(GDP). Thepremisefor sucha statementwasthatthe
senseof well-being amongcitizens alsoneededto be
takenintoaccountalongwitheconomicindicators to
takeforwardsustainabledevelopmentof communities.
TheU.N.resolutionacceptedthispremiseas onevalid-
atedby internationalexperience.
Sincethe passage of the 2011U.N. resolution,many
nations haveadopted theconceptandevolveddiverse
governanceinitiativesbasedon it. In February2016,
UnitedArabEmirates(UAE) PrimeMinisterSheikh
MohammedBinRashidAl Maktoum appointedOhood
Al Roumias thecountry’sfirst Ministerof Statefor
Happinesswiththebriefof overseeing “plans,projects,
programmes[and]indices”thatimprove thecountry’s
overall mood.
In Maythisyear,New ZealandPrimeMinister
Jacinda Ardern released the first-ever “well-being
budget”of the countryandassertedthatthe purposeof
governmentspendingwasto ensurecitizens’ health and
life satisfaction, andthatthatwasthe metric by whicha
country’s progressshouldbe measured,notwealthor
economic growthalone.“GDPalonedoes notguarantee
improvementto ourlivingstandards”,nordoesit “take
intoaccountwhobenefits andwhois left out”,shesaid.
Theappointment of TraceyCrouchin January 2018
as thefirst Ministerfor Loneliness in the United King-
domwasalsoa governance initiativewithseverallink-
agesto the 2011 U.N. resolution.Overthepastdecade,
Russia, too,hassoughtto adoptandadaptto the “well-
being andhappinessconceptandproject”in its own
unique ways, employing what is often termed as
“strategies and methods with distinctly Russian
characteristics”.
TheThirdForumof SocialInnovationsof theRe-
gions heldin Moscow fromJune19 to June21 showcased
someof the strategies, methodsandprogrammesassoci-
atedwiththe project.Thefocuswasonfive specific social
developmentthemes: longevity, health care,education,
an activelifestyleandhappiness,whichwasstressedin
conferencedocumentsas something that“should per-
meatethe entiresocialsphere”.
Indeed, differentcountrieshaveadaptedto the “hap-
piness project”in different ways,butthe Russianenter-
prisein thisdirection,as witnessedat the Forum as well
as in thefield units,seemslargelyguidedby the original
Bhutaneseexample.TheBhutanesedefinitionof GNH
emphasisesninedomains andfourpillars of happiness
thatcollectively guideandleadto harmonywithnature
andtraditionalvalues.
The nine domains are psychological well-being,
health, timeuse,education, culturaldiversity andresili-
ence,good governance,communityvitality,ecologicalTHEDIGITAL
PALACE,
headquartersof
centralised
digital services,
in Moscow.MOSCOW
MAYORSergei
Sobyanindoinga
walkaboutat the
thirdForumof
Social Innovations
of the Regions,
held in Moscow
from June 19-21.