On 19 July last year, 68 countries joined the Kingdom of Bhutan in co-sponsoring a resolution titled “Happiness: Towards a holistic approach to development,” which was adopted by consensus by the 193-member UN General Assembly.
In follow up to the resolution, the Royal Government of Bhutan is convening a High Level Meeting on “Happiness and Well Being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm” on 2nd April 2012 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
This meeting will initiate next steps towards realizing the vision of a new well being and sustainability based economic paradigm that effectively integrates economic, social, and environmental objectives.
Intended outcomes of this meeting include:
- A statement on the new economy for voluntary signature by all the participants
- Building a global movement and action networks to promote implementation of the new economy
- Voluntary specific policy recommendations for consideration by governments in the short, medium, and long term
- Establishment of an independent expert Task Force to elaborate the details of the new economic paradigm
- A strategy to present the new economic paradigm at the special event to be hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan during the Rio+20 summit in June this year
- A strategy for effective communication of the new economy to reach the widest possible audience.
This landmark gathering on 2nd April will be attended by a select but representative group of top government representatives, by all United Nations missions, and by leading economists, scholars and spiritual and civil society leaders, representing both developed and developing nations.
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