Happy List
Encyclopedia
The Happy List is a list of 100 people in the United Kingdom
"who give back, volunteer, and who make Britain a better balanced, happier country." It has been published annually in April by the Independent on Sunday, a British national Sunday newspaper
, since 2008.
The BBC welcomed the first Happy List as "an antidote
" to the Sunday Times Rich List
, a longer-standing institution which is published on the same day. Following widespread comment in the UK and abroad, the Independent announced a week later that it would make the Happy List an annual fixture. The Wall Street Journal floated the idea of a Happy List for the United States, but this was not taken up.
The newspaper accepts that the list is an artificial exercise, but seeks to celebrate people representing much-needed values
, in the hope that they will be seen as role model
s.
, the inventor of the World Wide Web
, cricketer and fundraiser Ian Botham
, and author and philanthropist J. K. Rowling
.
The WSJ noted that the list included wealthy individuals such as Duncan Bannatyne
, quoting his opinion that "Britain’s rich don’t do enough for good causes."
It also included ten less well-known people who had featured in Gordon Brown
's 2007 book with a somewhat similar aim, Britain's Everyday Heroes
.
, Barnardo's
, Christian Aid
, National Trust
, Save the Children
, NCVO
and Amnesty International
. The compilers took care to include some people working only at a local level, as representative examples of volunteers
around the country.
They avoided repeating people from previous years' lists unless they had made an exceptional contribution in the preceding 12 months. Camila Batmanghelidjh
was included in 2008 and 2009. Peter Kay
made the list in 2009 as "simply Britain's best comedian", and again in 2010 for also raising funds for Children in Need
.
As it would be invidious to attempt to rank
the individuals, the lists are generally presented alphabetically. However, six exceptional individuals headed the 2010 list: Heather Brooke, who broke the MPs' expenses scandal
; Brian Cox
for making science "cool
"; Kate Humble
, wildlife enthusiast; playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah
, bringing wider attention to Britain's black community
; Jasvinder Sanghera
, campaigner against forced marriage
; and Archbishop John Sentamu
, "thoughtful and provocative contributor to national debate".
The 100 in 2010 are not all adult individuals, but include duos, a child, an RNLI team and a few other organisations. The 2008 list included fictional character Tinky Winky, followed by Thomas the Tank Engine
in 2009. The second list also included Simba, a therapy dog
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
"who give back, volunteer, and who make Britain a better balanced, happier country." It has been published annually in April by the Independent on Sunday, a British national Sunday newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, since 2008.
The BBC welcomed the first Happy List as "an antidote
Antidote
An antidote is a substance which can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek αντιδιδοναι antididonai, "given against"....
" to the Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
, a longer-standing institution which is published on the same day. Following widespread comment in the UK and abroad, the Independent announced a week later that it would make the Happy List an annual fixture. The Wall Street Journal floated the idea of a Happy List for the United States, but this was not taken up.
The newspaper accepts that the list is an artificial exercise, but seeks to celebrate people representing much-needed values
Value (personal and cultural)
A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based...
, in the hope that they will be seen as role model
Role model
The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students...
s.
The first Happy List
The first list included Tim Berners-LeeTim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
, the inventor of the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, cricketer and fundraiser Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
, and author and philanthropist J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
.
The WSJ noted that the list included wealthy individuals such as Duncan Bannatyne
Duncan Bannatyne
Duncan Walker Bannatyne, OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, stage schools, property and transport. He is most famous for his appearance as a business angel on the BBC programme Dragons' Den...
, quoting his opinion that "Britain’s rich don’t do enough for good causes."
It also included ten less well-known people who had featured in Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
's 2007 book with a somewhat similar aim, Britain's Everyday Heroes
Britain's Everyday Heroes
Britain's Everyday Heroes is a book by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown about thirty-three ordinary people whose willing commitment to a cause or a community has informed and inspired Brown...
.
Selection criteria
The Happy List 2010 was published as a supplement in the Independent on Sunday on 25 April 2010. The selection reflected the newspaper's own research, nominations from the public, and recommendations from national organisations including Heritage Lottery FundHeritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, Barnardo's
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
, Christian Aid
Christian Aid
Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...
, National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
, NCVO
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an environment in which an independent civil society can flourish...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. The compilers took care to include some people working only at a local level, as representative examples of volunteers
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
around the country.
They avoided repeating people from previous years' lists unless they had made an exceptional contribution in the preceding 12 months. Camila Batmanghelidjh
Camila Batmanghelidjh
Camila Batmanghelidjh is a British businesswoman, charity leader and author of Iranian and Belgian origin. She has been living in England since the age of 11 and founded two charities - the place2b and Kids Company where she and her team care for 14,000 vulnerable children and young people in London...
was included in 2008 and 2009. Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
made the list in 2009 as "simply Britain's best comedian", and again in 2010 for also raising funds for Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
.
As it would be invidious to attempt to rank
Ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either 'ranked higher than', 'ranked lower than' or 'ranked equal to' the second....
the individuals, the lists are generally presented alphabetically. However, six exceptional individuals headed the 2010 list: Heather Brooke, who broke the MPs' expenses scandal
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
; Brian Cox
Brian Cox (physicist)
Brian Edward Cox, OBE , is a British particle physicist, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and a professor at the University of Manchester. He is a member of the High Energy Physics group at the University of Manchester, and works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at...
for making science "cool
Cool (aesthetic)
Something regarded as cool is an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of...
"; Kate Humble
Kate Humble
Katherine 'Kate' Humble is an English television presenter, mainly for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes...
, wildlife enthusiast; playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Kwame Kwei-Armah, is a British actor, playwright, singer and broadcaster. In 2005 he became the second black Briton to have a play staged in the West End...
, bringing wider attention to Britain's black community
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
; Jasvinder Sanghera
Jasvinder Sanghera
Jasvinder Sanghera is an activist and advocate for women's rights who was born in Derby. She is the co-founder of Karma Nirvana, a community-based project where several refuge centres across the United Kingdom serve as safe-housing for South Asian women fleeing forced marriages...
, campaigner against forced marriage
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
; and Archbishop John Sentamu
John Sentamu
John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu is the 97th Archbishop of York, Metropolitan of the province of York, and Primate of England. He is the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.-Life and career:...
, "thoughtful and provocative contributor to national debate".
The 100 in 2010 are not all adult individuals, but include duos, a child, an RNLI team and a few other organisations. The 2008 list included fictional character Tinky Winky, followed by Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
in 2009. The second list also included Simba, a therapy dog
Therapy dog
A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, people with learning difficulties, and stressful situations, such as disaster areas....
.
External links
- The IoS Happy List 2008 - the 100
- The IoS Happy List 2009 - the 100
- The IoS Happy List 2010 - the 100
- The IoS Happy List 2011 - the 100