Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions. Dalai Lama
Since 2013, International Day of Happiness has been celebrated every March 20. Initiated by the United Nations “to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world,” it reminds us that we can actively participate in our own—and others’—wellbeing by engaging in practices that cultivate lasting happiness.
Creative work featured in the 2024 Happiness Reflected collection.
While challenges are often beyond our control, Happiness Day encourages us to reflect on how we choose to respond in the face of adversity. Despite hardships, happiness and difficulty can (and often do) coexist, and through this knowledge, we can intentionally choose to foster happiness in meaningful ways.
Happiness Reflected: Creative Expressions
In observance of International Day of Happiness, the University of Alberta Days of Action Committee invites members of the University of Alberta Community to contribute to the third annual Happiness Reflected: Creative Expressions by submitting original creative works that reflect their experience of happiness. (Experience the Happiness Reflected podcast, our 2023 Chapbook and our 2024 Chapbook.)
Information and Submission form:
Your submission can be in any textual, visual or audio representation, and in any language. It does not need to be new or current work. Up to 20 submissions will be selected and shared back to the U of A Community via several avenues of broadcast and/or publication, as yet to be determined, but possibly including:
- A print or digital publication for general distribution
- Posters displayed across all campuses
- A limited podcast series and/or exhibit/sound installation
We intend for the collection of creative works to reflect the diversity of thought, voice, and experience of happiness and its tensions. The selection of creative works will shape the project and determine the broadcast/publication outcomes.
Click here for more information about submitting to this project. Submissions can be made in French or English. You can also send questions to uaaction@ualberta.ca.