Index
2009 – Stiglitz, Sen, Fitouse Report on the Measurement of economic performance and
Social Progress
2011 – UN adopts “Happiness” as the 9th MDG
2011 – First OECD Better Life Index published
2012 ‐ First World Happiness Report (Helliwell et al, 2012)
2012 – UN High‐level meeting on Measuring Happiness & Wellbeing of Nations
2013 – EU Beyond GDP Initiative
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2013 – Germany publishes W3 What matters to us Wellbeing data
2013 – Maryland, Vermont and Oregon States implement Genuine Progress Indicator
2014 – UK ONS publishes 2nd round of data on personal wellbeing Measuring what
matters
2014 – UK All party parliamentary group report on Wellbeing Economics
2015 – Wales Wellbeing of future Generations Act (2015)
2018 – OECD publishes recommendation for Adopting a Well‐being approach in Central
Government
2019 – New Zealand tool and framework for wellbeing measure of success – Wellbeing
Budget
HM 5th King speech, 2009
Today, GNH has come to mean so many things to so many people but to me it signifies simply – Development with Values.We strive for the benefits of economic growth and modernization while ensuring that in our drive to acquire greater status and wealth we do not forget to nurture that which makes us happy to be Bhutanese. Is it our strong family structure? Our culture and traditions? Our pristine environment? Our respect for community and country? Our desire for a peaceful coexistence with other nations? If so, then the duty of our government must be to ensure that these invaluable elements contributing to the happiness and wellbeing of our people are nurtured and protected. Our government must be human.Thus, for my nation, today GNH is the bridge between the fundamental values of Kindness, Equality and Humanity and the necessary pursuit of economic growth. GNH acts as our National Conscience guiding us towards making wise decisions for a better future. It ensures that no matter what our nation may seek to achieve, the human dimension, the individual’s place in the nation, is never forgotten. It is a constant reminder that we must strive for a caring leadership so that as the world and country changes, as our nation’s goals change, our foremost priority will always remain the happiness and wellbeing of our people – including the generations to come after us.Thus, that is why I say GNH is Development guided by human Values.
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Bhutanese (Buddhist) conception of happinessDifferent perception of happiness = different perception of causalityConcept of Gross National Happiness reflects over 1,500 years of Buddhist history and cultureBuddhist values of kindness, compassion, reciprocity now expressed in the concept of GNHGNH enshrined in constitution & annual State of the Nation report
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Application of GNH concept in Bhutan
Primarily about a worldview and philosophy of life and development
Government
Balanced development approach
National survey to determine GNH Index (every 3 – 5 years) – used as compass for policy formulation and budget allocation
Inclusion of GNH indicators as targets in government plans
Policy screening tool – ie mining policy
GNH in Business certification
Civil Society
Lived experience of GNH in every day life– GNH Centre of Bhutan
Schools
GNH in Schools program
Business
GNH Certification assessment tool
Politics
GNH values – election platform of new party
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Four GNH Dimensions
Criticism of GNHTop down approach by government ‐ could be misusedSome government actions and human rights concerns over minority groups –incongruent with the GNH philosophyGNH Index based on subjective opinions of happinessGNH could be holding back economic development in Bhutan
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Systems ChangeIf we are talking about happiness helping to redefine progress we really require a systemic change. Donella Meadows, a famous systems thinker and author suggests that for systemic change to occur it requires leverage at four layers of a system. Events – things that we can see, experience and measure Patterns of behavior – what trends are there over time – taking a longer term viewSystems structures – what are the parts and structures of a system that influence patterns of behaviorMental models – what are the values, assumptions, beliefs that shape the system? Iehow we see happiness and progress.
The GNH approach is unique, because it is a holistic approach that addresses all four layers and therefore is in a position to view happiness and progress in a very different way to how the ‘western’ world understands these concepts.There are examples of international initiatives that address those layers, but as far as I am aware there is no other country that has managed to bridge across these four dimensions.
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