Transcending Token Participation
The participants from vulnerable groups like PWD, youths, caregivers and women in difficult circumstances came together once again to review and vet their stories and policy recommendations on social welfare to prepare for the advocacy event in March 2023.
The participants critiqued the advocacy contents, illustrations, messages, and stories and evaluated if the call to action reflected their needs. The gathering demonstrated sustained engagement of citizens, transcending tokenism in consultation.
Gearing up for the advocacy event on 2nd March a social media campaign on #PeopleCentredPolicy was launched for two weeks in February to bring attention to social welfare issues faced by marginalised groups.
The campaign achieved a remarkable total of 419,415 views.
Advocacy Event on #peoplecentredpolicy
The #peoplecentredpolicy advocacy event brought to light stories of discrimination in the workplace, inequalities in education, information and public services for persons with disabilities, gender inequality, and social reintegration issues faced by people with disabilities, women, youth recovering from addiction, caregivers, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Representatives of marginalised groups highlighted inadequacies in policy enforcement during their advocacy with policymakers and parliamenterians.
The event was attended by over 100 people, including the Finance Minister, members of parliament, government officials, development partners, and representatives of civil society organisations, and members from SOEs. The guests present at the event expressed feeling emotional and empathetic listening to the stories and yet at the same time appreciating the confidence in the representatives as they advocated for their own cause.
10th Cohort of the Youth Initiative: Understanding Child Rights
In a significant milestone, children with disabilities and monks joined the Youth Initiative Camp alongside other young participants, totaling 21 individuals. The Camp aimed to educate them about their rights and responsibilities and empower them to become advocates for child rights. A student from Yangchen Gatshel Higher Secondary School shared, "I was unaware of my rights before joining the camp, but it helped me understand them better. Now, I will take responsibility to share my knowledge with my classmates." Students from Wangsel Institute of Deaf expressed their enthusiasm for hearing young voices and contributing to discussions on matters that hold significance for them.
Further, a group of 12 children from vulnerable backgrounds, including those in conflict with the law and facing challenging circumstances, received education on their rights and responsibilities. BCMD consulted these children, ensuring informed consent, to gain insights into the current state of child rights and the challenges faced. Many children stressed the importance of parental care and support in their development, with several coming from broken families or households affected by alcohol-related issues. Further consultations and a camp involving different groups of children are planned for the summer to enhance Bhutan's alternate report on child rights.
KGUMSB and Samtse College of Education Facilitate Discussion on Mental Well-being in Bhutan
In April, the Druk Journal Conversation on "Ensuring Mental Well-being in Bhutan" took place at the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan (KGUMSB) and Samtse College of Education (SCE). Close to 400 students, mental health professionals, district administrators and law enforcers attended the two Conversations. Key discussions included the growing challenge of an ageing population and the need for improved social conditions and programs to ensure their quality of life. Addressing addiction, a practising Buddhist emphasised the importance of “healing” rather than “punishing or criminalising “young individuals who turn to substances as a coping mechanism. The stakeholders concurred on the need for a more proactive, integrated and restorative approach to addressing drug use.
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Empowering Rural Youth in Local Governance
31 youth from four different schools in Trashigang took part in a five-day learning experience where they explored their roles as youth in their community, discussed issues that affect their generation, and learned how to get involved in the development of their community. The Summit shed light on how to engage young people in the decision-making processes and empower them to participate as active members in their community’s development
A student of Udzorong Central School said “I never assessed Public Services and was unsure how to rate them as I never reflected on it. However, now I am aware of public services in our own community and how to analyse them; I can use this lens to learn about these services and also assess them to provide feedback to the elected leaders.”
The Summit highlighted the importance of young people and adults working together towards a common goal on community development.
Including Vulnerable members in Policy Discussion
The Design Thinking workshop in Paro from 24th October till 28th October 2022 brought a mixed group of participants from government agencies, civil society members and key affected groups like women, youth and people with disabilities (PWDs). The workshop resulted in unravelling the core social protection issues, analysing the underlying causes and policy recommendations.
A participant shared that the workshop was an ‘awakening’ one for her as she got to hear lived experiences of PWD, youth and women.
"What savings would I have," asked a mother of an autistic child who had to quit her career, "when my family has to depend on one source of income?". She added "I have to pay for teacher aid and buy recommended educational resources each time I consult an expert, and these are not even available in Bhutan?"
"How could I study when I had to think of protecting myself all the time in the schools?" asked a transwoman. "We are harassed in school toilets, sexually abused in hostels, discriminated against by prospective employers, and exploited by those who employ us. Where can we go and complain when people find us weird?" said a transman.
In preparation for an advocacy event following the workshops on Design thinking with policy makers and members from marginalised groups, 22 young volunteers from different colleges and Y-peer representatives participated in a half-day online session to brainstorm social media advocacy strategies and to recruit allies.
The youths will be actively participating in social media advocacy for the upcoming events.
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The Youth Initiative 2022- Influencing National Discourse
This year, 30 members of Youth Initiative summer camp deliberated on the theme “How to balance economic development with environmental conservation?” The suggestions from the youth are uploaded on a digital citizen engagement platform #MakeYourVoiceCount to crowdsource more citizen views and perspectives on the dilemma of pursuing growth with conservation.
