Helena Norberg-Hodge on Why Peace Begins at Home
Photo by Diane van der Marel
Byron-based author, filmmaker and activist Helena Norberg-Hodge shares her reflections on how community, connection and care can transform not only our homes but our world.
As founder of Local Futures and producer of the award-winning documentary The Economics of Happiness, Helena Norberg-Hodge has spent more than four decades exploring the connections between human wellbeing, ecological sustainability and cultural renewal.
A global pioneer of the new economy movement, her work bridges the local and the global - inspiring communities to rebuild resilience through localisation and mutual care. A recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (often called the “Alternative Nobel Prize”), Helena has long championed the idea that true peace begins close to home.
In October 2025, she joined the Peace Begins at Home Summit, a global gathering of thinkers, healers, scientists and activists asking a radical question: what if peace truly begins where we live, love and raise each other?
Globalised economic development has cut like a knife through our human relationships and through our connections to the living world.
On peace, globalisation and community
“Globalised economic development has cut like a knife through our human relationships and through our connections to the living world. Rural communities and smaller towns have been destroyed, as people have been forced to seek employment in urban centres. This in turn has led to mass immigration. It has also led to increased time pressures, with people running faster and faster in an ever more competitive economy.
This has not only affected the workplace - even the arts, academia and sports have become more commercialised. Family bonds, friendships and a sense of belonging are vital for our wellbeing, but globalisation has dramatically eroded our deeper, ongoing relationships of care and community.
In order to start cultivating peace, both inner and outer, collaboration between more traditional, Indigenous cultures and the West is of vital importance today. Indigenous cultures can show us the fundamental importance of being able to live at a more human pace - a pace where care, consideration and deeper listening are possible.
And neuroscience is scientifically demonstrating the healing that comes from deeper interpersonal relationships and a deeper relationship with the living world.”
We have an opportunity here to move away from dependence on the consumer economy and build a stronger, caring local economy that provides for our real needs.
On hope in Byron Bay
“Byron Bay is one of the centres in the world that has attracted people seeking community and deeper connections with nature. We have an opportunity here to take the next steps: moving away from dependence on the consumer economy and building a stronger, caring local economy that provides for our real needs.”
On what we can do next
“My strong recommendation for people worldwide is to consciously and actively reconstitute deeper, face-to-face community bonds. This is what we need for our wellbeing, and in the next few years these relationships will be essential for both emotional and practical reasons.”
Screen culture has romanticised consumerism and destroyed self-esteem — it’s one of the main reasons behind the rapid increase in depression among young people worldwide.
On the mental health cost of globalisation
“The impact of globalisation has been to separate us from our living communities - our deeper bonds with people. It’s imposed a screen culture that romanticises the consumer lifestyle and destroys self-esteem. It’s one of the main reasons behind the rapid increase in depression among young people worldwide.”
Helena’s message
Helena’s words remind us that peace is not an abstract ideal but a lived experience - one built on human connection, local resilience and a renewed relationship with the natural world. From her Byron home to the global stage, her message is simple: when we nurture community, we nurture peace.
Discover more: Peace Begins at Home Summit 2025
Find out more about Helena’s work: www.localfutures.org