Karen Guggenheim, Founder of WOHASU® & World Happiness Summit®, is a global wellbeing advisor and the author of Cultivating Happiness.

I founded WOHASU® in 2016 with a vision to advance the science and practice of happiness and human flourishing at scale, beginning with our flagship event, the World Happiness Summit®. Over the past decade, we have produced 15 highly curated international events exploring how wellbeing can be created in our personal lives, embedded into workplaces and organizations, advanced through policy, and strengthened through leadership, technology, and community. What began as an event in Miami has evolved into a global movement, and today WOHASU is recognized as a leading platform in the happiness space.

Human flourishing will not be defined by technology alone. It will be defined by how we live, connect, and care for one another.

Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Client; Yale's Dr. Laurie Santos Dr. Kelli Harding and WOHASU MC Sara Blanchard

Over the past two decades, a powerful shift has taken place. Happiness, once seen as a personal pursuit, is now recognized as a driver of health, performance, creativity, and longevity. The science is clear: How we feel shapes how we function. Happiness is not a luxury. It is a multidimensional strategic advantage.

After editions in Miami, London, and Lake Como, the World Happiness Summit comes to Portugal for the first time on May 16–17, 2026, at Nova School of Business and Economics in Cascais. This year’s theme, Kindness for a Happier Life, reflects a simple yet profound truth: The quality of our lives is shaped by the quality of our relationships, with ourselves and with others.

At a time when people around the world are experiencing rising loneliness and disconnection, gathering in person matters. Strong relationships improve our health and add years to our lives.

The 2026 Summit will bring the world’s leading experts in wellbeing and human flourishing. Economists, physicians, CEOs, professors, and researchers from Harvard, Stanford, New York University, the London School of Economics, and Oxford will share the latest findings and evidence-based practices. Global heads of wellbeing from Cisco, Siemens, Unilever, and LEGO will explore the future of work. The Summit will also feature insights from Gallup, the World Happiness Report, and the World Wellbeing Movement.

This is not fluff. It is science.

Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Client; Former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy Karen Guggenheim

But WOHASU is more than a conference. It is an experience. An immersive, multisensory environment designed to positively transform how you live and lead. Through yoga, meditation, small group conversations, experiential art, book signings, and evidence-based practices, participants engage not only intellectually, but emotionally and physically.

This is where you learn, reflect, connect, and act.

In a world moving faster than ever, we invite you to slow down with us. To experience the event that helped launch a global movement, and to join a community committed to building a happier, healthier world. We could not think of a better location than Cascais to host this special edition marking WOHASU’s 10-year anniversary.

Portugal now becomes part of that story.

Agenda https://worldhappinesssummit.com/wohasu-2026-agenda/.

Limited tickets remain at www.worldhappinesssummit.com. Readers of The Portugal News receive a 30% discount using the code “Portugal News”.