Policies for happiness: Finnish experts available to comment on what keeps the population happy

Policies for happiness: According to the World Happiness Report, the people in Finland are the happiest in the world -- the seventh year running that the country has topped this subjective well-being ranking.

Experts from Finland's Aalto University are available to comment on what happiness means in this context and how this small country ensures its residents’ well-being. Aalto’s experts can talk about how good governance and urban planning contribute to the country’s happiness: 

• Measuring and maintaining well-being in a society of trust. University lecturer Frank Martela, an expert on the basis of Finland’s happiness, has talked about the importance of monitoring well-being and how this can help national governments and institutions guide their policies to make people healthy and happy.

• Urban planning that makes people feel healthy and safe. Professor Marketta Kyttä can discuss how the design of Finland’s cities contributes to people’s wellbeing.

Frank Martela is a philosopher and researcher of psychology specialized in meaningfulness, happiness, and how organizations and countries can unleash human potential. His book A Wonderful Life – Insights on Finding a Meaningful Experience (HarperCollins 2020) has been translated into 24 languages, including French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, and Indonesian.

Martela has become one of the key experts on why Finland is so happy. He has written about the topic for Scientific American Observer and co-authored a chapter on the Nordic countries for the 2020 Word Happiness Report. Martela has been interviewed by The New York Times, Vice News, Le Monde, and the Monocle Observer. He earned his first PhD in organizational research (Aalto University, 2012) and his second PhD in practical philosophy (University of Helsinki, 2019). Newswise/SP