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UAE strives to create happy and positive work environment

Xinhua, July 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched Saturday a training scheme for 60 chief happiness and positivity officers who will represent federal and local government entities, Dubai daily Gulf news reported.

The announcement was delivered by Ohood Bint Khalfan Al-Roumi, UAE Minister of State for Happiness and the first kind ministerial resort in the world which the government of the Gulf state created in February this year.

Gulf news quoted the minister saying the candidates will undergo a "practical, comprehensive, and intense training program" as of September, to become the first generation of Chief Happiness and Positivity Officers in the UAE government.

Al-Roumi explained further that selecting these talented young nationals to the newly created role mirrors the directives of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

He called for the creation of happy and positive work environments in all government entities.

The Minister of State for Happiness said that training the Chief Happiness and Positivity Officers reflects the "future-oriented thinking" of the UAE government, which firmly believes that building the future requires foresight and knowledge, and anticipates its challenges by launching initiatives, policies, and programs, as well as training generations of specialists in various fields.

According to Chicago professor of economics Jeffrey D. Sachs, a nation is more likely to record positive economic growth if its citizens sense they live happy lives, the professor said at the annual UAE government summit in February 2014.

As part of the preparations to launch the Happiness and Positivity Training Program, Al-Roumi signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkley, to train the Chief Happiness and Positivity Officers. They shall understand to understand the "science of happiness" and implement it.

The program is designed to equip a new generation of national leaders with world-class knowledge and practical skills in the field of happiness, said the report. Endit