Filenews 19 April 2021 - by Marios Dimitriou
From the 49th place that Cyprus had in 2019 in the annual world report on the state of happiness, climbed to 39th in 2020, among the 149 member states of the United Nations, we were informed by the well-known neurologist-psychiatrist Dr Kyriakos Veresies, founder in Larnaca of the School of Happiness and the Group of Friends of Epicurean Philosophy "The Garden of Solution" which aims to promote the exchange of thoughts and ideas of friendship and solidarity in order to achieve "the happiness we deserve".
In an interview with "F", Dr Veresies said that the results of the 2020 report were published a few weeks ago on 20 March 2021. The 20th of March each year was established and celebrated by the UN - since 2012 - as an International Day of Happiness, by decision of the General Assembly of the Organization. Research and the publication of the annual report have been entrusted by the United Nations to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "This," Dr. Veresies told us, "has been going on since 2012 and in addition to studying the basic criteria, emphasis is placed on a separate subject or region of the world that deserves special attention and affects happiness indicators. This year's 2021 exhibition was natural to deal with the phenomenon of coronavirus and all the effects it had on global happiness."
In response to our question about what determines the level of happiness in a country, he stressed that the following six points are taken into account:
. Gross National Product per capita.
. The years of healthy survival.
. Social support.
. Trust.
. The freedom one has to make decisions about one's life.
. And generosity, as measured by recent donations.
"We have a long way to go"
Referring to the small history of this international institution, Dr Veresies said that "a country's happiness began to be discussed internationally when Bhutan, a small country between China and India, in 1972 instead of sending to the United Nations data on Gross Domestic Product, i.e. its economic accounts, sent data on Gross Happiness Product. In Cyprus, despite the encouraging result of the 2020 report, it seems that we still have a long way to go towards promoting the idea of happiness. However, we at the Mediterranean Foundation – Prevention and Health in Larnaca, through the School of Happiness and Buses and Laughter Groups, promote the basic principles of achieving personal happiness, while through the Group of Friends of Epicurean Philosophy "The Garden of Solution" social bliss. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has made our personal contacts difficult. We have already started collecting signatures to promote the demand for Bliss as a basic Human Right in the European Union and through modern technology we are promoting the idea of bliss. But what we are really fighting for is not only to claim the right to happiness, but also to prevent the right to spread misery from the strongest, the weakest."
"We say this is not a utopia"...
The signatory had attended the founding meeting of the Group of Friends of Epicurean Philosophy "The Garden of Solution" on 19 March 2019 at the Cultural Centre "Pavlos Liasidis" in the refugee settlement of Tsiakkiero in Larnaca which had taken place under the auspices of the mayor of Lysa, Andreas Kaouri. Welcoming the attendees, psychiatrist Dr. Luisa Veresier, who together with her father had the initiative to establish the Group, had pointed out among other things that "it may seem somewhat utopian at a time when money has been given the power of life and human relations, we here to philosophize and seek through friendship and solidarity to ensure happiness among people. But we – he continued – say that this is not a utopia. We believe that the existence and development of man, but also of the states where he lives, cannot be based solely on money. There are other basic human principles and values, such as psychological well-being, health, education, culture development, acceptance of people's diversity, lack of corruption and good governance, and if all this can be properly implemented, they may well lead to another quality of life, equality, progress and happiness."
The Assistant's philosophy of friendship
In a speech on "The philosophy of the Assistant and life in the Solution", Dr. Veresies said among other things that "the Assistant is closer to anything I believe", referring to the philosopher from Samos Athenian who lived in the 3rd century BC and promoted friendship and equality between people, as well as earthly happiness. He added that "although this initiative takes place at a time when money and corruption have shattered the basic principles of our human existence and although such initiatives do not offer material gain, I believe that they can play the role of an oasis in the modern desert of alienating human relations - to promote the exchange of thoughts and ideas, to elevate selfless friendship and solidarity between people, to reduce our unnecessary habits and to feel in the few years of our lives the identity and happiness that we deserve."
It is recalled that the opening of the School of Happiness, from 21 March 2018, had announced the previous day at a press conference, on the occasion of World Happiness Day, the Mediterranean Prevention Centres in Pyla, where the School operates. The first meeting was with a group of 16 people and the School continued its operation on specific dates, once a month.
Finland first once again
Dr Veresies commented that "what makes an impression on the state of happiness is that the top ten countries of 2019 are the same in 2020. First is Finland, followed in order by Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Austria. "Finland ranks very high in measures of mutual trust, helping to protect lives and livelihoods during the pandemic," the report's authors write. The Scandinavian nation of 5.5 million people manages the pandemic much better than the majority of European countries, according to Johns Hopkin University
