The localization movement to shift global and corporate power back to people and communities

Charles Eisenstein is an independent scholar, speaker and author writing on themes about human culture and identity, economics, the evolution of human cultures, and the spiritual challenges of coping with a society and world in chaos.  In the past he has taught at Goddard College, Penn State, and lived and in China for many years.  Charles has degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy from Yale University and has been active with other visionaries to develop progressive models of business and charity based upon a deeper ethical standard. He is the author of several books, the most popular being  "Sacred Economics" and “The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible” – a collection of essays, which offers an alternative Story for humanity as an antidote to the malaise, frustration and paralysis preventing people from being vehicles for change.  His website is  CharlesEisenstein.net. 

Helena Norberg-Hodge is an author, activist and filmmaker who is regarded by many as a pioneer of the global localization movement. Earth Journal included Helena among the 10 leading environmentalists worldwide.   Fluent in 7 languages, she studied in her native Sweden, Germany, Austria, England and the United States, specializing in linguistics, including studies at  MIT with Noam Chomsky. Since 1975, Helena has worked with the people of Ladakh (Lah-Dack), or “Little Tibet” in the western Indian Himalayas, to find ways of enabling its ancient culture meet the pressures from the modern world without sacrificing its social and ecological values. For these efforts she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, or ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’.  Helena is the founder and director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture based in the US and UK, an organization examining the root causes of our current social and environmental crises, while promoting more sustainable and equitable patterns of living. She is also a founding member of the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, and a co-founder of both the International Forum on Globalization and the Global Ecovillage Network.  Her book, "Ancient Futures", has been described as “an inspirational classic” and her documentary "Economics of Happiness" has received international acclaim. She is currently visiting the US and her website is LocalFutures.org