Kathmandu

The Himalayan Consensus Institute, China and Nepal Economic Forum are organising the first Himalayan Consensus Summit 2016 at Hotel in the Kathmandu Valley on March 17 and 18.

Himalayan Consensus is a holistic development paradigm that emphasises the integrity of eco-systems as an indispensable basis for socio-economic development in the Himalayan region.

The agenda of the HCS programme is to design and create sustainable alternative solutions based on grassroots and alternative efforts that are being developed around the region.

The Himalayan Consensus process involves convening an annual conference that will bring together pioneers across the region, together with business and financial leaders, in seeking pragmatic ways to scale local solutions.

Throughout the year the Himalayan Consensus Institute will matrix outcomes from the conference together with examples of social enterprise innovation across the Himalayan region, evolving these into a fresh economic paradigm.

The theme for the Himalayan Consensus Summit 2016 is resilience, readiness and response.

This will showcase and build on the Himalayan character of resilience along with exploring the issue of readiness and response beyond natural and human induced disasters.

The summit aims at looking over the 2,500 kilometre range covering different political boundaries that face common challenges, especially in the context of access of natural resources and capital, disaster mitigation for natural and human induced disasters, and preparedness.

The 2015 Nepal earthquake as well as the economic crisis in particular has focused urgency upon this process and it is now critical to examine how future disasters and conflicts can be prevented with economic systems relevant to the region.

The event to be held at Hotel Himalaya is supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the principal sponsor; Altai Himalayan; Peak Re, a reinsurance company based in Hong Kong; The Asia Foundation; UNESCO; and European Union.

In addition to the summit, there will also be side events taking place that will be open to the public. SABAH will be displaying its hand crafted products of over 2,000 home based workers at the Himalaya Hotel.

Meanwhile, NexUs Culture Nepal will be organising ‘Being in the Himalayas’; an afternoon with KG Ranjit, a renowned Nepali artist and Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2016, at the NexUs Café, Bakhundole.

The event will also include a display of selected paintings of the Himalayas by KG Ranjit.

The Himalayan Consensus Institute promotes grassroots innovation to evolve the social enterprise concept into fresh models for community empowerment, addressing challenges of climate change across the Himalayan region.

The Himalayan Times is the media partner.