The man in charge with overseeing happiness in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is in Manila to spread the word about gross national happiness (GNH), an alternative indicator of a country’s economic and social well-being.
Saamdu Chetri, head of Bhutan’s GNH Centre, arrived Monday night on the invitation of Environment Secretary Gina Lopez to conduct a series of lectures aimed at inspiring Filipinos to find a balance between materialistic and nonmaterialistic aspects of life, and other factors that are vital to human happiness.
Chetri will be in the country until Oct. 26 to conduct lectures at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Ateneo de Manila University, University of San Carlos in Cebu, Ateneo de Davao University, and at the Senate.
A strong believer of GNH, Lopez said she envisions the Philippines as a country whose citizens give great value to the environment in the pursuit of economic development.
“We are changing the paradigm of development from the Gross National Product (GDP) to GNH. And, this is the first time that we are really taking a serious look at making happiness a barometer of development,” Lopez said.
GNH aims to measure quality of life in more holistic terms than in the standard and monetary-related GDP, striking a balance between spiritual and material aspects of life.
“Happiness is very subjective, very individual. You do not really measure happiness. For us, GNH is a condition our country will provide for our people. The domains give us a way to measure how successful we have been,” Chetri said as he was welcomed by Lopez at the airport.
The target audience for the lectures includes representatives of people’s organizations, indigenous peoples, civil society and local government units from 29 priority areas earlier identified by Lopez as models for sustainable development.
The lectures will be held on Oct. 18 at the Ateneo de Davao, on Oct. 20 at the University of San Carlos, on Oct. 22 at the Ateneo de Manila, and on Oct. 24 at UP Diliman.