Happiness as a Development Goal - Lhaba tshering at tedxcordoba 2012

(Spanish) Good afternoon and thank you very much. Thank you very much for inviting me to this great TEDx event Cordoba 2012. I'm highly honored to be here among you to share an idea. An idea unfortunately which is not mine. An idea that has been conceived two or three decades back in this small Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. This idea of Gross National Happiness and pursuing a development philosophy based on the happiness of people. Something which was very unconventional at the time when we started off. So, this is the idea that I've come to share with you in the spirit of the theme of the event: "Ideas that move ideas." Ladies and gentlemen, the architect of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness is no other than the fourth King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck. So the picture you will see is the forth king. And his thesis was that GNH is more important than GDP. And understanding what human beings need to be happy is vital to the society. So this was the conviction upon which he conceived the idea. The topic of my talk, well, will be primarily focused on the Gross National Happiness. I'll try to give it an international flavor by seeing how happiness could be applied in other parts of the world. And to redefine and look what development could mean and whether if we can pursue a development with a different vision and a policy. When you talk about development, what comes to your mind? Economics, right? So, essentially, development actually means growth. But what has happened conventionally is that growth has not been pursued in its true sense. It has essentially meant development which is associated with economic growth. And it is my opinion and belief that growth does not necessary mean just financial or economic growth, it has other parameters and other requirements. Material growth alone is not reflective true nature of growth. And there are evidence, which say, that there's a minimum correlation or non-correlation between economic prosperity and happiness or well-being of the people. Having pursued development with the vision of pure material or GDP-based vision, the world is facing a series of problems and -- what are the consequences? The world, to my belief, is in a mad pursuit of economic gains. And this has cost a series of conflicts. Today, as you'll agree with me, the entire world is actually in conflict. We are facing conflict of crisis. Social crisis, cultural crisis, economic crisis, financial crisis. And above all, the most defining issue of the crisis that we as humanity face, as Mrs. Marina Silva once put it, the crisis of ethics and values. The current pattern… of the alarming rate at which the consumption and production is growing is not sustainable. We need to look for a solution. We need to look for an alternative. It is easy to say that we need to look, it is easy to say that we are in a problem. So, what is the solution? This is the question that we need to ask. To do that we go back to the drawing board and ask ourselves, what should be the relation between a state and its people? To me, in my belief, a state without its people is not a state. Therefore, there is a saying, which says, "As I am, so is my Nation", which clearly defines that the most important matter or factor in a state is its people. Therefore, it's individual citizens that collectively define the character of a state, and hence, is the people that matters. The duty of the state? It should solely be to serve its people. Now, let's look out. If the people [are] the center of development, and this is what we should do, what should the state be doing? Are the states doing what they are supposed to do? To my belief, the primary responsibility of the state should be to pursue development goals that matter to the people. And what matters to the people, in my belief and opinion, is not just material growth. There are other requirements as human beings. The state should also make the right policies that promote happiness and well-being. And happiness and well-being is a universal flavor which appeals to every individual whether you are from Latin America, or whether you are from North America, or whether you are from Asia. So the most [important] factors that promote happiness in an individual, is beyond the control of an individual. So, therefore, the important role of the state. The policy decisions that the state makes has a tremendous influence on how the individual can grow or promote his happiness. Therefore, there is an important factor that the state has to play. And the best way to do it is to put people at the center of the development policies. Let's look at the conventional development goals which has been pursued as I said, it is either to increase your GDP, you are talking about savings, and increasing or decreasing your financial deficit. These ways or approaches, are conventional approaches, that have been pursued. To my belief, are only means to a greater end. And that end, ladies and gentlemen, I believe is Happiness. Now, having said that happiness is the central theme or the single most important factor for individual and, therefore, the duty of the state to promote those conditions which promote happiness on the individuals, can we consider development vision and policy, and base them on happiness? Is this possible? Many people wouldn't agree with me and say that happiness is very subjective and relative and is something that cannot be objectively verified, or measured. Therefore, it is not possible. But, ladies and gentlemen, the experience that I've come to share with you is something which should tell me, or tell you, that it is possible. Let's look at what has been happening in the few months and years since the world has been confronted with a series of problems. If you know, and if you agree -- I think some of you would have heard -- the former French President, Sarkozy commissioned, what is called the Sarkozy Commission, or Sarkozy Report, which was looking at alternative ways of measuring the country's well-being. So, he was primarily looking at happiness as one aspect. There are also NGOs and independent organizations which try to measure the happiness of countries and try to rank them. And the Happy Planet Index is one way of doing that. The latest of one being the David Cameron Report on Happiness that is trying to see if Britain, as a country, and the British citizens are in the measure of happiness. Then, of course, from Bhutan, we have had this philosophy of Gross National Happiness for the last four, five decades and we felt that it was our humble duty to try and share the experiences that we have had, such a long experience. And therefore we put it forward to the UN to adopt a resolution which declares happiness and well-being as a fundamental human right or a goal. Then, I believe there is something called "El club de la felicidad", somewhere in Brazil, which is also encouraging. So, ladies and gentlemen, let's see if Bhutan's experiences would be one way forward to look at an