International Tibet Network’s 2015 Asia Regional Meeting took place at Norbu House, McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, India from 9 – 11 November inclusive.
All Tibet Groups are invited to register a participant to attend this meeting. Please register via the form embedded below or via bit.ly/AsiaRM2015. The deadline for registering is 20 October.
Please see below for more details on Costs and Bursaries. Priority for bursaries will be given to representatives of Network Member Organisations that have paid their 2015 Membership Fee, to Tibetan Organisations, and Groups from East Asia.
The Asia Regional Meeting is open for all Tibet Groups whether Network Members or not. We especially encourage Tibetan NGO and Community representatives to participate. This is a great opportunity to build collaborative relationships with other Groups, share ideas, learn about successful campaigns, do some planning, take part in training and socialise.
We would love your comments on the proposed agenda, so that you get the very best out of it. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay and Kalon Dicki Chhoyang have already agreed to attend the opening ceremony, and the whole Network staff team plans to join us in Dharamsala, so we are looking forward to a great meeting.
With best wishes and looking forward to seeing you in Dharamsala!
Nyima, Penghsuan, Jigdal, Alison, Mandie and Tereluz
Venue: The conference room for the 3-day meeting is at Norbu House, which is a new hotel by the owners of Green Hotel. Norbu House is in McLeod Ganj, close to Pema Thang Guest House.
Costs: In addition to the conference venue, the Network will provide:
• All meals for 3 days (from dinner Sunday 8 November to lunch on Wednesday 11 November inclusive) for all participants. Meals will be vegetarian.
• Accommodation for the first 30 participants to register from outside of Dharamsala. This will be in twin rooms at Green Hotel, Bhagsu Road for 3 nights; Sunday 8 November to Tuesday 10 November inclusive. You are welcome to arrange your own accommodation, at your own expense. If you want to stay in Dharamsala for longer than the three nights Sunday/Monday/Tuesday, the additional nights are at your own arrangement and expense.*(See note at foot of page.)
Bursaries: A number of travel bursaries are available for Group representatives coming from outside Dharamsala. These are as follows:
• 10 travel bursaries of US$50 each for participants from India.
• Up to two fixed-rate travel bursaries for participants from Nepal.
• One fixed-rate travel bursary for a participant from each of: Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan.
Please contact Nyima Lhamo, nyima@tibetnetwork.org for details and to tell her that you wish to apply for one of the above bursaries. We will make decisions as quickly as possible. Priority for bursaries will be given to representatives of Network Member Organisations that have paid their 2015 Membership Fee. Please note that retention of all travel documents and boarding passes will be necessary before reimbursement.
Travel: We recommend that you arrive on Sunday 8 November and depart on the evening of Wednesday 11 November. As previously mentioned, any additional accommodation is at your own arrangement and expense.
Most of you will be familiar with travel between Dharamsala and Delhi. The cheapest option is bus from Majnukatilla (http://www.makemytrip.com/bus-tickets/). A taxi from Delhi takes around 11 hours. Overnight trains go from Delhi to Pathankot or Chakki Bank, with a taxi for the remaining 85km to Mcleod Ganj (http://www.indianrail.gov.in/index.html). Finally, it is possible to fly to Gaggal Airport, around 13km from McLeod Ganj. (http://www.travelmarket.com/cheap-flights.cfm)
To register: Complete the form embedded below or by visiting bit.ly/AsiaRM2015. Please email nyima@tibetnetwork.org if you have any questions. Registration deadline is 20 October 2015.
Agenda: Please note that the meeting will begin at 10am on Monday 9 November and close no later than 4pm on Wednesday 11 November. Please let us know what you would like to see on the agenda; this is your meeting and we want it to be useful to you. Network Regional Meetings are low on ceremony and high on practical content, so our meetings are usually a mix of small group planning, skill-sharing, expert briefings, evaluation and trainings, with a good dose of networking and socialising thrown in!
Objectives of Network Regional meetings:
• to generate new tactics/ideas for existing campaigns that progress us towards our strategic goal;
• to build unity of action, especially to develop plans for Asia-wide campaigns where possible;
• to strengthen the regional network, inter-group relationships and have fun.
• to increase capacity through training and skill sharing
• to share information, ideas and best practice in campaigning.
• to learn from past experience so that we can become more effective.
* For a good reason to come for longer, please note that the Dharamsala International Film Festival (DIFF) takes place from 5 – 8 November inclusive, See http://diff.co.in/ for more details.
