The worldwide conversation surrounding mental health has reached a critical point. In a world marked by escalating rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout, more people die through suicide annually than through wars and natural disasters combined. The need for proactive, accessible, and evidence-based well-being strategies is paramount. For too long, the default approach of society has been to address suffering reactively—only once illness has manifested. In contrast, the Museum of Happiness (MoH) stands as a pioneering institution dedicated to a radical shift: the proactive, communal, and scientific pursuit of sustainable happiness.
Founded on the principle that happiness is a skill that can be taught, learned, and cultivated by anyone, the MoH is not a museum in the traditional sense, but a dynamic, London-based not-for-profit social enterprise. It is a sanctuary, a school, and a social movement, all wrapped into one joyous package. Since its inception, the MoH has carved out a unique space, using research-backed positive psychology, community connection, and compassionate engagement to provide tangible tools for a happier, kinder, and more peaceful world, co-created from the inside out.
The seed for the Museum of Happiness was planted in 2014, when co-founders Vicky Johnson and Shamash Alidina met and discovered a shared vision: to spread peace, love, and happiness globally. Vicky Johnson, a youth and resilience mentor, brought expertise in fostering emotional strength in young people, while Shamash Alidina, a renowned mindfulness trainer and author of Mindfulness for Dummies, contributed a profound understanding of contemplative practice.
The "Aha!" moment was simple yet profound. After googling "Museum of Happiness," they discovered thousands of museums dedicated to everything from war and pencils to art and history, but at that time, not a single dedicated centre existed for the systematic study and sharing of happiness. The world had museums to catalogue human suffering and achievement, but not to champion the very essence of human flourishing. They resolved to change this, pooling limited resources and drawing on immense inspiration from organisations like Action for Happiness.
Launched in 2015, the MoH’s profile exploded in January 2016 with their inaugural Winter Happiness Festival in Spitalfields, East London. The event’s page went viral, attracting thousands of attendees and hitting the news headlines. This rapid success demonstrated a massive, untapped public appetite for secular, science-based happiness education. Since that time, the MoH has grown exponentially, holding over a thousand workshops, festivals, events, and interactive experiences, and sharing the art and science of happiness with over 30,000 people across London, and internationally in places as far-flung as Nepal and Sydney, Australia. Though co-founder Shamash Alidina stepped down in 2020 to focus on mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, the vision is carried forward by Vicky Johnson (Co-founder and Director) and an expanding team of passionate facilitators and leaders, including Non-Executive Director Yvonne Fuchs, ordained by the late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, and Head of Community and Operations Katie Hebditch.
The Museum of Happiness rigorously anchors its entire curriculum in research-backed positive psychology. This discipline, spearheaded by figures like Martin Seligman, represents a crucial paradigm shift in psychology. While traditional psychology historically focused on pathology—diagnosing and treating mental illness—positive psychology pivoted to study the conditions and processes that enable human beings to flourish. It is a strengths-based approach that seeks to enrich individual lives by promoting well-being and fostering positive experiences, characteristics, and institutions.
The MoH philosophy understands that authentic happiness is not simply hedonia—the temporary presence of positive emotions or pleasure—but Eudaimonia, a concept rooted in Aristotelian philosophy often translated as 'flourishing,' 'the good life,' or 'living well.' Eudaimonia suggests that true contentment comes from living virtuously and pursuing meaningful, intrinsically valuable goals, which contributes to a deeper sense of fulfillment.
This scientific framework is often taught through the lens of Seligman’s PERMA Model, which identifies five measurable elements contributing to well-being:
By teaching people to actively cultivate these PERMA elements, the Museum of Happiness moves beyond platitudes, offering tangible, secular tools that can be implemented daily to raise a person's "happiness set-point," enhance emotional resilience, and buffer against stress.
The Museum of Happiness distils its philosophical framework into four core values, which serve as the practical pillars of its workshops and programmes. These values are not abstract ideals but active modalities for engagement: Compassion, Creativity, Community, and Mindfulness.
