Think Work Live Positive event aims to make Kuwaitis happier

The Kuwaiti social initiative, Al-Nowair, will be holding its first conference on Sunday themed "Think Work Live Positive" aimed at encouraging a positive outlook to life, said its President Sheikha Intisar Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah. The event, said to be the first of its kind in the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, will be hosting workshops aimed at people who are an inspiration to others, the head of the initiative said in a pre-event press conference. Al-Nowair - an Arabic word which translates in English as a yellow desert flower that resembles the common daisy - describes itself as an initiative that is "driven to spread positive attitude in Kuwait. An attitude that we believe can be a way of living and lead to finding fulfillment and happiness. Already in its second year, the statement adds, "scientific research proves that having a positive outlook towards life is a choice. Our mission is to make people aware of this simple fact and inspire them to act on it." Thirty percent of the event's tickets will be handed out freely to employees across several sectors known to be major contributors to the community like doctors, teachers and NGOs. "The event is beneficial in many ways to our everyday personal lives, commercial transactions and human interactions," she said, adding that encouraging a positive outlook on life gives future generations the opportunity to make their country more prosperous. It also helps people overcome physical and psychological ailments such as depression and heart disease as well as helping them deal with stress, thus providing them encouragement to up their performance and production levels at work. Its inception coincided with the International Day of Happiness on March 20, and was launched in order to tackle studies revealing that Kuwait is the second least country where people smile, added Sheikha Intisar. On the global unhappiness bar, Kuwait ranks eighth and is the fourth in unfriendliness to foreign visitors, she added, stating that 40percent of its youngsters fear responsibility, some 28 percent are affected with depression and 20 percent resort to violence in sorting out their differences with people. With only a group of seven people, the initiative already has a volunteer base of 20,120 people. Its website has recorded 718,000 visits inside and out of the country, and some 26,000 people have made contributions to 12 events it has so far organised. It is also the winner of a local creativity award