Helena Norberg-Hodge

Helena Norberg-Hodge, a native of Sweden and a linguist by training, is a leading critic of conventional notions of growth and development. She is the founder and director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC), which examines root causes of social and environmental crises, while promoting more sustainable and equitable patterns of living. Its activities include The Ladakh Project and Local Food Programme among others. She is the author of numerous works including Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh, based on her first-hand experience of the effects of conventional development in Ladakh. Her work has received wide support and recognition and in 1986 she received the Right Livelihood Award, known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize.”