March 27, 2014

Contact Rick Kyte at
608-796-3704 or rlkyte@viterbo.edu

RADIO SHANGRI-LA: WHAT I LEARNED IN
BHUTAN, THE HAPPIEST KINGDOM ON EARTH AUTHOR LISA NAPOLI TO SPEAK AT VITERBO
UNIVERSITY APRIL 10

LA
CROSSE, Wis. – Lisa Napoli, author of the best-selling memoir Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan,
the Happiest Kingdom on Earth will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 10 in
the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a tiny
Buddhist nation located in the Himalayas. Napoli, a public radio journalist
living in Los Angeles, was invited to start a radio station in the formerly
media-free country in 2007.

Modern inventions such as roads,
electricity, and hard currency came very late to Bhutan. Television was first
allowed in 1999, and foreigners were only allowed to visit shortly before that.

Despite not having certain things
people in other countries would consider crucial, Bhutan always ranked very
high on various media lists that measure happiness. The nation has had a
long-standing commitment to “Gross National Happiness,” of which key components
are balance, wellness, environmental preservation, and trust in government
leaders.

Napoli received what she described
as a “crash course in happiness” during her visit to Bhutan. Her presentation
will include stories and photographs from this little-known country as she
discusses the concept of “Gross National Happiness.”

This presentation is part of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in
Leadership Spring Lecture Series and is free and open to the public.

                                                                                                                     -30-