A student expressed that it was “refreshing to meet like-minded people who care about community issues.” Another student stated, “Before joining the YI camp, I assumed that solutions to help strike a balance between development and conservation would be easy to find, however over the course of the camp, I came to realise its complexities and the challenges when formulating holistic plans.”
The findings from the #MakeYourVoiceCount poll will be analysed and presented to the National Council.
Promoting Child-Friendly Local Governance
The Youth Summit 2022, conducted in Tsirang District focused on youth and child participation in realising the ideals of Child-Friendly Local governance.
During the course of the Summit, local elected leaders and administrators realised how they have missed the voices of the young and the need to actively reach out to the young population.
The local government officer bearers and the youth concurred the need of an integrated Youth Centre at the district that will play an important role in providing counseling and child-protection services and engaging the youths productively. The young participants also highlighted how sports and recreational facilities in the town are male-centric and are not accessible for people with disability.
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Promoting Media Literacy for All
In the Age of Information, media literacy is not an option; it is not a knowledge exclusive to media professionals alone. The pandemic has shown how everyone needs to be media literate as we experience a deluge of information every day.
BCMD trained 36 teachers and Youth Centre coordinators from Thimphu and Tsirang districts, 24 staff including children from the halfway home of Nazhoen Lamtoen and 30 Assistant Research Officers (AROs) of the National Assembly and the National Council. The participants learned to verify information, check for independence and accountability in news reports and developed social media guidelines for self, family, office and other groups.
Following the workshop, Mendrelgang Central School conducted a professional development program on media and democracy literacy for 59 teachers and staff.
“Until now, I have never thought about the core values [of journalism] that should be considered and I have been consuming news blindly,” said an Assistant Research Officer from the National Assembly.
Media and Democracy Literacy Resources for the Disabled
Pursuing the national agenda of not leaving anyone behind, BCMD has pioneered the development of resources on Media and Democracy Literacy (MDL) in the form of videos for the deaf and assistive reading devices (Evo E10) for people with visual impairment. The resources were launched on 7th January by Punakha Dzongda.
The MDL videos are available for viewing on BCMD's official YouTube channel.
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Fostering an enabling environment for multimedia and storytelling
Since 2019, BCMD has trained over 150 high school students of media studies at the Media Lab with practical sessions that complement theoretical learning at the school. The students were introduced to media production ethics, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere-Pro, Lightroom and to remain accountable for their production.
Media lab with its equipment and experienced instructors provides a nurturing environment for young media enthusiasts and inquisitive learners to use the space and equipment to learn media production aiming to cultivate their creative capacity to interact with the world. Although students are oftentimes engaged in their academic and extracurricular activities, avid learners visit the Lab during Saturdays to receive more guidance from the instructor.
The closing event for the multimedia sessions provided the opportunity for the students to showcase their work, where groups and individuals shared their videos and photos with fellow students (71) and the faculty of their school. Students shared that the media lab classes sparked their interest in media and were empowered to use it as a medium to express themselves. The principal of one of the highschools said, “I am impressed with the creative work shared today, which displays your learnings from the sessions and I hope you all continue working with passion on building your capacity.”
The growing number of youth interested in multimedia and storytelling indicates that there is a need to foster an enabling environment. The Media Lab will continue to provide that much-needed space for audio-visual enthusiasts to learn not only to produce films, photographs and podcasts but also provide a forum for the voiceless through storytelling and open forums.
Keeping the oral storytelling culture alive in the Digital Age
Podcasts are popular not only because of its easy accessibility to listeners but more because the listeners are provided with an intimate community where they can resonate and learn from the artists behind the voices.
Since 2019, BCMD has been providing young people in Bhutan with a platform to learn the art of podcasting. The podcasting trainings are organized for the young people to enhance meaningful conversations and engagement with one another on issues that are of personal relevance and societal importance.
The 2021 Podcasting Workshop at the Media Lab trained 17 young people as storytellers focusing on youth’s hopes, concerns, dreams and responsibilities as young citizens of our democracy. The participants were trained on the basics of audio recording and editing, storytelling, investigating social issues and combining all elements to produce their final products. The entire workshop allowed the participants to brainstorm various themes that were close to their hearts. It gave them the platform to interview and hold conversations with relevant stakeholders about the existing social issues that concern the youth today. The participants brought life to the podcasts by narrating scenarios and by making the guest speakers share their stories.
At the end of the training, the participants presented their stories on four different themes: Mental health, Child sexual abuse, LGBTIQ and Entrepreneurship. As the child sexual abuse story was being presented at the listening exhibition on the final day, the Executive Director of Organization for Youth Empowerment (OYE) had this to say: “The stories were really moving and I am sure that like me, tears must have been rolling down the cheeks of some of the other listeners in the audience as well”.
The closing exhibition was attended by 40 people from CSO, educators, youths, media houses and high schools. In addition to the participants presenting their work, the exhibition also offers the opportunity to take the conversation beyond the podcasts to a community of learners who engage with each other and deepen their understanding of the social issues presented.
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