Dharamsala, August 30 – The Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) is organizing the International Tibetan Women’s Leadership Conference from 3rd to 5th of September 2004 at Asia Health Resort in Dharamsala.
The Inaugural International Tibetan Women’s Leadership Conference will bring together Tibetan women leaders to share their views and experiences in carrying out their leadership roles in the Tibetan refugee community. The participants will be current parliament members of the Tibetan Exile Government, school principals, religious leaders, and heads of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and institutions. Some participants are from abroad where they have immigrated in recent years. These women leaders are the source of motivation and inspiration for this generation as well as the next, to come into their own as Tibetan women, with a personal, social and political future that has been linked for thousands of year to the strong and noble traditions of Tibet.
The objectives of the conference are to:
- Discuss the role of women leaders in the Tibetan community
- Address challenges associated with the leadership positions and contexts represented by the leaders
- Build confidence through developing leadership skills in effectively addressing leadership challenges
- Encourage the greater population of women to accept responsibilities with dedication, discipline, leadership and management skills that benefit the Tibetan community
- Provide a sense of unity and shared purpose among Tibetan women leaders
The speakers at this conference are Ms. Dolma Gyari, Vice Chairperson of Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies (ATPD), Ms. Stephanie Goodell, Assistant Director of Student Involvement, University of Virginia, USA, Kasur Rinchen K. Choegyal, Director of Tibetan Nun’s Project, Dharamsala, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, from Harvard Law School, USA, Mr. Penpa Tsering, Executive Director of Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Center and member of ATPD, New Delhi, and Mr. Tashi Tsering, Director of Amnye Machen, Dharamsala.
One of the objectives of TWA since its re-establishment in 1984, has been empowerment of Tibetan women in exile. Empowerment is the result of gaining confidence through knowledge.
To achieve this objective, TWA organized its first Leadership Training for women working in NGOs, Institutions, Schools, college students, fresh college graduates and individuals in Dharamsala from 2-5 of June 2004 to the great satisfaction of all the participants. The second Leadership Training was provided to our Working Groups of Regional chapters of TWA from 6-7 of August 2004 in Dekyiling, Dehradun. The last in the series will be the International Tibetan Women’s Leadership Conference.
