Embrace Bhutan Cultural Tour
Thimphu | Bhutan
08 Nov 2019 | Fri
Day 02 of 13
Bhutan Gross National Happiness (GNH) Centre
Our next place to visit was one of the more interesting stops – the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Centre.
Amazing Philosophy to Bring Happiness and Well-Being
Here we were given a wonderful presentation by Wesel Dema (GNHC Programme Officer) that went into great detail explaining the vision and philosophy of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) as introduced by His Majesty the Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in the early 1970s
Main Concepts of Gross National Happiness (GNH)
The main concepts of GNH described to us in the presentation were:
- Four Pillars of Gross National Happiness (GNH)
- Nine Domains of Gross National Happiness (GNH)
- GNH Screening Tool
- GNH Happiness Index
Four Pillars of Gross National Happiness (GNH)
The concept of Gross National Happiness can be explained by its four pillars:
- Good Governance
- Sustainable Socio-economic Development
- Preservation and Promotion of Culture
- Environmental Conservation
– For More Info… GNH Centre Four Pillars of GNH
Nine Domains of Gross National Happiness (GNH)
The four pillars are further elaborated into nine domains, which articulate the different elements of GNH in detail and form the basis of GNH measurement, indices and screening tools.
- Living standards
- Education Health
- Environment
- Community
- Vitality
- Time-use
- Psychological well-being
- Good Governance
- Cultural resilience and promotion
– For More Info… GNH Centre Nine Domains of GNH
GNH Screening Tool
The GNH Screening Tool is a system that ensures all development policies and projects of Bhutan are reviewed under the lens of GNH.
– For More Info… GNH Centre GNH Screening Tool
GNH Happiness Index
The GNH index is a holistic approach to measuring the happiness and well-being of the Bhutanese population. It is a measurement tool used for policymaking to increase GNH.
– For More Info… GNH Centre GNH Happiness Index
Great Presentation & Discussion
As a group, we found the presentation by Wesel Dema (GNHC Programme Officer) about Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) to be very interesting and informative. She won us over with her awesome enthusiasm and positive nature.
As a Westerner from the United States, it was so refreshing to see a country come up with such a smart and well throughout philosophy to bring happiness and well-being to their society. For just the concept alone, what His Majesty the Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck came up with is truly impressive!
At the end of the presentation, we were totally sold on the philosophy of Gross National Happiness and all left being a bit envious that we did not have something like this back home!