Conference & Training
Happiness Conference and Train-the-Trainer Session
Join us August 23 & 24 for a Train-the-Trainer Session to learn how to conduct a happiness initiative in your city, business, or community and August 24 – 26 for our first Happiness Conference.
Join the Global Happiness and Well-being Movement!! Join 600 activists, political leaders and experts in a broad-ranging conversation about an old ideal, the pursuit of happiness. On Monday, April 2, hundreds of people from around the world attended a United Nations high-level meeting on Happiness and Well-Being, with the goal of replacing our outdated measure of progress, the Gross Domestic Product, with new measures of well-being and with public policies that put happiness at the top of national agendas. The happiness movement is gaining steam everywhere. You won’t want to miss this conference or the traiing exploring the potential of this new movement, and what you can do to improve your own well-being and that of your community.
About the Happiness Conference
When: August 24-26, 2012
Where: Seattle University
Registration: Entire Conference: $95 before August 1. $125 after August 1. Students and low-income– $50 before August 1. $70 after August 1.
Day passes: Regular $50. Students and low-income– $3
The conference includes prominent authors (Eric Weiner, The Geography of Bliss; Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life, Lisa Napoli, Radio Shangri-La, Chuck Collins, 99 to 1, and John de Graaf, Affluenza), plus prominent researchers and activists. Other speakers include Stefano Bartolini of the University of Siena, Italy (author of the Italian best-seller, Manifesto for Happiness), and Susan Andrews, organizer of the 2009 International Happiness Summit in Brazil and the final speaker at the April UN meeting Happiness and Wellbeing.
Panel discussions include: Bhutan’s Breakthrough; The Impact of Inequality; The Big Picture of Sustainability; The Challenge of Consumerism; International Happiness Ventures; and The Happiness Initiative in Three Cities. Workshops will include Happiness and Compassion, Happiness and Time Balance, Happiness and Education,, Happiness and the Arts, Happiness and Health, Happiness at Work, and many other topics. We are still entertaining requests to present at the conference and we also have room for poster sessions during breaks in the agenda.
Single-room dorm accommodations and full-meal plans are available at very reasonable cost from Seattle University and we will also be suggesting other accommodations options. August is a wonderful time to visit Seattle, so plan a vacation here and see Mount Rainier, the ocean and our many natural wonders!
A schedule for the conference will be posted by May 1 and registration will begin at that time as well.
For more information or to request a speaking opportunity or poster opportunity, please email conference director John de Graaf at jodg@comcast.net.
About the Training
When: August 23 (full day) & 24 (half day), 2012
Where: Seattle University
Registration: $120 before August 1. $150 after August 1. Students underemployed and low-income– $70 before August 1. $90 after August 1.
Purchase train the trainer tickets here.
Note: Registration is limited to 20 people!
Instructors: Laura Musikanski, Sekai Senwosret, Connie Moffit, Zack Walsh, Tracy McDonald and potential special guest appearances.
Room and Board will be offerend through Seattle University at a reasonable rate, contact jodg@comcast.com for details.
Learn and share in an interactive and compassionate setting. This training will give you the tools, knowledge and resources to conduct a happiness initiative in your city, community, business or other organization. We will cover all the steps to conduct a happiness initiative. Topics range from the logistics of conducting a happiness initiative, to trouble shooting and taking a project to the next level. Areas covered include team building, conducting the survey, media and communications, objective metrics, data gathering, report writing, town meeting planning and facilitation, project management, individual happiness projects, community happy projects, public relations and marketing and fundraising.
Mindfulness for Happiness: starting the day – 30 minutes. We will start the day with an optional mindfulness instruction/practice – 10 min instruction; 15 min practice, 5 min break before the training. This will be optional
Happiness Talks: a lesson in action- 2 hours. - We will give the happiness talk that has been presented at Bioneers, Balaton Group, and at many non-profits and campuses. The aim of this talk will be for participants to walk away able to give these sessions. We will give pointers at critical junctures and discuss the session in a group setting. The presentation slides will be handed out, and the last day, people will give this session to each other as a “graduation” ceremony.
Who, What, Why and Where: the Global Happiness and Wellbeing Movement – 2 hours - This session will cover the science, policy and civic actions behind the happiness movement. We will review activities at the governmental level in Bhutan, the UK, Brazil and France. We will delve into the science that supports this movement, and provide resources for the participants use. The importance and need for subjective metrics will be explored. We will then survey the various NGOs in the EU and the US active in the GNH movement. We will finish with small team and all group discussions about the science, policy and civic action, and how to communicate this to those who are not aware of the movement, from scientists, policy makers and the media to everyday people.
How to Conduct a Happiness Initiative: the nuts and bolts – 1.5 hours- We will go over the logistics of conducting a happiness initiative. This includes team building, timelines, subjective metrics, including the need for subjective metrics, and review of wellbeing surveys, objective indicators, happiness report card writing and levels of data analysis, conducting outreach to immigrant and refugee and other underserved peoples, conducting town meetings, projects and policy changes & final comprehensive report writing.
Day one wrap-up: Lessons learned from the day – 2 hours - Small groups will form to discuss the lessons and questions they have from the day. They will put together brief presentations of the key points they learned and the main issues, questions or comments they have. Following each presentation will be a brief discussion.
Overnight: Teams will be given materials for their preparation for their presentations the next day. A formal or informal session to address and explore mindfulness and happiness will be coordinated and all will be invited to it.
Day Two: 9 am (8:30 optional)- noon
Mindfulness for Happiness: Starting the day – 30 minutes. - We will start the day with an optional mindfulness instruction/practice. This will be optional.
Compassion, Altruism and Happiness: exploring the link – 1.5 hours We will revisit the global happiness and wellbeing movement launched this April at the UN NYC headquarters, and the connection between well-being and compassion & altruism. We will survey positive psychology findings. This session will end with a focused discussion on integrating compassion and altruism into a happiness initiative.
Happiness Talks: participants in action – 1.5 hours - Each team will have 15 minutes to present a mini-happiness talk using the materials and lessons from the prior day. The sessions will be followed by a facilitated appreciative inquiry of the participants presentation with the aim of gathering more ideas, tools and resources from all the participants that each can use in their work.
