Vandana Shiva, activist, pacifist, philosopher and theoretical physicist, is one of the most dynamic and provocative thinkers and inspiring figures in the world today. She is able to communicate with clarity and passion about the challenges of our time. A fervent defender of the land, the forests, women, farmers, biodiversity, indigenous values etc., she is the creator of the  Navdanya Foundation and the movement Diverse Women for Diversity, an international organisation that  manages to mobilise millions of people. She has also created the Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology with headquarters in Dehradun and the Bija Vidya Peeth College in Doon Valley, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Bija Vidya Peeth is a centre where young people from all over the world come to learn about organic farming through direct experience.

Vandana’s work is multidimensional. Her ideals are manifested through action and are realised in very different fields. Her ideology generates ideas and alternatives. As an activist she has become “the guardian of the seeds” and the voice of farmers being pressured by large corporations. She warns about the avalanche of globalisation, the dominance of multinationals, the industrialisation of agriculture and the marketing of basic needs like food and water.

Vandana stresses the need for outrage at  injustice because ¨”Not to do so is to be part of the injustice,” but according to the figure that inspired her work, Mahatma Gandhi, “Indignation should not lead to violence but the fuel to launch your creativity to invent alternatives that make this world a better place.”

In 1993, in recognition of her dedication to alternative movements “that place women and ecology at the heart of modern discourse on development”, she received the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. She has written many books, including Manifesto for Earth Democracy, Biopiracy: the plunder of nature and knowledge, and her latest ”Soil Not Oil. “