An eye-opening documentary delves inside what has been deemed the happiest country to live in for under 30s.
Ammar Kandil and Staffan Taylor, from the YouTube channel Yes Theory, ventured to Lithuania for a 50-hour experiment investigating if young people are really as happy as the studies show.
The World Happiness Report, published by the United Nations in March, saw Lithuania crowned for having the cheeriest under-30s.
For the report, people in 140 countries were asked to say 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’ worth of data of people saying how happy they were.
Ammar Kandil and Staffan Taylor, from the YouTube channel Yes Theory, ventured to Lithuania for a 50-hour experiment investigating if young people are really as happy as the studies show
On landing into Lithuania’s capital city Vilnius, Amma and Staffan get to work talking to locals.
Most of the young people they speak to agree on Lithuania being a good place for young people, with some of their reasons being ‘great food,’ ‘friendly people,’ ‘lots of career opportunities,’ and a ‘growing economy.’
Many of them highlight that the hardships their ancestors endured also taught them to enjoy every moment and ‘see beauty in the simple things.’
Serving up some background on Lithuania’s tumultuous past, the film’s narrator explains: ‘During most of the 19th century Lithuania was under Russian rule.
‘Under this regime, their culture, language and religion were all suppressed. Throughout the 20th century and world wars, Lithuania fought for independence but was continuously put under Soviet rule.
‘It was only March 11, 1990 that they finally declared full Independence becoming the first Soviet Republic to do so.’
In a bid to get more young people to speak about life in Lithuania, the Yes Theory team go about organizing a meetup event which they publicize on Instagram.
At the event, people from the crowd gathered take it in turns to share their views.
The World Happiness Report, published by the United Nations in March, saw Lithuania crowned for having the cheeriest under-30s
On landing into Lithuania’s capital city Vilnius, Amma and Staffan get to work talking to locals
One young man says: ‘Having spent a year in America, what I came to appreciate 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 was ‘never as good as it is now’ but she points out that ‘all of us are realizing that we can lose this very fast the same way Ukraine has lost it.’
Taking a more neutral approach to the topic of happiness, one man tells the YouTubers: ‘Let’s say if you look at the suicide rates in Lithuania, especially with young people, it’s quite high.
‘So in the happiest country in the world, would that be the case?
‘Yes, we’re quite happy as young people here but we’re still facing some problems, so I think neutrality that’s what I choose right now.’
Following the meetup, Ammar and Staffan spend the rest of their trip hanging out with locals and some of the sites they visit include a former prison (Lukiškės Prison) – which has been turned into a cultural venue – and the mysterious Hill of Crosses monument.
By the end of their vacation in Lithuania, the duo find the happiness has worn off on them.
A local woman says: ‘Lithuania was never as good as it is now.’ But she points out that ‘all of us are realizing that we can lose this very fast the same way Ukraine has lost it’
Following the meetup, Ammar and Staffan spend the rest of their trip hanging out with locals
Ammar, who has traveled extensively all over the world, tells viewers while he attends a party in the evening: ‘This is one of the happiest travel experiences that I’ve ever had’
Ammar, who has traveled extensively all over the world, tells viewers while he attends a party one of the evenings: ‘This is one of the happiest travel experiences that I’ve ever had.’
Echoing his sentiments, Steffan says: ‘Lithuania is definitely one of the most open, generous, and kind countries I’ve ever been to.’
To date their video has been watched more than 700,000 times with many viewers agreeing with the World Happiness Report findings.
One commenter wrote: ‘I did my exchange semester in Vilnius and it has been the happiest time in my life. Thank you Lithuania for having me.’
Another viewer mused: ‘As a person who’s Lithuanian, and also a youth worker, my heart sings while watching this video.
‘This video totally shows the essence of our country’s spirit and transformation: how love, creativity and kindness of our generation can lift us up from the dark past, transform the negativity into the light and to help everyone feel understood, loved and accepted.’
Data from the World Happiness Report showed that, overall, Finland was the happiest nation in the world for the seventh year in a row – scoring 7.7 out of ten.
Nordic nations Denmark, Iceland and Sweden collected 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.
