DIPD and Bhutan Center for Media and Democracy phase out project partnership
After more than 8 years of project partnership between DIPD and Bhutan Center for Media and Democracy, DIPD has decided to phase out the support to the organization.
About the decision, executive director of DIPD, Lisbeth Pilegaard, expresses that “BCMD is the first Civil Society Organisation (CSO) to be registered by Bhutan's Civil Society Authority and is the most important one working on creating a culture of democracy in Bhutan. We are proud that we have supported them for so long. Over the years BCMD has developed to be a strong organization with multiple donors and with a great outreach. However, over the past years, DIPD has strengthened its focus on working with political parties. It doesn’t mean that we do not regard broad democracy education as important – but there are multiple organizations supporting democracy through civil society organizations and only very few supporting it through political parties. Therefore, we must prioritize our funds, and in this case, it unfortunately means that we must phase out support to a partner we highly respect and cherish”.
The partnership has included many highlights.
Over the years, the partnership has resulted in numerous training sessions, including teacher trainings and development of teaching materials. In recent years, the organization has succeeded in holding yearly democracy forums, where all Bhutanese political parties participate. The 2019 forum can be found here. The next one will be held on December 28 and will treat digital democracy.
BCMD has, with DIPD support, produced a radio series, which later developed into a TV-series. The series was named ‘Jurwa - Changing Times in Gakithang’ and is centered on the lives of residents in Gakithang, a fictitious village, which is an hour’s drive from Thimphu. It is a story with comedy, romance, suspense and the tensions of a small community in times when democracy is introduced. The TV-series can be found on youtube on this link.
The bi-annual Druk journal made by BCMD is highly respected inside and outside Bhutan. When UNDP published a report in 2019 about the first 10 years of democracy in Bhutan, the journal accounted for 15% of its references.
“As much as the formal partnership is being phased out”, Lisbeth Pilegaard notes, “we will continue a close corporation for the continued work for a strong democracy in Bhutan”.