Dr Ritu Verma (Ritz) 🌍 🌏 🕊️

It was great to give a talk on Decolonial Degrowth at the @icta-uab.bsky.social for The Real Project in Barcelona. Enjoyed giving the lecture and responding to the insightful questions in the Q&A.

#degrowth
#postgrowth
#decolonial
#beyondGDP
#beyondgrowth
#globalsouth
#colonialjustice

Delighted to be speaking at the NGO Interest Group roundtable "Things Fall Apart: A Roundtable on the Seen and Unseen in the NGO/NPO World" at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association. The session take place tomorrow, November 20 from 10:15-11:45 am, Marriott Room Galerie 2.

🧵 Looking forward to an exciting panel, with ethnographic papers on Tibet by Dr. Nancy Levine and Tsehua Caihuajia, Bhutan by Dr. David Hecht and Gyempo Wangchuk, and northern Bhutan by Dr. Ritu Verma, with discussant Dr. Lisa Gezon.
#anthropology
#AAA2025
#ethnography
#himalayas
#tibet
#bhutan

Check out our panel "Himalayan panel, "When the Past Collides with the Present: Historical Legacies, Cultural-Ecological Landscapes and the Spirit(s) of Resistance", taking place this Friday, at the annual meetings of the @americananthro.bsky.social:
10:15-11:45 am, Marriott Room Studio 7.

Canadians are not allowed to read or post newspaper articles from outside of Canada. What are they trying to hide? In the meantime, most Canadians are oblivious about climate change. They lead high carbon emitting lives, with little recognition or info about impacts of their choices on the world.

@georgemonbiot.bsky.social such an important piece that everyone should read. I would add, part of the problem is the critical omission/exclusion of climate change information, data, research and stories. In Canada, it's business as usual - 14th highest high carbon emissions/capita in the world!

The darkest force underlying the climate emergency, is the systematic, funded and coordinated propagation of a "storm of lies" by corporate-supported media - @George Monbiot‬ in an important piece in @theguardian.com. "We cannot fight the climate crisis without also fighting the epistemic crisis".

The piece discusses the history and lineage of Bhutan's 5 Kings, and their legacy on the nation of Bhutan. Stay tuned for the book (I promise, it's coming soon 😅)! I add my humble wishes to thousands of Bhutanese across the country and around the world in wishing His Majesty a very Happy Birthday! 🙏

In celebration of the 70th Birth Anniversary of the 4th King of Bhutan, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, I dedicate my latest travel article on "Bhutan's Lineage of Dragon Kings" in the November-December issue of Tashi Delek Magazine, the inflight travel magazine of Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines.

Happy Thanksgiving to friends, colleagues and everyone in Canada, and to all Canadians friends in Nepal, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Philippines, Bhutan, England, South Africa, the Pacific and around the world. Thankful for peace, abundance and kindness. May all sentient beings be happy. 🙏🏻🍁

A hero of our planet Jane Goodall has passed away. We share this planet with other sentient beings, but human capacity for inflicting pain, violence and cruelty on them is perhaps our greatest failing as a species. Imagine if human action instead came from a place of peace, compassion and kindness?

One of the great heroes of the planet and defenders of animal rights has passed away. She was an inspiration to millions, and tirelessly fought for the rights of the voiceless, and the very survival of our planet and all beings who live on it. Rest in power Dr. Jane Goodall. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

🧵 The 1st is on the "State of Play of Moving Beyond GDP Alternatives", and the 2nd is on "Moving Beyond GDP: Global South and Decolonial Perspectives". Both written inputs will be published as part of my upcoming book on degrowth from a global south lens, forthcoming in 2026 by Agenda Publishing.

Delighted to share that two of my working papers were published by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, as part of critically important and timely Roadmap on Moving Beyond GDP.

