Descrição do Projeto

We have been studying Dubai and the UAE government’s communication focusing on the concepts of happiness, positivity and well-being as government policy for several years. Our qualitative studies have demonstrated that it is possible to implement successfully initiatives related to abstract concepts such as happiness, positivity and well-being. In 2016, Dubai and the UAE appointed a Happiness Minister. In the May 2020 government reshuffle, the ‘Quality of Life and Happiness’ portfolio was moved to the Ministry of Community Development.
This study’s main objective is to understand the impact of the extinction of the Ministry of Happiness on policies for happiness, positivity, and well-being. We also want to understand the presence of these topics in government communication.
We retrieved news published online in English from January 2021 to the end of November 2022 (in English) and information from the government website. We listed the news headlines and conducted a content analysis to the Ministry of Community Development mission statement using webQDA software. Qualitative methodology and content analysis using webQDA software were of utmost importance in validating our conclusions, thus adding scientific value to the studies.
The results show that policies for happiness, positivity, and well-being are no longer frequently mentioned in the news. However, the concepts of happiness and well-being still play an important role in that statement.
The study allowed to conclude that there are two distinct realities: in one hand a significant decline in initiatives; and the government’s commitment to continue working for a happy society on the other hand. We chose the qualitative methodology and content analysis with the webQDA software was of utmost importance for validating our conclusions and thus added scientific value to the studies.