Dharamshala: A five-day workshop on ‘Strengthening of Democracy at the Grass-root level ’ to the members of Local Tibetan Assembly and the Settlement officer of Doeguling Tibetan settlement from 22nd to 26th August 2024 underway in Mundgod.

This workshop is organized by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and Parliamentarians Geshe Monlam Tharchin and Kunga Sotop are conducting the workshop.

This workshop is being attended by 10 LTA members, 1 settlement officer, and 5 members of Regional Tibetan Freedom Movement (BRDL).

As the workshop commenced on August 22nd, an opening ceremony featured Settlement Officer Lhakpa Dolma delivering the welcome address. This was followed by remarks from two parliamentarians and a vote of thanks by LTA Chair Pema Dorjee. Parliamentarian Kunga Sotop emphasized the importance of Local Tibetan Assemblies (LTAs) and highlighted the various workshops organized by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile aimed at strengthening democracy at the grassroots level.

Parliamentarian Geshe Monlam Tharchin discussed the establishment of the LTAs in accordance with the Charter of Tibetans in Exile and the vision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He specifically noted the founding of the Mundgod LTA in 1992, which remains one of the oldest LTAs in the Tibetan diaspora. He encouraged attendees to make the most of the five-day workshop.

On the first day of the workshop, Parliamentarian Geshe Monlam Tharchin covered the parliamentary procedures and business conduct of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, as well as the budget rules of the Central Tibetan Administration and budget account heads. He also addressed any queries the participants had on these topics.

This is the 11th LTA workshop organized by the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile since its constitution with previous LTA workshops held at Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh), Phuntsokling (Odisha), Sonamling (Ladakh UT), Gangtok (Sikkim), Salugara (West Bengal), Dalhousie (Himachal Pradesh), Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Bir (Himachal Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), and Hunsur (Karnataka) respectively.

The LTA workshops are aimed to strengthen democracy at the grass root level by imparting the participants with detailed information of the Central Tibetan Administrative, the Budget Policy, proceeding of the Parliamentary session, and others to make informed decisions and to hold public offices accountable.

This program is supported by USAID through National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Social and Resource Development Fund (SARD).