alternative development paradigm. I've been talking about the evolution of the concept. I will then touch upon development of happiness indicators, and then, try to convince the skeptics who feel that happiness [is] a subject that cannot be measured. We will also look up at the operationalization of GNH. So, ladies and gentlemen, let's take a minute and join me and let's take a voyage towards Bhutan. Oh, my sound is missing. Anyway, this is the map of Bhutan. A very small Himalayan country. We are in between China and India, you'll see, and most of the challenges that we face are, as a small Himalayan country, sandwiched between the two giants of India. You'll see the pictures on the site. This is to give you a bird's-eye view of Bhutan. The architectures is very intact. The country profile, 43,038 thousands km2, with 0.65 million people, very small, half of the population of Cordoba, I believe. Let's look at the evolution. As I mentioned, the concept of Gross National Happiness concept was conceived by a great leader with unmatched vision and unmatched statesmanship, and that was the fourth King of Bhutan. And he was [already] a proponent as way back as 1970 when he as a young teenager at the age of 17 had to take the reign of the country and became the king, when his father died an untimely death. He has consistently pursued this policy and put the people at the center of development. And, so much so, even today when we are constructing a democratic monarchy, we still have the requirement of pursuing happiness as a development objective. The rationale, as I said, human beings need more complex than material needs. GDP growth does not necessarily lead to increased well-being and happiness. Evidence also suggests that. So, just to give a pictorial explanation. If you pursue development purely based on GDP or financial growth you will have the balance tilted. On the other hand, if you have just non-material, it'll also be tilted. So what we are looking at is a balance between the material and the non-material to achieve happiness. What is then, Gross National Happiness? To us, Gross National Happiness is a development approach that seeks to achieve a harmonious balance between material well-being, spiritual, emotional and cultural needs of a society. And it is based on a belief that happiness "is" the ultimate desire of every citizen and it is a purpose of development to create enabling conditions for the people. So how do we define happiness? Or how have we been looking at happiness? What have been the defining pillars which have guided us in these thirty or forty years of the kingdom's development process? We have four pillars: equitable social and economic development preserve and promote culture, conserve the environment and then, of course, good governance. We feel that as long as you have these four pillars in mind we should be able to achieve GNH in any pursuit that we go. In terms of operationalizing this concept, what have we done? We have a 5-year planning system. And the central planning agency is the agency which is primarily responsible to develop plans. So, therefore, we have now what is called the Gross National Happiness Commission, which maintains and mainstreams GNH into development policies. We have also developed indicators which help us to measure the GNH. So, what's the GNH Index? It's a composite statistic to measure Bhutan's progress enhancement in happiness. It is consisting of 9 domains, 33 indicators and 124 variables. Excuse me, I'm running fast because I'm running out of time. So, what are these 9 domains? We have conventional ways of measuring the progress of the country, and they are the ones which are highlighted in red. These are the conventional approaches. And we have non-conventional [ways] which are the following: psychological well-being, time use, community vitality and then, of course, cultural diversity and resilience. So, we have 9 domains, within which we have some 33 indicators and 124 variables. We conduct an annual survey -- a 2-year survey -- to assess where we are going, and based on the results of the survey we make policy interventions to correct in areas where we feel we are not doing so well. To give an example of how we are using the indicators. For example, let's say psychological well-being, education and community vitality... In the survey results stands that there is a decrease in them, then what do we do as a state policy, state interventions? We need to design and come out with policies and measures to help uplift the psychological well-being. Similarly, in education, we do interventions so that we improve in the education domain. Then, we have the community vitality interventions that are state policy decisions that need to be designed and promoted. And a case example, is in the education sector. When we look at the education sector without the GNH lens, from a conventional way of looking at it, it was perfect. We have an education system which are doing very well, the growth of enrollment ratio was 120%, or so, and so... But then when we put the GNH lens into it, we realize, "Wait, look, you are not doing too well." So this is how the GNH Index helps to give a more wholesome approach and allows the government to have policy interventions. We also have what we call the GNH Policy Screening tool. And I'm not sure if any other country has this sort of screening tool, where every major policy decision that is taken by the country in the context of any development intervention, is subjected to this screening tool. So, as long as the policy screening passes the minimum threshold, the policy gets through. But the policy -- if it does not meet the minimum requirement, then, the policy is rejected and it is sent back to the agency which is proposing that policy, and make the recommendations to make the necessary changes which will help to make or promote happiness in the country. So, in conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, actually, I’m not doing it too bad... in time... I thought I was doing very bad. Happiness, as I said, is a universal human aspiration. And, hence, it is my belief should be pursued as a state development policy. And don't just look at the mad economic race of pursuing material prosperity. And, in order to do that, and apply what we have done in Bhutan, in terms of pursuing GNH, we have to look at different contexts depending on the original cultural and religious sensitivity involved. And, ask yourselves, what does it mean to be a happy society or what are the parameters that would define happiness for you. For Bhutan, as I said, we have looked at the 4 pillars, the 9 domains, and then the 83 indicators, which essentially reflect this happiness of the Bhutanese society. So, for it to be applied internationally or replicated in other parts of the world, those states who wish to do that need to look at themselves and see what are the parameters that would define happiness. (Applause) How many of you are happy today? I would say 90 percent are happy because you are the lucky 100 lottery winners, right? Good luck. Thank you. Muchas gracias. (Applause)