New York, March 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The United Nations celebrated its second annual International Day of Happiness today, by examining the topic from a variety of angles: the impact of happiness on global communities; how media and technology are re-shaping our understanding of happiness and how entrepreneurs across the globe are spreading it as a key to success. Live Happy, a new magazine dedicated to making the world a happier place, partnered with the UN's Department of Public Information (DPI) and several NGOs to create the day-long series of events. 

See video from Live Happy LLC amd Synaptic Digital here: http://inr.synapticdigital.com/ActsOfHappiness/

H.E. Ambassador Petersen of Denmark (which is currently ranked the world's happiest country), and H.E. Ambassador Carlos Enrique Garcia Gonzalez of El Salvador sponsored the luncheon and panel events throughout the day. Accompanying the dignitaries were representatives from Africa, China, Israel, Egypt, and youth reps whose presence is a UN focus. Designed to explore the many dimensions of happiness throughout the world and underscore the importance of happiness as an indicator of personal and global well-being, the events took the form of two panel discussions in the General Assembly and a luncheon presentation in the Delegates Dining Room: 

• DPI Morning Briefing: Happiness Happening: Impacting Communities Globally (General Assembly)

• Invitation-Only Luncheon: Leveraging Media & Technology to Measure Happiness and Well-Being (Delegates Dining Room) 

• Afternoon Session: Social Entrepreneurs Sharing Happiness Initiatives for the Post 2015 Agenda (General Assembly)

The United Nations designated March 20 as The International Day of Happiness in June of 2012. Live Happy's access to the leading academics, authors, psychologists and experts in the field, as well as its role as an underwriter of the Positive Education Summit offered the UN unprecedented access to leaders in the field. "It was our goal to bring real-world expertise to each discussion," said Live Happy founder Jeff Olson, who spoke as a featured panelist at the UN. 

And as panel discussions unfolded inside the United Nations, outside across the nation and the world happiness was taking shape. The Acts of Happiness Campaign, a call to action to inspire people to share and spread happiness spread to more than 30 cities across the US, Canada and England, inviting people to share how they spread happiness. 

Actsofhappiness.org also hosted a virtual wall enabling everyone, everywhere to participate. Social posts were also employed using #HappyActs. "We often hear people say, 'I want to be happier, but I just don't know how'," said Olson. "This is our way of deriving inspiration from others and showing just how easy it is to increase your own happiness."

Both Live Happy LLC's work with the UN on today's events at the United Nations, and its Acts of Happiness Campaign underscore the mission to impact the world through a happiness movement that inspires people to engage in living purpose-driven, healthy, meaningful lives. The benefits of increased happiness are scientifically proven - happy people live longer, earn more, are more productive, and are better citizens. In short, igniting happiness can and will change the world. 

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About Live Happy 

Live Happy LLC, owned by veteran entrepreneur Jeff Olson, is a company dedicated to promoting and sharing authentic happiness through education, integrity, gratitude, and community awareness. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, its mission is to impact the world by bringing the happiness movement to a personal level and inspiring people to engage in living purpose-driven, healthy, meaningful lives. For more information, please visit livehappy.com

About ActsofHappiness.org

Acts of Happiness is designed to ignite happiness across the world by inspiring people to intentionally engage in small acts that share and spread joy. Acts of Happiness are small things--with a big impact. This campaign aims to celebrate happiness, and ultimately to create habits that spill over into every day to help make the world a happier place. Acts of Happiness is brought to you by Live Happy LLC, the publisher of Live Happy magazine, a lifestyle publication offering resources for anyone looking to be happier. From scientific research to anecdotes, celebrity interviews and personal stories Live Happy offers readers simple, practical, proven ways to be happier.