| Founder(s) | Ludvig Lindström |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Focus | Utilitarianism |
| Motto | "For A Happier World" |
| Website | www.charityinternational.com |
Charity International, who recently switched name to Global Happiness Organization (GHO), is an international non-profit organization[1] dedicated to the promotion of utilitarian ethics. It was founded in 2007 by a team of Swedish academics, philosophers and animal welfare activists led by Ludvig Lindström. The purpose of the organization is to increase net happiness worldwide.
The organization functions in two ways. One part of its work involves informing the public of the latest scientific research on effective strategies to enhance personal happiness; how you can make other people happier; and how to avoid causing suffering to others, including non-human animals.
Secondly, Charity International tries to get a happiness agenda into mainstream politics. Its goal is to have politicians base their policy-making decisions on conclusions drawn from the latest scientific studies in order to create better conditions for a happier society and a happier world.
From 2007 onwards[2], Charity International has organized a Happiness Conference where the organization presents the latest happiness research, outlines its future agenda, and provides an arena for discussions both among its members and among international happiness researchers. Conference participants and speakers have included the Australian philosopher Peter Singer[3][4], the Dutch Happiness researcher Ruut Veenhoven and the British philosopher David Pearce.[5]
Charity International's most recent conference was held in May 2009 at Malmö University.[6] [7]