What is the Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing?

The Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing is an independent initiative and a multimedia campaign in Germany. It brings the topics of fulfillment, life design, mindfulness and successful coexistence into public discussion in a playful and creative way and motivates people to rethink and participate.

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Encourager, Impulse Giver, Happiness Bringer.

The Ministry invites you to become part of this positive movement. In diverse and creative ways, it encourages people to rethink and act: How do we want to live? What does really count and what makes us happy? This special Ministry is to be understood as a voice for the important topics such as positive psychology, mental health, life design as well as the findings of happiness research. A platform for new ideas as well as creative and cheerful inspirations around the good life.

„Stay with your utopias, we need them!“

Inspired by the country of Bhutan, we established the provocative metaphor „Ministry of happiness and well-being“. As part of our transmedia campaign we travel across Germany, interview experts, politicans and citizens, organize events and activity days on the subject of happiness and well-being and design all promotional material as well as activities in all medias. Only through this diversity, creation of gross national happiness can be accomplished.

„Congratulations for your effort and your great commitment. The idea of the MoH has also enriched the debate within the commission. The question, whether subjective surveys with citizens should be a part of wealth indicators or not, was an important contention. This project is a strong metaphor, to hold up a mirror to society with the question what really matters when discussing wellbeing and prosperity.“

We ask the big questions about happiness:

  • How can we increase and influence our life satisfaction?
  • What constitutes quality of life?
  • What really counts and which values are important to us?
  • What kind of society do we want to live in?
  • How can we shape a happy future together?

The German Minister of
Happiness and Wellbeing

Sometimes you have to sprinkle confetti into your own life.

Gina Schöler

Minister of Happiness; trainer, speaker and author in the field of happiness, wellbeing and life design Gina leads the initiative “Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing” in Germany and german speaking countries to promote happiness and wellbeing with colorful actions and offers such as workshops and lectures to call on people to take action and work together to achieve gross national happiness.

Close to everyday life, at eye level and with a lot of fun, the Ministry invites you to become part of this positive movement. In diverse and creative ways, it encourages people to rethink and act: How do we want to live? What does really count and what makes us happy?

Don’t just talk – do it! As a doer and passionate do-gooder she has invented her own profession: Happiness Minister.

Born 1986
Minister of Happiness and Wellbeing
Communication Designer M.A.

With her many years of experience as a communication designer, she knows how to generate creative solutions and work on complex topics. For her, design also means working towards a better society and a good and successful life for all. For many years, she has thus been “advertising values” as a minister of happiness. Through tangible approaches that are fun and immediately transferable to everyday (work) life, she has been fascinating thousands of people, enterprises, educational facilities and even Federal Ministries Europe-wide.

„Gina lives by what she says. I have seldom felt so inspired and am thrilled by Gina's commitment, power and ability to implement. The workshop was entertaining, and motivated me a lot to continue working on the topic of happiness.“

The ministerial team

Fortunately, the Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing has been growing and receiving more and more attention. Gina is supported by a wonderful team to bring the topics of happiness, contentment and mental health into focus.

Julia Wittman, Nina Burau, Gina Schöler, Miriam Stocker, Selina Hitzfeld and Laura Pauli.

Offers

The topic of happiness is on everyone’s lips. It is attractive, desirable and yet very abstract. Above all, it is highly individual. We should therefore take time more often to ask ourselves important questions about life. Also or especially in the world of work – because Happiness is not a “nice to have”, but essential for healthy and sustainable leadership! Gina shows in her creative formats how important satisfaction and and an appreciative cooperation are for a healthy corporate culture.

„The lecture was great and shed new light on Happiness in a corporate context. With Gina's charming and inspiring way as well as her esprit, I was able to get to know many impulses for (work) everyday life.“

Interactive sessions and speeches (online and offline): Present findings, facts and figures from happiness research and positive psychology with personal anecdotes and colorful objects.

Workshops (online and offline): Actively and creatively take personal and also environmental wellbeing into one’s own hands and integrate it sustainably into everyday life.

Online impulses: A colorful mix of individually composed ministerial formats: e.g. videos, audios, live events, material or text contributions.

Care packages: A compilation of colorful material that inspires reflection and participation.

Event formats: Open impulse evenings, movie nights with discussion panels, panel discussions, moderations or team events.

Ministerial sessions invite you to think, participate and reflect.
Creative and colorful methods make our sessions unforgettable.

How can we live and work contentedly, healthily and happily?

What can I do for my wellbeing and that of my fellow human beings? How can I strengthen my team and create moments of happiness, especially in the context of work? These are the questions to ask, because:

0 %
of German employees are dissatisfied with their jobs.
0 %
of employees feel stressed by a lack of appreciation.
0
every fifth person suffers from health consequences due to overwork

Happy employees are a guarantee for productivity, teamwork, creativity and loyalty. Because happiness and wellbeing promote and improve:

  • Social interaction
  • Resistance to crises
  • Innovative strength
  • Mental and physical health
  • More energy for everyday life and leisure
  • Success and performance

Smile, reflect, pause

Ministerial sessions invite you to smile, reflect, pause and, above all, to imitate and become active. In a creative way, Gina encourages reflection and participation: What does really count? What makes us happy? What can we do and change?

