Himalayan Consensus will be presented at the Asia Economic Community Forum 2009 in Incheon, Korea (Nov 11-13, 2009), with Himalayan Consensus founder Laurence Brahm as a panelist on the following themes: Global Financial and Economic Crisis: Grand Debate of 21st Century Capitalism, Political Leadership for the Creation of an East Asian Community:Round Table among Politicians and Media, and Global Value Crisis: Grand Dialogue Between Asia and the West. Check our calendar to find out more.

On October 23, 2008, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the United Stated Federal Reserve, was hauled before Congress to testify on causes underlying the largest financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression. “I made the mistake in presuming that the self interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, was such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders,” explained the ex-central banker adding he had “found a flaw” in his underlying economic assumptions. “The whole intellectual edifice,” he admitted, “collapsed in the summer of last year."

I first met Professor Muhammad Yunus known to the world as “banker to the poor”, after it was announced that he would receive the Nobel Peace in autumn 2006. He had arrived in Beijing to speak in Bangladesh which pioneered grass roots credit model based on human trust and not physical collateral, Yunus put a new spin on humanism declaring, “Credit is a human right.” That autumn, his words rang in ears of his Chinese hosts.

Sonia Jarrett looks at how Laurence morphed from a successful lawyer and investment adviser, into an activist for cultural sustainable development in the Himalayas.

As the world seeks a new economic model in response to the global economic crisis, here comes a book that challenges us to re-evaluate our values and motivations as the basis to rebuild our economies for a sustainable future.