THE GEOGRAPHY OF HAPPINESS PROJECT

As featured in the GA Magazine January 2007 - welcome to all visitors.

Clips now uploaded to the new GEOGRAPHY OF HAPPINESS VIDEO BLOG

http://geographyofhappiness.blip.tv

Well done to all involved in the editing of the videos.

Also check out the PBWIKI: thanks to David Rayner for setting this up

http://geographyofhappiness.pbwiki.com

HAPPINESS is also a feature of RED NOSE DAY 2007

This project is the brain-child of Dan Raven Ellison, a creative consultant and Head of Geography, who has been involved in a number of recent 

BBC series, and who has also offered a series of inspirational video making workshops at the BBC's 21CC facility. He had the idea of sending small

groups or pairs of geography teachers around Europe to gauge the extent to which people were happy or not, and whether this tallied with the 

measures of happiness that are used. He was able to secure funding from the GA and the RGS-IBG and recruit a happy band of teachers from across 

the UK to check the 'happy pulse' of Europe.

World Database of Happiness: http://www1.eur.nl/fsw/happiness/index.html (Denmark comes top on this particular measure.)

On the happy trail: some happiness resources

Most of us are healthier and wealthier than ever before, yet an increasing number claim to be unhappy. Is it the stress of modern
life? Or are we simply losing our capacity for joy? Mark Honigsbaum goes in search of the feel-good factor
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1183928,00.html

The science of happiness
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/4783836.stm

Chorleywood is happiest place to live (UK)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1099613,00.html

The case for happiness

http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,3604,908202,00.html

Ireland leads world for quality of life
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1353516,00.html

This is an interesting recent publication by Richard Layard. Why not head over to the BOOKSHOP to buy it - has also been a recent TV series on happiness..

Can you buy happiness ?

Filming took place in Latvia,  Rome, Sweden, Madrid, Amsterdam and  Dublin

Each person we interviewed was asked the same questions no matter what the location was.

Tell me your name, where you live, who with, what you do and how you spend your free time.

1. On a scale of 0-10 (10 being the best) how happy do you think your local area is ? Why ? How could this score be improved ?

2. How happy do you think your country is ? How could this score be improved ?

3. Do you think there are some groups in your country that are happier than others ? Why ?

4. Where in the world do you think people are happiest and why ?

5. When you think of the United Kingdom what do you think of ? What is the United Kingdom like ?

Would you like to send us your own answers to these questions ? E-mail them to the address on the home page...

I headed off to DUBLIN in August with 'six foot Si' to explore the craic and see whether Dublin has got happier or not. To read the report on how we did, see below.

THE DUBLIN BLOG

Here are the Ireland clips - thanks to Rob Chambers for uploading these to BLIP.TV. Thanks to BLIP.TV for hosting these videos...

Indian couple: the Lobos, filmed at Trinity College

Here are clips for the 5 questions above... At the moment they feature Dr. Conor Kostick and artist Elizabeth Prendergast. We filmed other people who may appear in a later version of the pages.

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

IRELAND AND QUALITY OF LIFE

People from outside of Ireland are obviously attracted by its quality of life and the craic.

Immigration has raised the population towards the highest levels for over 100 years. Census 2006 was conducted earlier this year, and suggests an increase to 4.2 million. Between 2002 and 2006, an average of 42 000 more people arrived in the country than left it.

(The Guardian)

Check out NATIONMASTER for more statistics on Quality of Life and Happiness.

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