Switzerland’s first Forum dedicated to exploring human happiness and well-being was held on 17 and 18 June 2024 at LAC Lugano.
The event was organised by IBSA Foundation, the City of Lugano Cultural Division, and the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness of Harvard University, in partnership with Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura (the LAC cultural centre), and the Lugano Region. International experts gathered together to share the latest scientific discoveries and groundbreaking theories on the theme of happiness. More than 500 people attended the event over two days.
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The Forum is part of the wider Cultura e Salute (Culture and Health) project, which was set up to shine a light on how artistic and cultural practices can significantly enhance physical and mental well-being, fostering happiness and social well-being.
Day one of the Forum, focusing on the scientific exploration of happiness, began with a welcome speech from Roberto Badaracco, Deputy Mayor and Head of the Department for Culture, Sport and Events of the City of Lugano. The speeches covered a wide range of disciplines, from psychology and sociology to neuroscience.
One of the most eagerly awaited talks was the one by Dr K. Vish Viswanath of Harvard University. Dr Viswanath played a key role in the organisation and scientific curation of the event in his capacity as director of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness.
He explained that happiness is a complex and subjective concept shaped by cultural, social and economic factors. If we are to foster environments where everyone can thrive, it is essential to ensure equity, where everyone has fair access to resources, opportunities and rights. He emphasised the importance of public policies aimed at reducing inequalities to promote collective well-being.
Speaking on stage with Dr Viswanath, Julianne Holt-Lunstad — professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University — highlighted the crucial role of social relationships for well-being, explaining how the concept of loneliness is different from that of isolation and can negatively impact mental and physical health.
So, if individual happiness also hinges on happy social conditions, how can we extend this well-being to the community we live in or the place where we work?
The experts discussed strategies for building positive work environments that not only make employees happier, but also boost productivity and innovation. Garth Graham, head of Healthcare and Public Health at Google and YouTube, explored the relationships between information, technology and happiness. His talk provoked a lively discussion on how information can affect happiness, stress and overall well-being.
🎥 Watch the video of the day one
On day two of the Forum, participants enjoyed an in-depth exploration of the concepts of happiness and well-being. It became apparent that there is no universal definition of happiness, nor a single way to measure it. The various sessions underlined the importance of a multidisciplinary approach: the concept of happiness should be applied and studied in a number of fields, from science and biology to psychology and economics. The need for cross-cutting collaboration between researchers, academics and experts from different disciplines emerged as a recurring theme.
This integrated approach not only lays the foundations for studying happiness through multiple lenses, but it also enables practical and pioneering solutions to be developed to foster individual and collective well-being. The common aim is to improve our understanding of happiness and find effective ways to apply this knowledge in day-to-day life and public policies.
In this vein, leaders of international organisations, such as Karen Guggenheim of the World Happiness Summit (WOHASU) and Randy Taran of Project Happiness Global, shared their experiences of fostering well-being on a global scale. They highlighted how happiness can be a catalyst for positive change, and underscored the key role of collaboration, education and innovation in the pursuit of individual and collective happiness.
In the afternoon, the discussion focused on the relationship between happiness and culture. Enzo Grossi of IBSA Foundation and Julia Hotz, American author and journalist, explored the ways in which cultural contexts shape the perception of well-being and contribute to a sense of purpose in life. The concept of social prescribing — a non-pharmacological approach to mental and physical health that involves prescribing social and cultural activities to enhance well-being — was also debated.
The day continued with a focus on Switzerland, with the session "Swiss Happiness: Building a brighter future together". Aurélie Litynski of Happitude at Work and Laura Marciano, researcher at Harvard University, discussed practical strategies to improve well-being across Swiss society, by encouraging constructive dialogue between various sectors. In particular, Litynski, a workplace happiness expert, gave an inspiring speech on how to cultivate well-being in the professional context. She shared practical strategies that companies can implement to create happier, more productive work environments.
The Forum ended with the launch of an unprecedented study on happiness that will be conducted in collaboration between teams from Harvard and Garmin. This ambitious project aims to collect daily well-being data from over 10,000 individuals, using data from Garmin smartphones and smartwatches. The objective is to offer new insights into the dynamics and determinants of subjective well-being in everyday life, by integrating the physical health data collected by the devices with metrics on social interactions and physical environments.
To participate in the study, click on the button below and enter in study code 3712.
The one-of-a-kind Lugano Happiness Forum showed how happiness is a topic of serious scientific investigation worthy of a multidisciplinary approach and collective efforts by institutions and policymakers to enhance individual and collective well-being.
IBSA Foundation director Silvia Misiti stressed the importance of studying the relationship between health and culture and cultivating synergies between these areas to improve quality of life. The Lugano Happiness Forum, created within the Cultura e Salute project, achieved the dual objective of deepening the scientific understanding of happiness and making this knowledge accessible to a wider public by using simple and inclusive language.
This event proved to be a key platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, laying the foundations for future collaborations and innovative research in the field of human well-being. It showed the importance of supplementing the scientific evidence with cultural and social approaches for a more complete understanding of happiness.
Looking ahead, it is clear that research into happiness will continue to evolve, incorporating new technologies and methodologies. The commitment shown in this Forum hints at the dawn of an exciting era for happiness science, with potential significant impacts on public policies and the quality of life of people around the world.