This man rounded up the good news of 2020 and illustrated them to spread positivity
The year 2020 continues to barrel our inner being and pokes our core. But award-winning illustrator and designer Mauro Gatti refuses to surrender to the pull of negativity and uses his art to thaw out those cold, desensitized hearts with a dose (or more) of sunshine.
Since 2018, Mauro has been sharing anxiety-free news through The Happy Broadcast, his counter-hate and counter–fear culture project that weekly features and highlights positive news from around the world. For him, sharing good news is a joyful experience and is an important part of daily conversations.
Each of Mauro’s fun and colorful illustrations come with micro-stories that inform and also serve as a reminder that there is still good happening out there, despite these difficult times.
“Positivity is a muscle that needs training and adding sources like The Happy Broadcast to our news intake is important to give us a different outlook on the world and inspire us to do something,” Mauro shares with PhilSTAR Life.
After more than two years into his project, Mauro has already mastered the art of looking for good news. “They’re just buried under a thick layer of bad news,” he says. Members of The Happy Broadcast’s online community are also free to submit good news happening around them.
This same community helped Mauro through the mentally, emotionally and physically taxing COVID-19 pandemic.
Mauro, who is based in sunny Los Angeles, started the project as a form of healing from the fear-mongering and click-baiting headlines that aggravate his anxiety.
“While it’s important to report problems and issues so we can prevent bad things from happening again, I believe there is so much good in this world that just needs to be found and promoted,” says Mauro, who, with an Emmy Award on his belt, has worked with major brands including MTV, Nike, Disney, Diesel and Nickelodeon.
Mauro knows that the year has been challenging for the whole world but he says he has never seen so many stories of human kindness like he has seen in 2020. In fact, in his “Most liked happy news” roundup, most of the stories that people liked most were about kindness of humans, for animals and for the environment.
“Despite all the challenges, it looks humanity understood how deeply we depend on each other and how much our mental health is central to everyone’s recovery and well-being.”
Mauro recently came out with The Happy Broadcast book, which is an extension of his online project and his mission to spread happiness. Its 160 pages are filled with more than 100 good news, stories, ideas and inspiration.
Mauro’s message of positivity, optimism and making a difference (big or small) is clear. During these uncertain and extraordinary times, it may be challenging to keep a positive outlook because of what’s happening around being magnified by everything we consume on social media. For Mauro, the more we spend scrolling our news feeds, the more we find information that triggers our mental and emotional well-being.
“Being mindful of what we expose ourselves to online is vital. My advice is to be aware of the type of content we consume and actively look for content and fellow people that make us smile, inform and inspire us,” notes Mauro, who acknowledges that social media is part of many people’s life today and “being aware of its positive and negative effects on our mental health—tailoring how we use it—is no doubt the best way forward.”
“There is so much good in this world (not just in the news) that just needs to be found and promoted and I’m happy to spread some positivity and highlight the good happening in the world,” he says.
For your daily dose of sunshine, visit The Happy Broadcast on Instagram and maurogatti.com for more of his works.
Images courtesy of Mauro Gatti of The Happy Broadcast