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 (see below). The screening was followed by additional comments of Helena and an intense discussion among participants.

For too long, the premise of policymakers around the world has been that a constantly growing economy is the best way to ensure human welfare. We are now seeing the effects of those policies in the spread of a global consumer culture, which lies behind numerous symptoms of ecological, social and psychological breakdown.
 
The Economics of Happiness argues that growth-oriented globalisation is taking us ever further from nature and community, thereby distancing us from our own humanity. Localisation, on the other hand, reduces the scale of the economy and brings it closer to home. In this way we can regain the true wellspring of happiness: our spiritual connection to people and the earth.

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.

EcoFair Expert Panel Member Aileen Kwa presented and discussed the EcoFair Trade report "Slow Trade-Sound Farming" in the Slow and Fair Trade Workshop. Helena Norberg-Hodge, director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture, screened her latest film "The Economics of Happiness" at the GNH conference. Both of them were further part of panel discussions. Last but not least, Sabrina Shahab from Grameen Shakti in Bangladesh contributed to the workshop on Renewable Energy.

For more information on the conference, check:
http://www.gnh-movement.org/index.php

"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 Institute for 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.