We are happy to announce that the Center for Local Governance and Research (CLG), Bhutan and the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), University of Westminster, London, will be organising another workshop built on past successes of our partnership. The virtual workshop to be held on August 25, 2021 will bring together an interesting panel of women speakers talking about their experiences working in and with Local Government(s) in Bhutan. The conversation will delve into discussing challenges women face in participating in elections and working in and with Local Governments. Do follow the discussions LIVE on our Facebook page.
Speakers
Geserling Gup Pema Wangmo, 35, is one of Only Two women Gups amongst 205 gups in the country. She was elected in the 2nd LG elections of 2016.
Prior to her election, she worked as a non-formal education (NFE) instructor for over 11 years, helping adult women in the villages learn basic literacy skills. Her engagement in the NFE Program adds enormously to her rich experience of working at the grassroot level for more than 16 years now.
From Phuensumgang village in Dagana dzongkhag, Gup Pema is an inspiration for women and girls in the country.
Lemo is a senior Gewog Administrative Officer (GAO) of Kawang Gewog in Thimphu. She has a Bachelors degree from Sherubtse College in Kanglung. She started her career serving in one of the remotest gewogs in the country and this is her 14th year in service.
As a GAO, she excelled in her profession and took part in planning, implementing and monitoring local developmental plans and programmes.
Phuntshok Choden is the Executive Director of Bhutan Network for Empowerment of Women (BNEW). She is also the chairperson of the CSO called SABAH-Bhutan (SAARC Business Association of Homebased Workers); a trustee of Home-Net South Asia and happens to be the Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Bhutan.
Phuntshok started her career in the royal civil service and later joined the Gender and Development team at ICIMOD, Kathmandu working across the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan region. In Bhutan she has had varied experiences working in the field of gender and women empowerment in government agencies, INGOs, UN and CSOs before starting the BNEW chapter which got registered as a CSO in 2016. Since then, her focus has been on strengthening women’s political empowerment mainly, both at the national and local levels.
Tashi Dema is an Assignment Editor with Kuensel, Bhutan’s national newspaper. She has a Masters in International Journalism from the University of Western Australia, Perth. She did her Post Graduate Diploma in Print Journalism from Asian College of Journalism, India.
In her 16 years of career in Kuensel, she has reported on local government and travelled extensively within the country, reporting on issues that matter most to people.