MoU signed to develop human resources in cultural management

MoU signed to develop human resources in cultural management

Acknowledging the need of local human resources development in the field of cultural heritage management, research and policy, the Department of Culture and Bhutan Nyo Foundation (BNF), a religious organization founded under Sumtrhang Chojee entered into an understanding to enhance manpower and professional expertise needed for the Department of Culture as an authority overlooking Bhutan’s culture and heritage.

BNF and the Department of Culture signed a MoU at the conference room of the Department of Culture yesterday.

The scholarship is supported by the host university, the Central European University in Austria and ASIA (Association for International Solidarity for Asia) foundation based in Italy.

The Director General (DG) of Department of Culture said, “We have around 128 religious organizations registered under the Commission for Religious Organizations and the fact that this is the first of its kind to offer assistance to the government we thank the Bhutan Nyo Foundation and its funding partners for setting an example of collaboration.”

“I feel that the preservation and promotion of Bhutan culture and Heritage is a shared responsibility among all Bhutanese and especially the religious organizations, therefore despite our organization being new and without financial ability, we managed to put this scholarship toward building professional expertise in the Department of Culture towards which we hope it will contribute towards the preservation and promotion of Bhutan’s traditional spirituality, its culture and heritage to foster an enlightened society,” said the chairman of BNF, Chojee Lam Jamtsho of Sumtrhang.

Meanwhile Samten Yeshi the acting Secretary of BNF said that although the department of culture has highly qualified members with extensive experience from working for many years in the field of culture and heritage, generally Bhutan lacks professional expertise to understand, interpret and manage culture and heritage. “Therefore BNF and its funding partners believe this scholarship would contribute in enhancing the most need professional and expertise development.”

“I hope this will take us a long way in the collaboration towards the preservation and promotion of Bhutan’s culture and heritage,” said Mr. Andrea Dell’angello executive director of ASIA foundation which is one of the funder of the scholarship.

The scholarship is a fully funded program where deserving candidates receiving the scholarship will study in the Central European University, one of the top European universities leading to Master of Arts in Cultural Heritage Studies with major in research, policy and management. It is a fully funded scholarship with funding support from ASIA foundation based in Italy (Association for International Solidarity for ASIA) and the host university CEU.

Sixty percent of the scholarship is funded by CEU and the rest by ASIA put together and facilitated by Bhutan Nyo Foundation.

The Department of Culture being the main body to promote and preserve culture is found crucial for its employees to be equipped with necessary wisdom and knowledge in the field they deal with, which is the cultural heritage inclusive of both tangible and intangible to ensure expertise and professionalism in their

Bhutan Nyo Foundation is a religious organization aimed at promoting and preserving traditional spiritual practices, its culture, heritage and environment in Bhutan to foster an enlightened society.

Chencho Dema from Thimphu