RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT
Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing
St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
June 20 to June 24, 2005
During the Conference
Excerpt:
Happiness is a conference in Antigonish
“ After attending the first conference on happiness in Bhutan last year, Colman was inspired to organize this meeting in Antigonish. He has been working since 1997 to define a Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) as an alternative to Gross Domestive Product (GDP). ”
See also: CBC - PEI, Canada
Excerpt:
Happiness on the agenda at Nova Scotia summit
“ Colman said the old model of thinking that it was either jobs versus the environment no longer works, since the two can be inextricably tied. For example, there can't be uncontrolled fisheries without considering how that's going to affect jobs in the future, he added. ”
Excerpt:
The search for happiness in Antigonish
“ While it may not be possible to quantify happiness, said Ron Colman, of GPI Atlantic, a non-profit organization that is hosting the conference, it is possible measure the essential elements that could lead to happiness. ¶ "We can measure the conditions of well being," Mr. Colman said Monday. "If people are healthy, if they're able to walk the streets at night, or breath the air, they are more likely to be happy." ¶ GPI Atlantic's has tried to quantify the elements of happiness by comparing crime rates, environmental and health standards, volunteer participation, and educational levels in different countries, Mr. Colman said. ”
Excerpt:
Happiness is . . . not what you may think (8K PDF)
“ Happiness, it seems, is something that can be measured. ”
Happiness at centre of international conference (8K PDF)
Conference measuring happiness:
Second International Conference on Gross National Happiness begins today (8K PDF)
Happiness at centre of N.S. conference (8K PDF)
Wanted: a world happiness standard:
Movement seeks a way to measure countries' well-being
rather than their wealth (12K PDF)
MEASURING HAPPINESS (8K PDF)
Don't worry, be happy (8K PDF)
Happiness discussed at Nova Scotia sessions
Gross National Happiness;
Meeting strives to measure well-being beyond the economy's GDP
Happiness the centre of international conference:
Hundreds gather to find ways to determine well-being
Well-being can mean more than just money
Happiness as important to success as economics: conference;
Group says many factors affect an individual's well-being (8K PDF)
Delegates strive for happiness (8K PDF)
Happiness can be measured (8K PDF)
Bonheur: diverses théories s'affrontent (8K PDF)
Groups aim to find way of measuring happiness (8K PDF)
Gathering ponders how to measure happiness (12K PDF)
Happiness at centre of international conference:
Conference on Gross National Happiness examines
conditions that could lead to happiness (8K PDF)
Conference plans to take the measure of happiness (8K PDF)
Happiness at centre of Nova Scotia conference
Excerpt:
The secrets to happiness Television News transcript (8K PDF)
“ And finally for us tonight, what does happiness mean to you? A good question. One as old as humankind. Of course finding personal contentment can mean different things to different people and to different societies. But suppose the best ingredients can be summed up in a single happiness index? That idea has drawn people from all over the world to a Canadian maritime city. ”
— Lloyd Robertson, National TV anchor
Extrait:
L'indice du bonheur (8K PDF)
“ Cette semaine, la ville d'Antigonish, en Nouvelle-Écosse, accueille la deuxième conférence internationale sur le bonheur (la première avait eu lieu au Bouthan l'an dernier) qui a pour thème " Repenser le développement ". Elle réunit non pas un groupe de rêveurs mais des professeurs d'universités, des entrepreneurs, des environnementalistes, des travailleurs communautaires, etc. L'écrivain John Raston Saul, mari de la gouverneure générale, y prononcera une conférence sur la bonne gouvernance comme mécanisme pour atteindre le bonheur national brut. Qu'entend-on lorsqu'on parle de bonheur? En fait le terme est peut-être mal choisi. On devrait plutôt parler de bien-être. ... ”
Excerpt:
A happy balance; Ex-PM: Money isn't everything (8K PDF)
“ Hundreds of international delegates listened intently Tuesday as Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley gave the keynote address at the Second International Conference on Gross Happiness. ¶ For the past 30 years, the small country on the slopes of the Himalayas has focused on redefining what constitutes prosperous development, which Mr. Thinley said has traditionally been measured with a global materialist perspective. ”
The fine art of dealing with garbage
One person's trash is another's inspiration at happiness meeting
Excerpt:
Communication called crucial to population issues in towns (8K PDF)
“ An observer of trends in small towns says there is no easy answer to problems caused by population erosion. ¶ But David Bruce, director of the rural and small town program at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, is a believer that communication can provide some of the solutions to address out-migration. ¶ "Communication is absolutely right," he said after a workshop on sustaining rural development during the second International Conference on Gross National Happiness. ¶ "If there isn't a sense that people can talk to one another in a community, you're not going to get any idea about where the community should go in the future." ¶ This can include making young people in the area feel appreciated ... ”
Excerpt:
Happiness movement a non-starter (16K PDF)
“ My ancestors came to Nova Scotia in the late 18th Century under a thick fog of funk and fury. Forced from their hovels near Edinburgh by poverty, disease and oppression, they were not happy to make the months-long Atlantic crossing. And, having landed, they were not happy to call their rock-strewn plot of scrub along the Eastern Shore home. ¶ They griped when their patriarch, James Bruce, met an untimely end after a tree fell on his head. They whined when their crops failed, leaving them with nothing but wild roots and tubers to munch. They wailed when their animals vanished, their houses burned, and their children died. ¶ If only these incorrigible complainers had known what we know now. According to the organizers of the second International Conference on Gross National Happiness, every hardship or setback can be overcome simply by embracing peaceful, easy feelings, and working (happily, I assume) to manifest them in daily life. Apparently if incongruously — this is especially true on the blood-drenched battlefields of business and industry. ”
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