ABSTRACT. Martijn Burger (President ISQOLS 2023-2024) and Jill Johnson (Executive Director) welcome the attendees.

ABSTRACT. While happiness has long been a booming topic, sociologists have rather reluctantly joined the party. This keynote is on my own contributions to the emerging sociology of happiness. It comes in four parts. I start with explaining where the hesitation comes from (spoiler warning: the founding fathers are to blame!). I then characterize the sociological view on happiness, which emphasizes the importance of situational conditions, both personal and societal. The third part is devoted to specifically »social« conditions of human happiness, based on my own extensive research on social cohesion and social appreciation. In the fourth and final part, I present my nascent theory on the current and future importance of citizens’ pursuit of happiness in affluent societies. My key argument is that the current great importance of having a happy life – the true »happiness party« – has been a result of favorable conditions which are no longer guaranteed: The happy life might soon have to compete with the mindful life and the sustainable life. The »happiness party« could be over sooner than we think.

ABSTRACT. In this keynote address I will address the following questions: 1. How the historic quest for a good life resulted in recent research on life-satisfaction? 2. Why the take-off of empirical happiness research was slow? 3. Why the output of empirical happiness research is now rising so much? 4. Has all that research made us much wiser? 5. What questions on happiness should be prioritized in future research on happiness? 6. How to keep a view on the growing number of research findings on happiness?

ABSTRACT. Leo Bormans is the editor of ‘The World Book of Happiness’ and travels the world with a message of hope and happiness. When some years ago a refugee camp was set up in his village, he happened to meet Qadir Nadery and his family. They were on the run for the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was the start of a special friendship, ultimately leading to an inspiring book, which was ‘crying out to be written’: ‘De Knikkers van Qadir / Qadir’s Last Marbles’. It offers a unique view on life in ‘the unhappiest country of the world’ and on the horrible experiences of a refugee family, looking for a safe place in the world. In this keynote Leo Bormans summarizes his knowledge on quality of life, hope and happiness, based on his very recent work for ‘The New World Book of Happiness’, which will be released in October 2023. Quite a lot of ISQOLS members are contributing to this volume. His insights will be facing the experience of Qadir Nadery, who doesn’t like to be called a ‘refugee’. ‘That is not my identity,’ he says. ‘I am a man, a husband and a father on the run. I just had the bad luck to be born on the wrong place in the wrong time’. Both are, like all of us, looking for some hope and happiness in a troubled world. An eye-opening confrontation.

Leo Bormans has a Master in Philosophy and Literature (University of Leuven, Belgium) and is Distinghuised Lecturer in Happiness Economics Research at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam (The Netherlands). More on: www.theworldbookofhappiness.com and www.qadirslastmarbles.com

ABSTRACT. Jill Johnson and Martijn Burger present the latest updates regarding the ISQOLS Academy. Francesco Sarracino will hand out the Dissertation Award.