Manali, July 16; The 10th Working Committee Meeting (WCM) of The Tibetan Women’s Association began today at Ram Park’s Forest auditorium here. The opening ceremony was attended as the Chief guest of honour by Kirti Rinpoche, a former cabinet minister in the exile Tibetan Government and head of the Kirti monastery. “Since time immemorial, the role of Tibetan women in building Tibetan society in every facet of life has been commendable; from early Tibet, through 1959, the 1995 protests in Beijing until the present,” Rinpoche said.
Furthermore, Rinpoche emphasized: “Tibetan women have innate leadership qualities in them and therefore should continue to be the architects of a strong and empowering Tibetan society.”
The first Working Committee Meeting took place in Dharamsala in 1985, a year after the re-establishment of Tibetan Women’s Association in exile India. Mid-way through their term, executive members of the Central and Regional chapters of TWA congregate to assess the initiatives undertaken since the prior meeting and strategize for future activities of the organization.
“During the first two days of this years’ Working Committee Meeting, executives from the central and regional chapters will brief their cohort on the various activities their respective chapters have carried out over the past 16 months, since the newly elected executive members have assumed office. In keeping with the principles of transparency and accountability, representatives will disclose their project and financial activities and open the floor to questions from their peers,” said Dhardon Sharling of TWA.
In addition, the meeting attendees will review and evaluate the progress of resolutions tabled during the 9th General Body Meeting (GBM). TWA’s General Body Meeting is held once every three years, and brings together members of TWA to democratically elect the Executive members of the Central TWA office for a term of 3 years. The most recent 9th GBM took place in April last year and elected an executive body that will complete their term in April 2012.
The final three days of the Working Committee Meeting will serve as a period of visioning and planning, where participating members will discuss the agendas that the central TWA have procured and through consensus, pass new resolutions to be implemented for the next 20 months of their tenure.
TWA’s president Kirti Dolkar Lhamo stated, “The commitment shown by the Executive members of the regional chapters in India and Nepal towards the organizational efficiency of TWA is overwhelming and strengthening.” However, she also lamented, “It is unfortunate that our eight chapters in the USA, Europe, Australia and Taiwan could not participate in this meeting, but in an inclusive effort, we will convene an online meeting with them upon our return from Manali.”
Aside from the organizational planning involved in Working Committee Meeting, Dhardon says, this year’s gathering is highlighted with the added focus on our Kalon Tripa election campaign. “Post the successful completion of the mass ‘Mock Election’ for the Kalon Tripa, held on July 6th in 40 regions across six countries, the executive members of regional chapters of TWA have brought along the sealed ballots to the 10th WCM of TWA. On the 22nd of July, in the presence of prominent members from other organizations, the Executive members will make an aggregate and a transparent counting of the votes.” The central TWA will analyse the voter turnout and construct a needs assessment of the eligible voters of the July 6 Mock Election, she added.
TWA will produce a short documentary film that portrays the status and preparedness of the Tibetan electorate accompanied by a detailed report entitled “Mock Election and its Findings”.
The report will also profile all the names of the winning candidates voted during the Mock Election. Both the report and the film will be launched on September 10th this year, on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of TWA’s re-founding in exile.
