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Do you want to help create a happier and kinder world? If so, please join our movement, add your pledge and we'll send you practical action ideas to make a difference. By choosing to Join, you trust Action for Happiness to take care of your personal information and agree to our Privacy Policy.

I will try to create more happiness and less unhappiness in the world around me

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About Action for Happiness Groups

Our vision for the Action for Happiness movement involves local groups of like-minded people joining up to share ideas and take action. 

There is now a vast array of evidence about how we can create happier lives, but most of this isn't yet being acted on in our homes, schools, businesses and communities. So if you believe that happiness matters, and want to be part of building a happier society, then why not create a local group today and start putting these ideas into practice together.

Basic group principles

  • Who: Anyone and everyone is welcome to create or join a group: no expert knowledge is required, although obviously it will be an advantage if the group leader has some prior experience of organising group activities.
  • Where: We're keen for people to create local Action for Happiness groups wherever they are in the world. Although our main focus at the moment is in the UK, we already have members in well over 100 countries and are keen to see the movement continue to grow worldwide.
  • What: In order to be considered part of the Action for Happiness movement, groups need to be focused on our central theme - i.e. the main activity of the group should be to learn about, discuss or take action in relation to happiness and wellbeing. This is different to being a group focused on something more general which contributes to wellbeing (e.g. pilates or choir - these things are of course great for well-being but thousands of these already exist, and our focus is more specific).
  • Why: We would like groups to be focused not just on what they can do to help individuals within the group, but also on what they can do to affect other people's happiness, although obviously the two go hand in hand. The core idea behind Action for Happiness is that to create a happier society we need to focus on helping to spread happiness and reduce unhappiness in the world around us.
  • How: This page gives some basic ideas for what a group might choose to focus on together: Create a local Action for Happiness group
Keen to find others nearby?

If you'd like to start a group but don't know people nearby who might be interested, the best thing to do is:

  • Suggest your group on our Meetup page
  • If you'd like, we can then help make other members aware of your group, provided we feel it fits with our principles (see above). For example this could involve us sending an email to other members that have told us they live in the same town letting them know that someone is keen to set up a group near them. Email us to discuss your group plans and how we can help.
Once you've got people and a plan

When you've identified people to be involved in your group (either via meetup or otherwise) then we suggest that you use whatever tools you feel most comfortable with to manage the group. For example, this could be via:

Post your group on our website

Once you've got the basic idea for your group in place remember to post it on our Groups and Events page so anyone visiting the Action for Happiness site can see it (and also so we're aware that it exists).

Existing groups

In addition to people setting up new Action for Happiness groups, we also want thousands of existing groups and organisations to think about what they can do to help boost the well-being of the people whose lives they affect. Examples of existing groups might include museums, faith groups, social clubs, community action groups, adult education providers, parent support groups, nursing homes, youth clubs, student unions, housing associations and many more.

We would love to help existing groups to apply our 10 Keys to Happier Living to:

  • Assess their existing activities and get a better understanding of what they already do to affect people's well-being across each of the 10 Keys areas;
  • Consider what, if any, additional activities they might be able to do in each of the 10 Keys areas to further enhance well-being.
  • Put in place an action plan to introduce and communicate these additional activities.

If you're part of an existing organisation or group that would like to use the 10 Keys to Happier Living then please get in touch at [email protected]

Rules for Running a group

If you set up an Action for Happiness group then we expect you to abide by the following rules:

Aims: the aims and objectives of your group must be in line with the principles of Action for Happiness - i.e. focused in some way on helping to create a happier society.

Activities: the activies of the group must be non-commercial in nature. Leading a group is done on a voluntary basis and no group leader (or member) is expected to make any commercial gain from running or being involved with a group.

Materials: various materials are freely available from the Action for Happiness website but groups must ensure they are familiar with the Terms of Use (including Disclaimer and Copyright notice). In particular, Action for Happiness materials cannot be used for commercial purposes or adapted without permission.

Communication: group leaders are expected to inform Action for Happiness that a group has been set up and reply to reasonable requests for information about the group's activities.

Thanks for keeping to the rules! We hope your group is a great success.

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Together we're stronger

Having a network of social connections or high levels of social support has been shown to increase our immunity to infection, lower our risk of heart disease and reduce mental decline as we get older.

Not having close personal ties has been shown to pose significant risks for our health.