Now Available On Demand!

“The Economics of Happiness” can now be watched in full online! The cost is US$5 for one week of access. Click here to watch!

Feature Footage! “Envisioning the Future: What would a Localised World Look Like?”

 

 

Check out more videos from The Economics of Happiness on Vimeo.

First Footage from The Economics of Happiness Conference 2013

This footage has been put together by the Echo, a local newspaper in Byron Bay, Australia.

Stay tuned for more footage from the conference.

LIVE: The Economics of Happiness Conference

The Economics of Happiness Conference will beging today at 6:00pm, Sydney Time (GMT/UTC+11). We will be streaming the conference live! Download a program here. Most workshops will not be streamed.

 

Live streaming by Ustream

Bhutan, Local Food, Education, and More at the Economics of Happiness Conference

Well known for its policy of Gross National Happiness, Bhutan is again making headlines with its recent declaration to go completely organic.  Sonam Chuki, a Bhutanese teacher and scholar, will speaking on the example Bhutan can set for the rest of Asia and the world at next week’s Economics of Happiness Conference in Byron Bay, Australia.

Chuki be joining more than 40 speakers from all around the world to tackle the most critical global issues of our time, including activist Winona LaDuke, economist Michael Shuman, actress Rachel Ward, surfer Dave Rastovich and musician Ash Grunwald.

For a complete list of speakers and workshop presenters: www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/conference-program

The varied and interactive program includes plenary sessions, workshops, film screenings and a world café. Full price tickets are $300(AUD). Budget streaming tickets are also available for $50 (AUD).

In a special companion event, Charles Eisenstein will be speaking on the evening of March 18. Charles has been described as ‘one of the up-and-coming great minds of our time’.  Tickets are $25(AUD)

Surfing and Strategising at the Economics of Happiness Conference

“….to be able to go down to a secluded beach and swim or surf in the early morning, and then be able to go and be an audience for some of the world’s great thinkers, activists and visionaries all in the same day and same little coastal town.  To have the chance to share company with people who have legitimate solutions to many of the social/ecological and economic issues of this era is rare.  We are all increasingly becoming aware of the imbalances in our world, and now is the time to start acting on that awareness…”

-Economics of Happiness Conference speaker and Australian celebrity free-surfer Dave Rastovich

In less than a month, ISEC will host the second Economics of Happiness Conference, this year in Byron Bay, Australia.  Home of ISEC’s Director, Helena Norberg-Hodge, this relatively small town has a big reputation.  This is how one guidebook describes it: “it’s a gorgeous town where the trademark laid-back, New Age populace lives an organic lifestyle against a backdrop of evergreen hinterland and never-ending surfable coastline.”  An appropriate setting to discuss happiness, we think!

On the more serious side, the conference will cover a wide range of interrelated topics—from unemployment and poverty to Wall Street corruption, from climate change to the failures of industrial agriculture, from Fukushima to the rise of fundamentalism.  A myriad of hopeful ideas and initiatives from around the world will also be presented.

The conference will welcome more than 25 speakers, hailing from four continents and representing diverse cultures, ages and perspectives.  Many also will come to share about the local movements in and around Byron Bay itself.

In an era where we are seeing more and more people questioning the status quo, the Economics of Happiness is unique in making the links between our major crises.  We have been focussing too long on single issues and getting almost nowhere. It’s clear that the main driving force behind our most pressing environmental, social and even financial problems is the globalising economy.  The Economics of Happiness unravels this hidden root cause and outlines a bold, but realistic, strategy for building a better future through economic localisation.

We look forward to meeting all of you who have already registered for the conference and encourage anyone who has not yet done so to check out our conference brochure:

For those of you coming to join us, we’d like to recommend a few online and local resources in Byron Bay. First, our accommodation sponsors, all of which provide beautifully appointed rooms and apartments within the town:

• Apartments Inn:  http://www.apartmentsinnbyron.com.au
• The Atlantic: atlanticbyronbay.com.au
• Belongil Beach: byronbeachresort.com.au

Also, a great source of information on everything to do with Byron Bay and partners of the Economics of Happiness Conference:

• ByronBay.com: http://www.byron-bay.com

The South Loop and the Economics of Happiness | A Recent Screening

Screenings of the Economics of Happiness continue to inspire. Here’s a tidbit (click the link for the full article):

Last Tuesday’s film was called “The Economics of Happiness”. It was a film about the negative effects of Globalization on communities around the world, including our own. It brought to light a number of different issues—it not only addressed the negative ramifications on communities but also proposed a number of alternatives to help fight globalization by rebuilding more human scale, ecological economies based on localization.

The South Loop and the Economics of Happiness | Marginalia.