After more than a year of work and the commitment of numerous media centers, media entities, and professionals in several communication fields from around the world, Hope Media Europe, with the Trans-European Division (TED) and Inter-European Division (EUD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, will officially launch the multimedia HAPPINESS project on February 3, 2023. The fifth multimedia offering of its kind stemming from GAiN (Global Adventist Internet Network)[1] Europe, Happiness is a “cross-media” project consisting of written content and audio-visual materials for TV, streaming, reading, and social media.[2]

The materials are based on varied and different perspectives and aspects related to the main topic of happiness. And while the topic was selected about two years ago, the project, nearing completion, was unveiled at the last GAiN Europe conference held in Bucharest, Romania, in October 2022.

Addressing the intentional collaboration with media partners from TED, EUD, North American Division, Inter-America Division, and South American Division, Adrian Duré, coordinator for the network projects in Europe through Hope Media Europe, shared that “together and with God's direction, we can do great things and we can touch the lives of many people in the world through our productions. We have a very strong network. Lots of creativity; and willingness to work together. This modality of work is the closest thing to a ‘potluck.’ Each one brings something. Each division, country, media center — each creative person — contributes something and all of us together can later enjoy [and share] the quality of the content.”

The Network Projects

Nicknamed “the network projects,” this series of collaborative efforts to produce multimedia content began in 2016 with the topic of Rest, followed in 2017 with This Is My Mission, highlighting a value right at the heart of the Christian faith, since, as it stated, “there is nothing better than living for others.”

For 2018, the project focused on Fathers, in an attempt to create concrete, positive, and focused material for families while highlighting the important role fathers play. The project sought to bring to the forefront the special privilege of being a father and cherishing that responsibility.

The launch of the 2019 project Uncertainty immediately preceded the COVID-19 pandemic. The tumult around the world, including economic issues, and, for Europe, the political drama of Brexit in 2016, as well as the continuing war in Ukraine has created times of uncertainty for many. From a series of “Dear Coronavirus” videos to the book, The End of Uncertainty, Returning from Exile, this network project provided Christian perspective about how faith can turn from surviving to thriving in an age of uncertainty.

Now in 2023, the Happiness project officially launches with the first episode of the “700 Years of Happiness” docuseries, which will premiere on Friday, February 3. This series tells the stories of seven Adventist centenarians from around the globe; and each week another episode will stream. The premiere of the NAD’s centenarian, “Vera,” will occur on March 17. This will be followed by the worldwide premiere of the NAD’s short film, “Those Were the Good Days,” which tells the story of a father and young daughter learning to find happiness in the little things.

Each one of these productions has numerous stories of people who share their values about happiness, their faith and their personal experience in relation to the main theme. Each of these productions will be shared free of charge on the project’s official website, www.happinessproject.media, starting on Feb. 3.

The materials are intended to be used by church members as well as church media entities, ministries, Hope Channel studios, and Adventist radio stations around the world. The content is currently available in English, with the possibility of translation into other languages.

With each network project, more and more collaboration on materials came to be as divisions saw the benefit of pooling their creativity, content, and resources to create high-quality media. “This is our fourth year participating in the network project," said Julio Muñoz, associate director of communication for the NAD and executive director of Sonscreen Film Festival. “We are so excited that the NAD, through Sonscreen, is now one of the coordinating partners. This collaboration has allowed us to combine and leverage our resources together with our other partners to have access to more media materials than we could produce on our own.”

“This is a win for our members as they can enjoy — and share — high quality, inspirational programming,” Muñoz explained. “And it is a win for film students from our colleges and universities who collaborate on these professional-grade productions. We are already working on the next network project and can’t wait to share a new slate of programs next year!”

Why Happiness?

“The selected topic aims to motivate and inspire the audience/readers to understand the concept of happiness, to connect it to their daily experiences, and to recognize those things that make us happy,” explained Duré.“Happiness is not something that we bring from birth; it is something that is learned. It is variable and different in each person, in each culture and context.”

The project was titled “Happiness,” with the tagline line: “Because happiness is not a destination. It´s a journey.” This was intentional, according to Duré.

He continued, “Happiness is a gift from God. Happiness is not a destination, but a path that we travel every day. Happiness can be found everywhere and is around us and can be found even in simple things. Happiness is within reach; and it is important to accept the realities and circumstances we find ourselves in, and find [that gift from God.] These and many other aspects will be portrayed through stories and life experiences in the different formats and materials created for the project.”

The Happiness Project

Below is a list of what is included in this year’s network project.

• Happiness — Book: A book composed of essays written by various storytellers from different regions of the world. A “existential,” approach, these writings are based on stories or life experiences.
• “Masters of Joy” — Documentary film about children, cultures, and happiness: How do children see happiness in different cultures? This documentary shows the concept of happiness from the perspective of children.
• “700 Years of Happiness” — A documentary series about happiness in the life of seven centennials: How do the elderly see happiness in different cultures? This series shows happiness from the perspective of the elderly and those who are 100 years old or even older!
• Happiness and the biblical beatitudes — A series of spots for social media: A series of eight clips for social media about the connection between the main topic and the biblical beatitudes.
• “Those Were the Good Days” — The short film: A daughter shows her father how to find happiness in life’s little moments. This is a narrative short film, written and directed by Rachel Scribner, produced by the North American Division, in association with the Pacific Union College.

Project Purpose

And the partnership will continue as the next topic has been selected for the 2023 network project: "Purpose and Meaning in Life."

“I am thankful for the content we have produced through our collaborations. We have received so much positive feedback from these projects. God is doing the rest; He is doing His work,” said Duré. “It is likely that we will never know the [full] results of our projects, but we trust in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the positive effect of these projects in the lives of many people in the world.”

— This article contains material from an article published by the Inter-American Division, written in collaboration with Hope Media Europe, and Trans-European Division, and Adventist Review. Check out these social media accounts, Facebook and Instagram, and help spread the word!