Dubai: If you are wondering what to do this Friday, how about building a happiness jigsaw?
If that’s got you piqued, head straight to the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club which is playing host to a happiness festival.
Organised by the Happiness Hub, a positive psychology consultancy, the festival is all about making happiness simple and accessible.
Hub founder Fiona Barron told XPRESS, “The event will provide the tools and resources that enable attendees to overcome the barriers keeping them from living life to its fullest. We’ve created an event that’s focused on building a community of like-minded people, who have the common goal of being their best self as an individual, in relationships and at work.”
She said the festival agenda is structured to give participants a “build-your-own day experience”.
“With nine streams of content built around the concepts of positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, well-being for children and well-being for men, there’s ample choice throughout the day. Each session block will include a variety of 20-minute bite-size choices and introductions, so you’ll find more than enough to keep you occupied. With food trucks available throughout the day, we want people to bring a blanket and enjoy Dubai’s winter sun – all while learning how to be the best version of themselves,” she said.
Mass change
The aim of the Happiness Hub, said Barron, is to create mass change when it comes to mental health. “We wanted to build something different that had positive psychology and positive mental health at the heart of everything we do. We do this through festivals, events, workshops, training, speeches and seminars.”
But can individuals be empowered to realise happiness?
Barron, who answers in the affirmative, said, “Our aim is to build a platform that truly speaks to people in a fun, engaging and exciting way and help them understand that mental health is just as important as physical. It was important that all our initiatives be evidenced-based and, while there will be a lot of fun activities at the event and throughout our work, the majority of our sessions are centred around positive psychology and geared towards helping people live their best life.”
She said the hub seeks to demonstrate that happiness is accessible to everyone. “By providing a wealth of experiences that span across positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment, we help people to try new things and introduce them to new concepts that can add to their happiness. We want to provide as much diverse, but evidence-based information, techniques and exercise to allow people to piece together their own happiness jigsaw. The festival is the first step in that journey, giving us what we hope will become the foundation for a community built around the principles of happiness and personal well-being.”
The festival will run from 11am-6.30pm. For more details, go to www.thehappinesshub.me
