A revealing documentary delves into what is considered the happiest country to live in for those under 30.
Ammar Kandil and Staffan Taylor, from the YouTube Channel Yes Theory ventured to Lithuania to conduct a 50-hour experiment to investigate whether young people are really as happy as studies show.
The World Happiness Report, released by the United Nations in March, ranked Lithuania as the country with the happiest people under 30.
For the report, people in 140 countries were asked to rate on a scale of one to ten how happy they were, with ten being very happy and zero being very unhappy.
The results were based on three years of data from people saying how happy they were.
Ammar Kandil and Staffan Taylor of the YouTube channel Yes Theory ventured to Lithuania to conduct a 50-hour experiment to investigate whether young people are really as happy as studies show.
Upon landing in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Amma and Staffan start talking to the locals.
Most of the young people they talk to agree that Lithuania is a good place for young people, and some of their reasons are “good food”, “friendly people”, “plenty of job opportunities” and a “growing economy”.
Many of them emphasize that the hardships their ancestors suffered also taught them to enjoy every moment and “see the beauty in simple things.”
Offering some background on Lithuania’s tumultuous past, the film’s narrator explains: ‘For most of the 19th century, Lithuania was under Russian rule.
‘Under this regime, their culture, language and religion were suppressed. Throughout the 20th century and the world wars, Lithuania fought for independence, but was continually under Soviet rule.
‘It was not until March 11, 1990, that they finally declared full independence, becoming the first Soviet republic to do so.’
In an attempt to get more young people talking about life in Lithuania, the Yes Theory team is organizing a meet-up event which they advertise on Instagram.
At the event, people in the gathered crowd take turns sharing their views.
The World Happiness Report, released by the United Nations in March, saw Lithuania crowned as having the happiest people under 30.
Landing in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Amma and Staffan get to work talking to the locals.
A young man says: ‘After spending a year in the United States, what I learned in Lithuania is the connection with nature.
‘You can (easily) go to a lake, go to a beautiful forest.’
Another woman in the crowd says Lithuania has “never been as good as it is now,” but notes that “we are all realizing that we can lose this very quickly, just like Ukraine has.”
Taking a more neutral approach to the topic of happiness, one man tells the YouTubers: ‘Let’s just say that if you look at the suicide rates in Lithuania, especially among young people, it’s quite high.
“So in the happiest country in the world, would that be the case?
“Yes, we are very happy here as young people, but we still face some problems, so I think neutrality is what I choose at the moment.”
After the meeting, Ammar and Staffan spend the rest of their trip with local people and some of the sites they visit include a former prison (Lukiškės Prison), which has been converted into a cultural space, and the mysterious Hill of Crosses monument.
At the end of their holiday in Lithuania, the duo discover that happiness has abandoned them.
A local woman says: “Lithuania has never been as good as it is now,” but notes that “we are all realising that we can lose this very quickly, just as Ukraine has lost it.”
After the meeting, Ammar and Staffan spend the rest of their trip with local people.
Ammar, who has travelled extensively around the world, tells viewers while attending a party at night: “This is one of the happiest travel experiences I’ve ever had.”
Ammar, who has traveled extensively around the world, tells viewers while attending a party one night: “This is one of the happiest travel experiences I’ve ever had.”
Steffan echoes her sentiments, saying: “Lithuania is definitely one of the most open, generous and kind countries I have ever been to.”
To date, her video has been viewed more than 700,000 times and many viewers agree with the World Happiness Report’s findings.
One commenter wrote: “I did my exchange semester in Vilnius and it was the happiest time of my life. Thank you Lithuania for hosting me.”
Another viewer reflected: ‘As a Lithuanian and also a youth worker, my heart sings while watching this video.
‘This video fully captures the essence of our country’s spirit and transformation – how the love, creativity and kindness of our generation can lift us up from the dark past, transform negativity into light and help everyone feel understood, loved and accepted.’
Data from the World Happiness Report shows that overall, Finland was the happiest nation in the world for the seventh year in a row, with a score of 7.7 out of ten.
The Nordic nations Denmark, Iceland and Sweden came in second, third and fourth place, with scores of 7.6, 7.5 and 7.3.
Meanwhile, when the global league table was broken down by age group, Lithuania was found to have the happiest under-30s.