"Thank you very much for this really successful workshop. It was really motivating for all colleagues who participated. The organization was very professional and the content was flexibly adapted to the respective topics, which I found very positive. I can only recommend Mrs. Schöler without reservation. She has made an important contribution to my team."

Areas of application:

  • Events within the framework of company health management
  • Health and appreciation days
  • Company events and anniversaries
  • Social skills training and further education
  • Incentive measures and team building events
  • Conferences and congresses (online and offline)

Our own actions have positive effects on personal and social wellbeing. In a playful way findings, facts and figures from happiness research and positive psychology are presented. Through the interaction and the creative impulses, as well as with a good portion of fun, it is shown how happiness can be integrated into the (working) everyday life and thus everyone can become a happiness ambassador.

"For our team, the topic of happiness and wellbeing is an important building block in our daily work as health ambassadors. We took a lot from Gina's workshop – from interesting facts from all over the world, to a collection of all the things that contribute to happiness, to valuable suggestions on how to train our brains to perceive the happy moments in everyday life. We were particularly touched by the individual and partner exercises, in which we were able to get to know ourselves a little better. Gina's authentic and inspiring personality convinced us all!"

Speeches

We are happy to speak at national and international events and workshops to report about our campaign, the ideas behind and to spread the word for more wellbeing in our society.

„Gina brought a lot of joy to everyone at the conference. You could see how the participants all had a smile on their faces. She made them think, discuss and participate. We had a lot of positive feedback. Always happy to do it again!“

Events

The Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing organizes events, happynings and extraordinary event formats to give people the opportunity to meet, to engage them in conversation, to inspire and to invite them to interact.

Movie Night
National Government Strategy “Living Well in Germany”
Reception of a Delegation from Bhutan

References

  • Xing
  • Deutsche Telekom AG
  • SAP SE
  • Deutsche Bahn AG
  • Deutsche Post AG
  • Deutsche Lufthansa
  • Stadt Mannheim
  • Stadt Nürnberg
  • Georg Fischer
  • Regus Holding
  • Saint Gobain GmbH
  • Agentur für Arbeit Heidelberg
  • Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund
  • TEDx
  • AOK
  • OECD
  • Techniker Krankenkasse
  • Otto Group
  • Deutsche Rentenversicherung
Creative street art to inspire people in everyday life.
Gross National Happiness for all!

Hands-On Activities

We can all contribute to making happiness grow every day. That’s why there are many everyday examples, interactive ideas and colorful activities for you to take part in. Join us to become ambassadors of happiness! If you would like to order any of our materials, please visit our Shop.

Dance Your Way into Happiness - Disco Ball

A small reminder to take Dance Breaks from time to time.

Jar of Happiness - Stickers and Cards

Collect beautiful moments and things for yourself or others.

Every Step Counts - Tote Bag

Reconnect with nature while giving back to it – go on a walk and pick up trash while your at it!

First-Aid-Happiness-Kit

You can always use a bit of happiness – install this box in your home, your office or in a public place.

Inspirational Cards, Challenges and other Materials

Say thank you, be brave or bring joy to others with our colorful materials.

More Ta Da’s, Less To Do’s

Where the attention goes, energy flows.

„Germany has always surprised the world. It is time to do so again. I think being in the heart of Europe, any move made by Germany would impact the continent – so it is the right place to start with such an initiative. Time is right for the change – your project is timely and its future is real.“

Books

Press

Gina Schöler is available for interviews at any time. Please send press inquiries by mail to Mail@MinisteriumFuerGlueck.de The following topics are possible: happiness, contentment, wellbeing, good life, quality of life, mindfulness, happiness research, positive psychology, life design, mental health. For reporting on the Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing, we request to be sent the report for approval in advance or to be notified as soon as the report is published.
 
Pictures, the logo and more information (in German) can be found here: Presse

Origin and Development of the Idea

In November 2012 the idea for the campaign was developed as part of a semester project at the design department at the University of Applied Science in Mannheim, Germany. A small team of students established the campaign during the lesson „Integrated transmedial communcations” given by Professor Axel Kolaschnik.

The aim was to create a campaign which changes values in society. During research the decision was made to learn a lesson from the small country of Bhutan: We need a Ministry of Happiness and Wellbeing in Germany to start a movement and raise awareness for the important question: What is a good life and how can we determine our own lives? With the help of this provoking metaphor we were curious how Germany would react on these questions.

International Meeting, Gross National Happiness Centre Bhutan

Gina Schöler and Daniel Clarens as part of this team decided to further establish the campaign as part of their Master thesis, which was finished successfully in October 2013. Realizing the huge potential, meaningfulness and influence the campaign has, Gina decided to work as a freelancer as Minister of Happiness and Wellbeing ever since. She travels through Europe to give speeches, workshops and to meet for example politicians to talk about people‘s happiness.

On a happy mission since 2012: Gina Schöler

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