His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, formed the World Happiness Council on Sunday to coincide with International Happiness Day on March 20 and send a positive message from the United Arab Emirates to the world. The UAE was the first country in the Arab world to establish a Ministry of Happiness. The council was praised by Emirati citizens and will be headed by Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, along with 12 other members. There will be six subsections in the council: health, education, work environment, personal happiness, happy cities and happiness standards. Its target is to support international efforts to adopt happiness as a basic standard toward progressing development in countries like the Emirates.

Source: Egypt Independent March 20, 2017 12:00 UTC