Action for Happiness

This summer saw a very encouraging UN declaration calling on countries to give more importance to happiness. It's great to see people across the world starting to recognise that although economic progress matters, improving our overall well-being is more important than growing our wealth.

It's been a traumatic week here in the UK, with riots showing the worst side of human nature. But it's also been inspiring to see communities uniting to clean up and find positive ways forward. We're pleased that the government is committed to measuring well-being, but it needs to take action too. We're also planning a new schools initiative.

Is this the beginning of a big cultural shift? We think it's fantastic that so many people are now talking about happiness. They're starting to recognise that it comes less from money or material things and more from great relationships, peace of mind and being part of something bigger.

It's been an incredible few weeks for our movement. We officially launched on April 12 and created a huge buzz across television, radio, newspapers and online. Over 12,000 of us have now joined from more than 100 countries which is a fantastic start!

In recent years lots of new scientific evidence has emerged about the things that make life happy and fulfilling. Yet very little of this knowledge is communicated in a way that's useful in our daily lives. We've undertaken a review of the latest evidence and distilled the findings into ten simple themes. Before making these more widely available, we wanted to get your reactions.

It's been great hearing from so many of our members recently. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and sorry if you're still waiting for a reply. We're planning an event for our official launch in April. We hope to bring lots of members together to talk about the movement and share ideas. We would love your views on the event

It's an exciting week for those involved with Action for Happiness, with TV coverage and event appearances taking our message to a wider audience. A very warm welcome to everyone who's joined us this month - we're now over 3,000 strong and growing rapidly, with 60 countries represented.

Hello from snowy London and welcome to the final update of the year for all supporters of Action for Happiness. It's wonderful that people from 59 different countries are now involved. Huge thanks once again for all your support.

It's been a fascinating couple of weeks for those of us who care about building a happier society. The UK government's decision to officially measure people's well-being has generated lots of debate and discussion, both here and abroad. If nothing else, it seems clear that happiness is a topic that sparks passionate views and touches every aspect of our lives. In this newsletter I'll share some of our latest progress in building a movement for positive social change, starting with some big news…

I'm writing as the new director of the Movement for Happiness. It's fantastic that you've signed up to join the thousands of us who want to help create a happier society. In this newsletter I'll share some of our latest ideas and also give you a brief update on progress so far. But before any of that… we want your views!

Thank you so much for signing up to join the Movement for Happiness earlier this year. This is a long overdue update on what's been going on. As a reminder, we’re bringing together people who want to see a greater focus on happiness and well-being across society.