The HAPPY kick-off meeting in Denmark has taken place in Faaborg Museum from 11th to 14th November 2013.
The fact that all participants have prepared introductions of our institutions, made brainstorming on the 7 modules of courses, which will take place during the lifetime of our HAPPY project and everybody has confirmed possible objectives and calendars of events and activities has made it possible for Faaborg Museum and HF & VUC Fyn Glamsbjerg to start the workshops on happiness already at the kick- off meeting.
Sergio Pelliccioni, the inventor of the project, has been chosen to lead the kick-off part of meeting, so everybody has procreated prior to the meeting.
The participants arrived in the middle of a Danish snowstorm and were received with great empathy and hospitality from Restaurant Klinten Faaborg, who has managed to serve the dinner warm also for delayed arrivals.
Next day museum inspector Tina Anette Madsen has welcomed all partners from our 9 partner organizations by a guided tour through the vitalism period of art and architecture at Faaborg Museum, a period where it was necessary to optimize vitality and empower the people during a socioeconomic period with high unemployment up to WW2.
This period has made examples where happiness has to be a rather powerful tool to empower people in a time of socioeconomic crisis to regain vital spirit/force: e.g. we watch how people are able to live though difficult times and survive through their believe in a common way of seeing life.
Micro biologist Morten Rasmussen has performed a speech about Happiness through history from ancient time till today from a biological viewpoint.
We have carried out 5 workshops on Learning to be Happy
Jess Sloth's ‘Happiness and Body workshop, Patrick Kramer's presentation of own electronic HAPPY music compositions, Kirsten Kampp’s workshop with Sumi-e painting and Happy strokes peer to peer, and Carl-Aage Eliasson’s attention and focus workshops and his piano improvisations all have aimed to enrich people’s lives and to create happiness through a combination of anthropology, fine art, fitness and music. The common idea of all the workshops is that Happiness is all about being present in the moment of now, letting go of yesterday, and of tomorrow’s worries. Improvisation is one way to lead a listening audience into this moment, via direct communication of emotions through the spontaneous creation of music, evoking a way of meditation and physical activity, where you expand your own limits. High-energy singing, move and act in unexpected ways, dance and gymnastics, Sumi-e Zen painting in The Northern Style inspired by wall-paintings at the museum and a subsequent introduction to the ways to be empowered by happiness in life, as observed in different cultures and age ranges of today.
During the 3 Work Sessions Sergio Pelliccioni and Ingrid Kawlowski have leaded all our common planning of objectives of the project, like structuring calendar of events and activities, brainstorming on the 7 modules and re-elaboration of content, and list of stakeholders and partners involved in each modules, associations, learner, public and private entities, to a very sufficient result.
Necessary material for the Modules contents in the local language has been carried out by Morten Rasmussen and Kirsten Kampp. Stakeholders for "evaluation of the meeting activities" questionnaire, website and social networks, on the dissemination of the results project upgrading all the contents generate during the activities have also been selected during the Work Sessions.
The last day from lunchtime to late evening 44 learners and staff members from Faaborg Museum as well as HF & VUC FYN participated in the HAPPY WORKSHOPS in Faaborg Museum and the Official Dinner arrangement at Restaurant Klinten together with our partners.
We have edited a video from the activities carried out from the kick-off workshop in Denmark.
