The Happy City Initiative is like a great symphony designed for many instruments playing many parts... this week, we’ve launched the brassy excitement of a film project together with the stringed variety of a film club.  Enough of the dodgy analogies and on with the news.

Community Voice Launch

Today (17th November), the first of our Awards for All Community Voice workshops is being held in Hamilton House on Stokes Croft. Plastic Buddha Productions will be introducing the group to the film-making equipment and getting them set up to create a plan for their showreels. We’ll bring you feedback from the project as it goes.

Film Club Launch

Next Monday, 21st November sees the launch of our own Happy Film Night, at Kuumba, 20-23 Hepburn Road in St Pauls. Alison Sharman, the volunteer behind the new club, aims to hold regular screenings of films about positive change and creativity which focus on solutions to becoming happier.

Films will be selected for their inspirational content - the ones which show how people take on manageable chunks of the big issues in life, and make the daunting seem possible. These evenings are opportunities to share your strengths, interests, passions and knowledge about increasing happiness.  Our first film is ‘The Economics of Happiness’ – doors open at 6 for 6.30pm.  Keep your eye  on the ‘Events’ section of our Facebook Page for further details, and join the club by turning up!

Voluntary support

The pace of Happy City has suddenly started to pick up dramatically, and we’re really keen to find more people to help make sure everything runs smoothly. Transition Mentoring and Volunteer Bristol are the places to go for more detail about the help we’re after. 

Finally, as Berlusconi got the red card following Papendreou’s dismissal and things remain sticky for World Leaders everywhere, we were amused to spot this ad: Wanted: New Measures of Success. RSVP ‘World Leaders’, Room G20.

Here are a few more spots for your amusement

Spot of delight for those whose lives are taken over by E-Mailin the brilliant email charter from the TED community.  We CAN re-gain control!

Great Value Spot in the Museum of East Anglican Life’s work based learning programme, which reported £4 worth of Social Return on Investment for every £1 spent.

Spot of good reading in A Better World is Possible, because it sounds like a good idea!

Taster Spot for those interested in a Sustainability Toolkit  at St Nicholas House, BS1 2AW on 22nd Nov, 6th Dec and 3rd Jan.  FFl: martin@schumacherinstitute.org.uk

Spot of passion about designing cities for happiness from Enrique Penalosa, Ex-Mayor of Bogota, who says public spaces are as important to society as hospitals and schools.

Awards Spot from Bristol Fairtrade, who are inviting people to enter their Fairtrade Business Awards