Pre-screening of "The Economics of Happiness"  at HBF's Chiang Mai office, 3 December 2007

The Heinrich Boell Foundation's open meeting space was packed: Almost 60 people came for the pre-screening of Helena Norberg Hodge's documentary The Economics of Happiness. The film project is still work in progress, and it was shown at HBF as a follow up of the Third International Gross National Happiness Conference . The screening was followed by additional comments of Helena and an intense discussion among participants.

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Third International Conference on Gross National Happiness  22-28 November 2007, Nongkhai and Bangkok

As a promoter of sustainable development in Southeast Asia, the HBF Chiang Mai Office was one of the conference's sponsors. In this capacity, we invited three resource persons to actively participate in the conference...

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"Slow Trade – Sound Farming. A Path to Sustainable Markets?" RCSD public lecture, at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, 29 November 2007

Geneva-based policy consultant Aileen Kwa addressed the politics of trade and agriculture and impacts of international agricultural trade on local livelihood. Trade is often assumed by the developed countries for its broad based development; however, it ignores equal power relations between developing and developed countries, and between transnational corporations and local farmers.

Chomchuan Boonrahong, Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Community (ISAC), highlighted ISAC’s work on self-reliant and ecologically sound organic farming of small farmers, and growing demand in organic products in Chiang Mai.

"Natural Resource Governance in the 21st Century: Experiences in Central Africa and Southeast Asia" Graduate Seminar at Chiang Mai University, 26 October 2007

Speaker:  Samuel Nguiffo, Director of Environment and Development Centre, a Cameroonian Environmental NGO

His presentation will follow the content of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Memorandum “To Have and Have Not” on Resource Governance in the 21st Century, published on the occasion of the G8 Summit earlier this year in Germany. Highlight will be placed on experiences in the implementation of governance mechanisms in natural resources management...

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"Slow Trade - Sound Farming" launched in Southeast Asia Consultation workshops in Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila, October 2007

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1st International Congress on Buddhist Women’s Role in the Sangha: Bhikshuni Vinaya and Ordination Lineages, July 18-20, 2007, in Hamburg/Germany

The main topic of this pan-Buddhist conference was women’s right to full ordination in the Tibetan Buddhist monastic order, or Sangha. The Heinrich Böll Foundation has contributed significantly to promoting women's right to full ordination by supporting the monastic school of Dolma Ling in Dharamsala/Northern India from 1996 to 2004.

At this monastery, female novices of Tibetan descent got the opportunity to enrol in an 8-years curriculum enabling them to access the "Higher School of Dialectics". At the latter school they would be able to study Buddhist philosophy and dialectics along with young monks, which would prepare them for leadership functions within the monastic order.   

The Congress was held at the University of Hamburg from July 18-20, 2007, in cooperation with the University’s Asia-Africa Institute.

http://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org/

16th Annual IAFFE Conference on Feminist Economics June 29 – July 1, 2007, in Bangkok

Representatives of HBF's Southeast Asia Regional Office took part in the 16th Annual Conference of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) that was held from June 29th till July 1, 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. They elaborated on the Foundation’s commitment to Gender Democracy as its guiding political principle and introduced HBF’s Summer School Program on “Engendering Macroeconomic Policies” (see http://www.glow-boell.de/en/rubrik_5/816_1731.htm).

IAFFE is a non-profit organization that seeks to advance feminist inquiry into economics, and to educate others regarding feminist points of view on a broad range of economic issues. Participants from all over the world were invited to partake in the international event.

For more information and material, see:
http://www.iaffe.org/conferences/annual/index.php

HBF Southeast Asia Office Director Dr. Heike Loeschmann (second from right) at plenary panel titled: Donor/Development Agency Initiatives and Feminist Economics, among representatives coming from: University of Essex; Women’s Rights and Citizenship International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada; UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka; UNIFEM Special Advisor, India.

International Conference: "Critical Transitions in the Mekong Region"

The International Conference of Chiang Mai University's Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) took place in Chiang Mai from 29 to 31 January 2007, co-supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation. RCSD is a cooperation partner of HBF in its scholarship program (LINK) for Myanmar/Burmese students.

Program of the conference

Policy Dialogue on Myanmar/Burma: Events 2006/07