Mindfulness forms the bedrock of MoH’s inner-focused work. It is the practice of purposefully paying attention to the present moment without judgment. This skill is critical for developing self-awareness, which co-founder Vicky Johnson stresses is essential to befriend one’s mind. Mindfulness practices, often including guided meditation and nervous system regulation techniques, help participants:
The MoH recognizes that happiness cannot be sustained without kindness, particularly self-compassion. For many, the inner critic is their harshest judge. The Museum’s training equips people to develop a kinder, more encouraging inner voice. This is often taught through practices like:
Happiness is deeply relational; the strongest predictor of long-term well-being is the quality of our relationships. The Museum of Happiness is inherently designed to combat the rising tide of loneliness and social isolation, especially in large urban environments. The creation of a warm, supportive, and non-judgmental community space is one of its central missions.
A key feature of its community model is the "pay-it-forward" class structure. In these weekly mindfulness, yoga, or art classes, participants are not charged a fee but are instead invited to perform an act of kindness for a friend or family member. This model transforms a transactional experience into a selfless, chain-reaction of positive actions, demonstrating that community contribution is an essential component of happiness and meaning.
Creativity acts as a vital pathway to engagement and self-expression—key elements of the PERMA model. The MoH integrates playful and imaginative activities, such as Laughter Yoga and various art workshops, to help people access joy through simple, non-cognitive means.
As a not-for-profit social enterprise, the commitment to social equity is central to the Museum of Happiness’s operations. The MoH team believes that no one should face a barrier to sustainable happiness, making its outreach programme to vulnerable populations a non-negotiable priority. This focus ensures that the science and tools of well-being are not only available to those who can afford traditional therapies but are actively taken to those who need them most.
The MoH explicitly focuses on:
This deep engagement with community groups transforms the MoH from an interesting concept into a crucial piece of the social support infrastructure, addressing the root causes of suffering by fostering connection, resilience, and hope where it is often most lacking.
Recognizing that individuals exist within systems, the Museum of Happiness also offers targeted training for institutions—schools and workplaces—aimed at cultivating a culture of well-being from the top down.
Young people today navigate a world of intense pressure, from social media comparison to academic stress, often without being taught essential emotional intelligence skills. The MoH’s "Flourishing Schools" programmes and 1:1 Youth Mentoring, led by co-founder Vicky Johnson, fill this critical gap. These programmes aim to:
The corporate world is increasingly recognizing that staff well-being is not just a moral imperative but an economic one, leading to increased engagement, reduced absence, and higher productivity. The "Flourishing Organisations" stream works with diverse groups, from NHS staff to military veterans and corporate entities, to reduce stress and overwhelm.
By implementing practical, science-backed positive psychology interventions, MoH helps organizations to:
While the Museum of Happiness has successfully operated for years through pop-up festivals, community halls, and digital events, its ultimate goal remains the creation of dedicated, permanent physical centres for sharing the art and science of happiness, starting with a flagship location in London.
The vision for this physical sanctuary is deliberately designed as a relaxing, multi-sensory refuge: a space filled with park benches, uplifting murals, cloud installations, and abundant plant life. It is intended to be a place where visitors can not only learn but feel happier, offering guided tours and interactive displays that explore happiness in a fun, non-academic way. This permanent presence is essential to cement the MoH’s legacy as a civic institution.
Beyond a single location, the global mission is to create a worldwide ripple effect through its Happiness Facilitator Training Programme. By training individuals to teach the art and science of sustainable happiness in their own communities, schools, and workplaces, the MoH aims to decentralize its impact, creating a network of well-being ambassadors. The goal is to ensure that the knowledge and practices for a kinder, more resilient world are not confined to London but spread throughout the global collective.
Ultimately, the Museum of Happiness is more than a social enterprise; it is a vital cultural statement. It argues, with scientific rigour and profound compassion, that in an age of complexity and crisis, the greatest human endeavour is to master the simple, lifelong skill of joy, and to ensure that this skill is accessible to all. It represents a hopeful future where institutions are dedicated not just to remembering the past, but to actively improving the present and forging a flourishing future.
You can see the Museum of Happiness co-founders discussing their community work with vulnerable populations in London in this video:
