Educating for Life

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 “At this moment in time, circa 2018, it is clearer than ever that a new approach to education is key to the survival of the world in general and of Bhutan in particular. This is no exaggeration. The world’s current education system is not only outdated and even obsolete...

Real Learning Endangered

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Reflections on nature, sanity, and education from an ashamed Indian well-wisher One of the similies for the Buddha Nature, or the basic goodness, that we are all said to possess is like pure gold that has been lost by the side of the road which then gradually accumulates so...

Buddhist Education in the 21st Century

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Introduction The world has seen unprecedented progress in the fields of science and technology, transforming life on a scale unimaginable a few decades ago. Nations across the globe are exploring ways to enhance human life and experience through innovative economic and social activities. Universities and other educational institutions are...

Editorial

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Educating Bhutan – Nurturing a Society That Learns to Learn The theme for the Spring, 2019, issue of The Druk Journal reflects the long-term vision provided for Bhutan’s growth by His Majesty the King. On education, His Majesty said: “…as I serve my country, I have a number of...

Sangay’s Story – an Anecdote

Winter Edition , December 8th, 2018 A few months after the launch of the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) initiative on 1 January 2018, the Governor of the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) received a cry for help from a PSL client, 24-year-old Sangay Gempo. Sangay, who had completed his BBA in India in 2016, had returned...

Matching Skills and Jobs

Winter Edition , December 8th, 2018 There are jobs, and there are people, and they need to be brought together. They need financial support. After learning about the mismatch of jobs that were available in the market, and the skills that technical graduates possess, a fibre optic specialist at Bhutan Telecom left his comfort zone...

Women Entrepreneurship in Bhutan – the Scenario and the Way Forward

Winter Edition , December 8th, 2018 Introduction In 2016, the Department of Cottage and Small Industries (DCSI) reported that only 35.53 percent of the total registered micro, small and medium enterprises in the country were owned by women. Women mostly operate cottage and small enterprises and function in the informal economy with very small probability...

Promoting Bhutanese Products to Build Rural Economy

Winter Edition , December 8th, 2018 Introduction To use a provocative pun, this article looks at the “real” Bhutan and “real people”. The writer believes that, beyond the snow clad peaks and lush valleys, rich biodiversity and spiritual monuments-all the wondrous things that we like to talk about-there are colours and flavours of a real...

Establishing a Bhutanese Creative Community: The Salient Driver for Bhutan’s Cultural Industries

Winter Edition , December 8th, 2018 Background and Introduction The focus in 2019’s Bhutan Economic Forum for Innovative Transformation (BEFIT) will be on Bhutan’s small and medium enterprise sector (SMEs), also known locally as the cottage and small industries (CSI) sector. The aim of the forum is to review the Cottage, Small and Medium Industry...

How Not to Miss the Boat

Winter Edition , December 8th, 2018 Across the world, cultural export, through film and music, had always been used by governments to create a positive image of their countries. For decades westerners knew about Thailand from the old musical, The King and I. James Hilton’s Lost Horizon built the image of Shangrila as the world...