COMPONENTS

Using His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s text, Ethics for a New Millennium as a guideline, high school seniors in three different countries will be engaged in a multi-faceted program that fosters real world experiences and reflections about the meaning of happiness.

Starting with the power of the Web to build relationships around the globe, students will share their experiences with each other through video diaries and blogs at projecthappiness.net. The Internet component of Project Happiness will make use of cutting-edge capabilities that interface with popular places where kids hang out. Examples of youth-friendly technologies that might be used would be MySpace or FaceBook, Flickr for photos and YouTube for video “conversations”. We are also exploring other channels to connect youth, such as mobile (phone) web browsing (including WAP), mobile SMS and Multi-media messaging services and “virtual” tours of real-world spaces. These elements will then become available to the global audience and encourage young people beyond the project to contribute their insights into the source of happiness.

Complementing the bridging potential of the Web are the documentary film which brings real experiences to life and the music soundtrack that deepens the intimate connections between people. An engaging music score serves to inspire youth through positive messages and themes. Through video footage of their own and peers’ daily personal journeys, current and future students have a dynamic and familiar way to explore one another’s interpretation of the Dalai Lama’s vision for peace, values, ethics and happiness. Together, each project component serves to build on the other with the goal of promoting dialogue, cultural exchange and connection.