Transcript
Tap a time to jump · select words to save
Hello, this is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Pippa.
In this programme,
we're talking about happiness.
So, what makes you happy, Neil?
It makes me happy
when I'm with a group of old friends
and we're having a good laugh.
How about you, Pippa?
Cats make me very happy.
Especially if I see a cat
on the street that I don't know
and it lets me give it a little
stroke. That always makes me happy.
I'm not surprised.
That sounds great.
So, happiness means different things
to different people.
But what's for sure is that
most people would like to be happy.
And the small Himalayan kingdom
of Bhutan has taken this
to a new level with the idea of
Gross National Happiness, or GNH.
We'll be hearing more
about Gross National Happiness
and learning
some useful new vocabulary soon.
But first,
Pippa, I have a question for you.
Of course, it's not just the people
of Bhutan who want to be happy. In fact,
the United Nations has even announced
an International Day of Happiness.
But when is that?
Is International Happiness Day:
a) the 20th of March b) the 20th
of June or c) the 20th of November?
I'm going to say the 20th of June
because it would be sunny in the UK.
OK, let's find out if you're right
at the end of the programme.
Now, briefly, Gross National
Happiness means preserving Bhutan's
natural environment and culture
through sustainable
and eco-friendly development.
Bhutan's government sees these goals
as more important
than growing the economy at any cost.
For many years, Bhutan was closed
to the outside world.
The first foreign tourists
arrived in 1974,
and television
was only introduced in 1999.
The King of Bhutan
wanted to modernise the country
and give it the benefits
of modern technology,
but without damaging
traditional culture.
So he invited outside experts to develop
the idea of Gross National Happiness.
One expert was Doctor Ha Vinh Tho,
speaking here
to Charmaine Cozier, presenter of BBC
World Service programme The Inquiry.
So, his idea was: 'how could
we modernise and open our country
without losing its culture,
its environment
and its very strong social fabric?'
Because Bhutan was one
of the only countries
in Asia who was never colonised,
therefore, its culture is very intact
and vibrant, mainly Buddhist culture.
And so the idea was that Gross
National Happiness should be the focus
on all governmental decisions
and policies.
So the wellbeing and happiness
of citizens took centre stage.
Bhutan has a strong social fabric,
meaning there are good relationships
within communities
and these hold society together.
Unlike other Asian countries,
Bhutan was never colonised,
so its Buddhist culture
and traditions are intact.
They're complete and unspoiled.
As a result, the happiness
of Bhutan's people took centre stage.
It became the most important thing.
Bhutan's emphasis on happiness
has been admired around the world,
but there have been problems too.
One is the migration of Bhutanese
workers to India and other countries
in search of better paid jobs
and opportunities,
something known as the 'brain drain'.
So in 2023,
the King of Bhutan announced
a multi-million dollar project called
The Mindfulness City,
a new Himalayan city built on spiritual
and environmental principles,
all powered by renewable energy.
Originally from Bhutan,
Doctor Lhawang Ugyel is
the project's director
and spoke with Charmaine Cozier
for the BBC World Service's
The Inquiry.
The project is also
about reversing Bhutan's brain drain.
The intention is to have locals run
this whole Mindfulness City.
So in that sense, it's also to
attract the migrants that have left
and in the process
of having worked abroad,
gained the extra skills, come back
to the Mindfulness City and work.
As well as being
a futuristic eco-city,
the Mindfulness City hopes to stop
Bhutan's brain drain
by attracting workers back home
to Bhutan.
These local workers
can then use the extra skills
that they've learned abroad
through upskilling.
And upskilling is the process
where worker skills are improved
through training.
The idea of Gross National Happiness
might sound unusual,
but it's interesting to see
Bhutan balancing economic growth
with the happiness of its people.
Yes, that's true, and it reminds me
of your question, Neil.
Yes, I asked you what the date
of International Happiness Day is.
I said it was the 20th of June
in the summer in the UK.
Well, maybe it's better
for people in the Southern hemisphere
because it's actually
the 20th of March.
Nice.
And if you got that answer right,
why not try our interactive quiz,
which you'll find
on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
OK, let's recap the vocabulary
we've learned,
starting with 'modernise',
to make something more modern.
For example,
through introducing technology.
A country's social fabric means
the relationships
which connect a community together.
The adjective 'intact' means complete
and undamaged.
If something takes centre stage,
it becomes more important
than anything else.
A brain drain happens
when large numbers of educated
and skilled people
leave their own country to live
and work in another country
where they can earn more money.
And finally, 'upskilling' means
improving workers' skills
through training and experience.
Once again, our six minutes are up.
Goodbye for now.
Goodbye.
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 15kingdom
word
0:45
"a country ruled by a king or queen"
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Find out which country officially measures its citizens' happiness and what that tells us about wellbeing in this 6 Minute English episode.