News Release | 20th March – UN International Day of Happiness 2015
20th March 2015 – UN International Day of Happiness:
Happiness Expert researches what makes us happy
In 2012 the United Nations General Assembly designated 20th March as International Day of Happiness in recognition of the importance of happiness and well-being as public policy objectives as well as human goals and aspirations around the world. Since then, a number of activities designed to raise awareness of this day have taken place all over the world every year. This year, the UN have teamed up with Pharrell Williams and Google to create the world’s largest ‘Happy Party’.
Frederika Roberts, The Happiness Speaker, firmly believes that working on our happiness benefits all areas of our lives. She celebrates UN International Day of Happiness this year by researching what she calls the ‘Little Happiness Ingredients’: The little things that contribute to individuals people’s happiness.
“Happiness is too important to be left to chance”, says Frederika. “It is a choice we make.”
The Little Happiness Ingredients Project launched on 20th February and, since then, over 1,000 responses to the question “What is your favourite ‘Little Happiness Ingredient’?” have flooded in from the UK, Canada, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, Australia and New Zealand. Frederika’s aim is that this project will help participants to re-discover the things they love doing, just for fun and that, when the final results are published, we can all discover some more ‘Little Happiness Ingredients’ we may want to build into our lives.
Frederika adds that “discovering our ‘Little Happiness Ingredients’ is a small but significant step towards working on our own happiness.”
Both of Frederika’s daughters were born with severe, complex and life-threatening heart conditions. Between them, they have had two cardiac arrests, three open heart surgeries and numerous other hospital stays. Frederika, her husband and her two daughters have not just survived these ordeals, but found a way to thrive and enjoy what at times seemed impossible: a ‘normal’ family life, full of laughter, fun, school runs, work, arguments, banter and teenage angst! Frederika has turned her experiences into inner strength and determination. Through her speaking, workshops (including Laughter Yoga sessions) and writing, she shares what she has learnt with schools, businesses and charities so that others can also work on their happiness and reap the rewards in their personal and working lives. Frederika’s book, ‘Recipe for Happiness: 9 essential ingredients for a happy life’, is available in Kindle and paperback formats from www.recipe-for-happiness.co.uk
Entries to the ‘Little Happiness Ingredients’ Project will be received until 2pm GMT on Thursday 19th March 2015 and initial findings will be published on 20th March, UN International Day of Happiness. The link for entries and for preliminary findings is: www.happiness-speaker.co.uk/lhiproject.
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Contact:
Frederika Roberts, The Happiness Speaker (www.happiness-speaker.co.uk )
e-mail: fred@happiness-speaker.co.uk
Tel: 07984 80 66 51
Twitter: @frederika_r
Facebook: Frederika Roberts / The Happiness Speaker
LinkedIn: Frederika Roberts
Further information
The social media hashtags #LittleHappinessIngredients and #LHIProject are associated with this project. The project web page is http://happiness-speaker.co.uk/lhiproject
Frederika is available for press and media interviews to discuss the survey and initial results, or to talk about happiness strategies and why happiness is important in all aspects of life.
Frederika is a Professional Speaker, Author and certified Laughter Yoga Leader.
She inspires her audiences to take action and work on their happiness as a foundation to success, productivity and improved health.
Born in Italy, of dual Italian and German nationalities, Frederika moved to Luxembourg with her parents when she was two years old. She then moved to the UK in 1990 to study at the University of Bradford, where she also met her husband.
After obtaining her Business and Management degree, Frederika undertook post-graduate studies in education and became a qualified teacher. Over the years, she has worked in education, recruitment and marketing and has set up and run her own businesses.
Frederika’s clients to date have included the BBC, Greater Manchester Police, schools and charities. She is President of the Yorkshire Region of the Professional Speaking Association of the UK and Ireland (PSA).
Frederika regularly speaks to the press and media, including BBC radio, about her expert subject and other topics. She is available to speak on:
- Happiness
- The business case for employers to focus on happiness and employee wellbeing
- Pastoral education in schools, emotional wellbeing of pupils in schools, reducing teacher stress and avoiding burnout
- Laughter Yoga
- Parenting, parenting of teenage girls, dealing with your childrens’ illnesses, surviving hospital with your children
- Resilience
- Cooking, recipes, food blogging, Italian food
Photos & Logos (available in high resolution)
