Your Guide to the 2023 Onsite Event
Welcome to the Gross Global Happiness (GGH) Summit! Launched in 2019, GGH is an initiative born out of a partnership between the Centre for Executive Education at the University for Peace, established by the General Assembly of the United Nations, and the World Happiness Academy. With participants from all around the world, the event gathers experts in distinct subject areas of well-being to offer inspirational and practical sessions that span the scope of happiness research.
This year, Gross Global Happiness will be held both online and onsite at the UPEACE campus, and this page is designated specifically for those who will be with us in-person at the UPEACE campus in Costa Rica. Get ready for 3 packed days of learning, growth and deep connection!
Important Information
What to Expect
We’ve packed quite a bit of content into this event! Please note that most sessions are highly interactive! Be ready to fully participate.
How to Get Here
Airport transport is available for those with the travel package. To meet your driver at the airport, walk all the way down to the right and you’ll see a small restaurant called el Malinche.
The Agenda
We have over 40 AMAZING sessions, 3 keynote speakers, and plenty of time built in to network and connect with fellow attendees!
Learn More About the Gross Global Happiness Summit
**Special Announcement! Gross Global Happiness onsite counts toward our Global Leadership Diploma, a 5-course program designed for leaders at all levels. If you love what you’ve seen so far and want to continue your learning journey, by the end of this event you will be 20% of the way to completing your Diploma. Click here to learn more or email centre@upeace.org for details.
Learn more about the event
Please select the tab that matches how you will participate.
Contact Information: Many of you will be staying at Studio Hotel. Should you need to contact the hotel prior to or upon arrival, simply write to jvega@costaricastudiohotel.com or call +506 2282-0505. Should you need to contact a member of the UPEACE Centre team, write to centre@upeace.org or call +506 8730-7360.
Parking Directions at UPEACE: If you are driving, be sure to check Google Maps or WAZE – simply enter ‘UPEACE’ in all caps to find us. Upon arrival you will be met by a guard and directed to a nearby parking lot.
Daily Transport: For those of you staying at the Studio Hotel, a bus will pick you up each morning to go to campus. You can find the bus departure times here from the Studio Hotel each morning. Please be sure to arrive a few minutes before the scheduled time, as the bus will not wait. The bus pictured here is the one you should out for!
What to wear: Please wear whatever you feel most comfortable in, whether that’s more on the business or more on the casual side. It gets warm on campus, and there will be some walking from session to session, so we recommend that you wear comfortable shoes. While it can be warm, it also tends to get quite windy in March, so you might want to bring along a light jacket!
What to bring: Come ready to learn and engage! You do not need a laptop, though you may want to bring one. You might also want notebooks, pens/pencils, and whatever else you think you might need to get the most out of this experience.
COVID Protocols on Campus:
Please know that the University for Peace has standard COVID protocols in place in agreement with the Costa Rica Ministry of Health to keep you safe during the event. These include:
- Mask mandate on campus at all times unless eating or drinking during coffee breaks or lunch.
- Temperature check upon arrival
- Social distancing in classrooms and in the cafeteria
Please see a video here that gives you more information.
Video Resources: Below are a few resources to help you get inspired and ready for the event!
- Why Costa Rica Is One Of The Happiest Countries In The World
- The Happy Planet Index (TED talk by Nic Marks). We’re truly excited to welcome Nic as a keynote at this year’s event as well!
Get ready for an amazing conference! The session types that you’ll be able to partake in include –
- Workshops: A 1.5-hour interactive and hands-on workshop allows you to experience a new idea, skill, methodology or take on a key question facing the world today.
- Ignite Sessions: Also highly interactive, the 45-minute-hour Ignite Session takes a deep dive into a specific topic, leading you through an engaging activity or discussion.
- Be the Change talk: A 15-minute Be the Change talk is modeled after the TED-style talk and is designed to awaken curiosity and share insight into a particular theme. Though these talks will offer a chance for Q&A at the end, they are the least interactive of the session types.
Can’t make it to all the sessions you would like to see? Don’t worry! We will record each session and give you access to all of them via the Gross Global Happiness Virtual Library after the summit!
Contact Information: Many of you will be staying at Studio Hotel. Should you need to contact the hotel prior to or upon arrival, simply write to jvega@costaricastudiohotel.com or call (506) 2282-0505. Should you need to contact a member of the UPEACE Centre team, write to centre@upeace.org or call (506) 8730-7370).
Parking Directions: If you are driving, be sure to check Google Maps or WAZE – simply enter ‘UPEACE’ in all caps to find us. Upon arrival you will be met by a guard and directed to a nearby parking lot.
Daily Transport:For those of you staying at the Studio Hotel, a bus will pick you up each morning to go to campus. You can find the bus departure times here from the Studio Hotel each morning. Please be sure to arrive a few minutes before the scheduled time, as the bus will not wait. The bus pictured here is the one you should out for!
What to wear:Please wear whatever you feel most comfortable in, whether that’s more on the business or more on the casual side. It gets warm on campus, and there will be some walking from session to session, so we recommend that you wear comfortable shoes. While it can be warm, it also tends to get quite windy in March, so you might want to bring along a light jacket!
What to bring: Come ready to learn and engage! You do not need a laptop, though you may want to bring one. You might also want notebooks, pens/pencils, and whatever else you think you might need to get the most out of this experience.
COVID Protocols on Campus:
Please know that the University for Peace has standard COVID protocols in place in agreement with the Costa Rica Ministry of Health to keep you safe during the event. These include:
- Mask mandate on campus at all times unless eating or drinking during coffee breaks or lunch.
