Meik Weiking, talks to us about happiness and the benefits of intergenerational volunteering

Meik’s background is in an environmental think tank. Before he founded The Happiness Research Institute five years ago, he became interested in the increased awareness of the impact of happiness throughout the world. We discussed why it’s important to measure happiness, what we can do to increase this and how intergenerational projects and volunteering play a role in making us happy.

Kate –“Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. What did you do before your current position?”

Meik –“I have worked on a Danish think tank called Mandag Morgen where I was responsible for the department working with climate, sustainability
and environment. I worked there for seven years before starting the Happiness Research Institute.”

Kate –“What attracted you to working in this area?”

Meik –“I thought it was interesting and much-needed research. In 2011 the UN passed a resolution stating that we should work towards happiness. I wanted to also work with this and started the institute. I was alone at first, but this spring we will have five people working here.”

Kate –“In your books you mention an increased global interest in happiness, why do you think this is?”

Meik –“People want to be happy. There’s nothing new to this. The ancient Greeks talked about happiness, the US declaration of independence states that we should pursue happiness and every parent in the world wants their children to grow up and be happy. So, this is something natural to humans to want to create happiness around them. I think the books and work that we do are needed because we will start making this quest something scientific and something that we can measure and benchmark. And then we can get the governments to talk about it as well.”

Kate –“For our readers, can you sum up what your organisation does and the key goals?” 



Meik – “We have three key goals: to find out how to measure happiness, to understand why some people are happier than others and to improve happiness in the world. So far, we have existed for 5 years and we are still getting more and more information and research about this. I don’t think we can ever give the full answer to this, but we can work towards it and increase global happiness in the process.”

Kate –“ What has been your highlight so far? Any other key projects you want to mention?“


Meik –“The first book about Hygge was a global success and made people start talking about happiness as something valid in our lives. The most recent project PsoHappy as presented in the World Psoriasis Happiness Report is something that I am very proud of. We have done a large research project and have made a difference for thousands of people who get to talk about what it is like to live with a horrible disease and how to improve happiness for this patient group.”

Kate –“How important is the connecting generations together to your work and do you think this is important to our society?”

Meik –“Yes! We need to build communities where people can live full lives. And we need to bridge the gaps in our societies. We do this also by bringing generations together so that they can contribute to each other’s lives.”

Kate –“There are many studies that show the positive impact of volunteering in your community and of having friends from different generations. Is
there any particular example of this you would like to share? This can be about yourself or someone you know.”

Meik –“Many things come to mind, but I will mention just one right here. In Denmark many elderly people get lonely. And then we have some young people who will volunteer as “visiting friends” for these and create happiness together. The older people will have someone to talk with and the young people will be able to learn the wisdom of a long and lived life.”

Kate –“One of our aims is to support grassroots projects to connect communities together, what advice would you give to someone who is looking to bring
a community together through an intergenerational project?”

Meik –“Start small and make sure that the people within the project feel included from the beginning. If communities should work, it is important that everyone can contribute and has a voice in the things happening. Otherwise, I think it is just up the people in the community to find just the model, that
works for them. And then also be willing to develop the model and change as the community changes.”

Kate –“Which people, funders or resources have helped you start your work at the Happiness Research Institute?”

Meik – “We have clients and partners from many areas and work on many projects. We don’t have any funding outside the projects.”

Kate –“What are your tips for getting volunteers involved in a local project?”

Meik –“We don’t have experience with this, but inclusion and empowerment seem to be some of the keywords that we see.”

We thank Meik for taking the time to answer our questions and encourage community groups and charities from around the world to get in touch with us if they have examples of intergenerational projects.

To find out more about The Happiness Research Institute please see their website or contact them by e-mail e-mail

This article is part of our winter campaign, Intergenerational Inspiration from abroad. If you would like to share your story for the campaign or have a question, let us know by contacting Kate or through our tag #gwtinspiration