Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing (Arabic: وزير الدولة للسعادة وجودة الحياة) is a Minister of State in the United Arab Emirates Cabinet, which oversees the UAE plans, programs and policies to achieve a happier society.[1] The responsibility of this office is to "align and drive government policy to create social good and satisfaction."[2]
On 10 February 2016, UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced, through his Twitter account, the appointment of Her Excellency Ohoud Al Roumi[3] - whose full name is Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi - as the country's first Minister for State of Happiness.[3] The announcement was made during Dubai's annual World Government Summit.[4][5]
In its first year (2016), as part of the overall National Happiness and Positivity Program, the Minister of State for Happiness launched a number of programs and initiatives. Some of these are:
In July 2016, the Minister of State for Happiness publicly announced the selection of 60 individuals, representing federal and local government entities, as the original cohort of the Chief Happiness and Positivity Program.[17][18][19]
To learn the knowledge and develop the skills necessary to realize the objectives of the Chief Happiness and Positivity Officer Program, the selected candidates attend the Greater Good Science Center of the University of California, Berkeley and the Oxford Mindfulness Centre[20] of the University of Oxford, two of several international partners enlisted by the UAE government to ensure the success of its Program.[18]
The Program consists of five pillars: the science of happiness and positivity, mindfulness, leading a happy team, happiness and policies in government work, and measuring happiness.[18]
The Minister of State for Happiness in the UAE was not the first to be named that, there are a number of similar ministries in the world.