- Temperature check upon arrival
- Social distancing in classrooms and in the cafeteria
Please see a video here that gives you more information.
Your Presentation: If you plan to project a presentation, please bring a flash drive with your presentation that we can directly connect to a classroom computer. Alternatively, if you would like to use your own computer, please bring the necessary cable adapter needed to project, knowing that sometimes this can get complicated. So please have your presentation on a flash drive as a back-up.
You will have access to the following materials. Please email centre@upeace.org at least one week prior to the event to let us know which ones you will be needing so we can prepare. If you need something that is not on the list, please come prepared to provide it on your own.
- A projector/screen
- Audio
- Internet
- Whiteboard + markers/eraser
- Blank paper
- Post-its
- Tape
- Glue
- Scissors
Video Resources: Below are a few resources to help you get inspired and ready for the event!
- Why Costa Rica Is One Of The Happiest Countries In The World
- The Happy Planet Index (TED talk by Nic Marks). We’re truly excited to welcome Nic as a keynote at this year’s event as well!
Get ready for an amazing conference! The session types that you’ll be able to partake in include –
- Workshops: A 1.5-hour interactive and hands-on workshop allows you to experience a new idea, skill, methodology or take on a key question facing the world today.
- Ignite Sessions: Also highly interactive, the 45-minute-hour Ignite Session takes a deep dive into a specific topic, leading you through an engaging activity or discussion.
- Be the Change talk: A 15-minute Be the Change talk is modeled after the TED-style talk and is designed to awaken curiosity and share insight into a particular theme. Though these talks will offer a chance for Q&A at the end, they are the least interactive of the session types.
Can’t make it to all the sessions you would like to see? Don’t worry! We will record each session and give you access to all of them via the Gross Global Happiness Virtual Library after the summit!
Keynote Speaker 2023
Dr. Monica Araya
Dr. Monica Araya has worked on sustainability for 25 years. She works with leaders in governments, cities, business, advocacy and philanthropy to accelerate climate solutions. Born in Costa Rica, she has worked on various sectors in several countries with a focus on Latin America, US and Europe. She has given talks about climate action in all continents, including Antarctica. Her three TED talks have over 5 million views. She studied Economics in Costa Rica at the National University and has a Ph.D. on Environmental Management from Yale University.
Keynote Speakers 2022
Tal Ben-Sharhar
Tal Ben-Shahar is an author and lecturer. He taught two of the largest classes in Harvard University’s history, “Positive Psychology” and “The Psychology of Leadership.” His books in the area of Positive Psychology have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have appeared on best-seller lists around the world. Tal obtained his PhD in Organizational Behavior and BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Harvard.
Raj Raghunathan
Raj Raghunathan is a Zale Centennial Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He's interested in exploring how people’s judgments and decisions impact their happiness and fulfillment. Currently, Raj writes about his views on happiness and leadership on his popular blog (with over 1.5 million page views), Sapient Nature. Raj also wrote a book (titled, If you’re so smart, why aren’t you happy?) that was launched in 2016 and has been translated into 13 languages.
Nic Marks
Nic was once described as a ‘statistician with a soul’ due to his unusual combination of ‘hard’ statistical skills and ‘soft’ people skills. He has been working in the field of happiness, wellbeing and quality of life for over 25 years with a particular emphasis on measurement and how to create positive change. Nic is the founder of Friday Pulse™ Ltd and has worked with over 1,000 organizations and teams measuring and improving their happiness at work.
Testimonials
“The Gross Global Happiness Summit is one of the few platforms out there that offers an opportunity for coaches, trainers and experts in the happiness field to come together and co-create high quality and innovative programs that tackle the challenges of the 21st century, especially around anxiety and stress management, and all done in an intimate and natural setting of one of the most beautiful university campuses on Earth.”
“For me, GGH has been a high return investment for both my business, teaching and research. Having attended both 2019 and 2020, I can see the accelerating value coming from engaging in Costa Rica as well as the year long connections with participants. I find that my depth and breadth of understanding to be highly significant in strengthening my professional work and professional life. Highly recommended.”
“This event is not only a breakthrough for person leadership, its provides a platform to reengineer the planet. A planet where human happiness is a real possibility. This event ignites the imagination of a more compassionate, fun filled, loving, kind, purposeful and creative planet!”
UPEACE and the Centre for Executive Education
Located in Costa Rica, the University for Peace (UPEACE) was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the United Nations General Assembly. UPEACE is the only university in the United Nations system authorized to offer academic degrees in the field of peace and conflict studies.
Within the University for Peace, the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education was launched to deliver dynamic workshops, seminars and training courses. In a world that needs more changemakers, these courses are designed to empower people and provide them with the skills, mindsets and networks to make a positive impact on the world.
Interested in a way to continue your journey with the UPEACE Centre? We offer both a Social Innovation Diploma and Global Leadership Diploma, 5-course programs designed for changemakers and leaders at all levels. If you love what you’ve seen so far and want to continue your learning journey, consider one of these unique Diploma programs!
Click here to learn more or email centre@upeace.org for details.
The World Happiness Academy and World Happiness Fest
The World Happiness Academy and Fest are the world’s largest, most diverse, polycentric and comprehensive forums and networks of happiness and well-being experts, thought leaders, activists, shapers, and game-changers. Founded by Luis Gallardo. Get access to monthly meetups online with the Gross Global Happiness Community and hundreds of hours of content recorded from the worldwide leading experts on happiness and wellbeing. With presence in more than 60 cities around the world, our higher purpose is to realize a world with a free, peaceful, conscious and happy humanity. #TenBillionHappy by 2050.