#degrowth
#postgrowth
#movingbeyondgdp
#movingbeyondgrowth
#poverty
#equality

My thoughts are with everyone in my former home Kathmandu, Nepal, as parts of the city literally burns. The government has fallen, amidst the killing of 19 youth by armed forces. May peace, justice & freedom prevail. And may things be resolved through peace and wisdom, not violence and destruction.🙏🏼

Everyone has a voice. Push back. Question those who manage them!

Happy 90th Birthday to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. May His Holiness continue to radiate messages of compassion, kindness and wisdom for many, many more years to come.

As long as space endures,
As long as sentient beings remain,
Until then, may I too remain
To dispel the miseries of the world.

Delighted to share my latest article on the culture of #meditation in #Bhutan, in the latest issue of Tashi Delek Magazine, the inflight magazine of Drukair. Meditation is at the heart of Buddhism, and by extension, Bhutan. It is key for finding inner peace and #happiness. Stay tuned for the book...

🧵 This video is a snippet of my introduction, recorded by someone in the audience, as I was dedicating my paper to my late great-uncle Yuvraj Krishan, who encouraged me to research and write about Buddhism. He himself wrote books on Buddhism, including the Doctrine of Karma and The Buddha Image.

YouTube video by RitzDr Dr. Ritu Verma introducing her paper on Mindful in Development at the Buddhism Conference in Bhutan.

It was an honor to speak about mindfulness and environmental consciousness in development at the Vajrayana #Buddhism conference in Thimphu, Bhutan last week. My first attempt at comparing #Madagascar and #Bhutan from an indigenous knowledge and spiritual-ecological lens, and somehow, it worked!

🧵 New campuses would thrive in North America too! I am sure Canada and Mexico would be happy to welcome #HarvardUniversity campuses (students, faculty, projects, research, resources, etc.) in our cities or towns. One can imagine the awesome possibilities of collaborations with our universities too!

🧵 With #HarvardUniversity centers across the world, including in Asia (Japan, India, etc.), Europe (France, Italy, etc.), South America (Chile, Brazil), Africa (South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana, etc.), etc. it is very well placed to continue operations in academically friendly and open environments.

Some thoughts for #AlanGarber, President of #HarvardUniversity. You are a beacon of hope. Harvard University is bigger than the United States. It can survive, maybe even thrive, by expanding to hold lectures, degrees, research and hosting students, fellows and faculty in its international centers.

I recently had someone plagiarize me, and when I reported it to the institution, they did nothing to hold the plagiarizer to account. Scholarship seems to have gotten sloppy. Universities and institutions are not being vigilant with students and staff. It’s so simple: use systematic referencing!

I had the honor of teaching Buddhist Social Theory at the Royal University of Bhutan, which was exciting and incredibly engaging, given most of my students had been practicing Buddhism since the day they were born, and in previous lifetimes no doubt!

Thrilled to share my latest travel article on "The Buddhist Culture of Happiness in Bhutan" in the latest May-June issue of Tashi Delek Magazine, the in-flight magazine of Drukair, Royal Bhutan Airlines. Stay tuned for the book...

#Bhutan
#Buddhism
#mindfulness

Election Day, Canadians need to see this! The anti-Drumpf and anti-American (made in USA, visit USA) sentiment has never been stronger. Drumpf, as usual, is not accurately reading the room. The worst politician (and businessman and human being) ever! But, it’s great for the other political parties.

Being considerate of local customs and cultural practices, especially during sensitive contexts such as funerals (and one as significant as this one), is important, especially in someone else’s country. This is about Drumpf’s ego, but it is also about colonial and arrogant attitudes and entitlement.

American arrogance on full display. Why the world dislikes the US. First Drumpf demands he be seated in the front row (his original seat was in the 3rd row), then he mocks the funeral by wearing blue. Complete lack of respect for cultural norms and customs. He should stick to playing golf, in Miami.

Being considerate of local customs and cultural practices, especially during sensitive contexts such as funerals (and one as significant as this one), is important, especially in someone else’s country. This is about Drumpf, yes, but it is also about colonial and arrogant attitudes and entitlement.