Helena Norberg-Hodge
Linguist, author and film maker, Helena Norberg-Hodge is the founder and director of the international non-profit organisation, Local Futures, a pioneer of the new economy movement, and the convenor of World Localization Day.
She is the author of several books, including ‘Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh’, an eye-opening tale of tradition and change in Ladakh, or “Little Tibet”. Together with a film of the same title, Ancient Futures has been translated into more than 40 languages, and sold half a million copies.
Her latest book is ‘Local is Our Future: Steps to an Economics of Happiness’. Other publications include ‘Bringing the Food Economy Home’ and ‘From the Ground Up: Rethinking Industrial Agriculture’.
“the inspirational
classic”
– Random House –
“Localization is the only hope for the future.
Read this book!“
– Iain McGilchrist –
Helena is also the producer of the award-winning documentary ‘The Economics of Happiness’.
“What’s our favourite documentary of all time? The one film we wish everyone could see? Hands down, this is it. It is truly one of the most important and useful films for inspiring change that has been made in a generation.”
– Films for Action –
Educated in Sweden, Germany, Austria, England and the United States, Helena specialized in linguistics, including studies at the University of London and with Noam Chomsky at MIT. Her work, spanning almost half a century, has received the support of a wide range of international figures, including Jane Goodall, HH the Dalai Lama, HRH Prince Charles and Indira Gandhi.
From 1975, Helena worked with the people of Ladakh, to find ways of enabling their culture to meet the modern world without sacrificing social and ecological values. She was the first outsider in modern times to become fluent in the language.
She has helped to initiate localization movements on every continent, particularly in South Korea and Japan, and co-founded both the International Forum on Globalization and the Global Ecovillage Network.
Helena is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Right Livelihood Award (aka the “Alternative Nobel Prize”), the Arthur Morgan Award and the Goi Peace Prize for contributing to “the revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide.”
Helena has lectured in seven languages and appeared in broadcast, print and online media worldwide, including MSNBC, The Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian. She has written numerous articles and essays, and her work has been the subject of thousands of articles worldwide.
Most recently, Helena was profiled in The New York Times, titled ‘What if Local and Diverse Is Better Than Networked and Global?’. Download the article: NY Times – Helena Norberg-Hodge Profile (PDF). For more articles, videos and interviews:
Videos & interviews
The Economics of Happiness
In this TEDx talk, Helena Norberg-Hodge focuses on the impact of the global economy on culture and agriculture and in particular the root causes of our social and environmental crises. (18.22 minutes)
Looking at the Big System
In this extract from the ‘No Man’s Land’ episode by Renegade Inc, Helena Norberg-Hodge explains how research that leads to unhealthy eating habits is subsidised by tax payers. (2.42 minutes)
A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity
This is the full interview with Helena Norberg-Hodge by Happen Films shot for their film ‘A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity‘. (74 minutes)
Videos & interviews
The Economics of Happiness
In this TEDx talk, Helena Norberg-Hodge focuses on the impact of the global economy on culture and agriculture and in particular the root causes of our social and environmental crises. (18.22 minutes)
Looking at the Big System
In this extract from the ‘No Man’s Land’ episode by Renegade Inc, Helena Norberg-Hodge explains how research that leads to unhealthy eating habits is subsidised by tax payers. (2.42 minutes)
A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity
This is the full interview with Helena Norberg-Hodge by Happen Films shot for their film ‘A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity‘. (74 minutes)
Blogs by Helena Norberg-Hodge
What Indigenous Wisdom
Can Teach Us About
Economics
The crises of the modern world verify what indigenous cultures have always known: that all phenomena are inextricably interconnected. As the Amazon – one of the most vital organs…
Unlike a Globalized Food System, Local Food Won’t Destroy the Environment
If you’re seeking some good news during these troubled times, look at the ecologically sound ways of producing food that have percolated up from the grassroots in recent years. Small farmers…
Localization: a Strategic Alternative to Globalized Authoritarianism
For those who care about peace, equality and the future of the planet, the global political swing to the right over the past few years is deeply worrying. It has us asking ourselves…
What Indigenous Wisdom Can Teach Us About Economics
The crises of the modern world verify what indigenous cultures have always known: that all phenomena are inextricably interconnected. As the Amazon…
Unlike a Globalized Food System, Local Food Won’t Destroy the Environment
If you’re seeking some good news during these troubled times, look at the ecologically sound ways of producing food that have percolated up from the grassroots in recent years. Small farmers, …
Localization: a Strategic Alternative to Globalized Authoritarianism
For those who care about peace, equality and the future of the planet, the global political swing to the right over the past few years is deeply worrying. It has us asking ourselves…
