Ancient Futures: Learning From Ladakh is one of my favourite books, and I loved the documentary, “The Economics of Happiness“, so I really wanted to bring the Economics of Happiness conference to your attention.

Prominent economists, bestselling authors and indigenous activists from more than a dozen countriesare coming together for a conference entitled ‘The Economics of Happiness’, to be held in Byron Bay, NSW, from March 15 to 17, 2013.

The conference will highlight the social and environmental impact of economic globalization, and explore the potential for more localized economies worldwide.

The focus will be: “We know what we are against; it’s now time to decide what we’re for.”

Speakers include:

• Mark Anielski, the author of The Economics of Happiness: Building Genuine Wealth and an advisor
  to numerous governments and corporations.
• Keibo Oiwa, the co-author (with David Suzuki) of The Japan We Never Knew: A Journey of
  Discovery and professor of International Studies
• Manish Jain, a Harvard-educated grassroots activist, focusing on radical alternatives to
  conventional development and education.
• Winona LaDuke, co-founder of the Indigenous Women’s Network and Ralph Nader’s two-time
  presidential running-mate.
• Charles Eisenstein, the author of Sacred Economics and a world-renowned speaker on the ‘gift
  economy’.
• Michael Shuman, the author of Local Dollars, Local Sense and director of research and economic
  development at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.

“Economic localisation is the key to sustaining biological and cultural diversity – to sustaining life itself.
The sooner we shift towards the local, the sooner we will begin healing our planet, our communities, and
ourselves.” – Helena Norberg-Hodge

There will also be live Skype presentations from two of the world’s foremost environmentalists,
Vandana Shiva and Bill McKibben.

The conference is the second in a series of three events organised by the International Society for
Ecology and Culture (ISEC). The first took place in the USA in 2012; the final conference will be in Japan
in 2014.

ISEC’s Director, Helena Norberg-Hodge, is a pioneer of the localisation movement and recipient of the
2012 Goi Peace Prize. She is the author of the bestselling Ancient Futures and producer of the award-
winning documentary, The Economics of Happiness.

March 20 of each year is designated by the United Nations as the International Day of Happiness.

For more details, including a full list of speakers www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org