Trans Bhutan Trail
This quarter marks the first full year of the Trans Bhutan Trail initiative. Despite COVID-19, physical work on the trail was expedited largely due to the successful application with Tourism Council Bhutan for COVID-19 stimulus funding from the Royal Government of Bhutan. In one year, the TBT team was able to survey and clear over 430 km of the trail, hire over 700 unemployed tourism workers, begin recording the oral histories of the trail, and foster government, CSO, and local partnerships. With the phase one revitalization and infrastructure development almost near completion, the TBT team is now looking forward to the second phase of the TBT. Phase #2 will focus on the long term sustainability of the trail through micro-financing, partnerships, and local decision-making.
Professional development for Bhutanese teachers
BCF has initiated a pilot project to provide online professional development workshops for Bhutanese teachers. These workshops will be led by former BCF teachers who have expertise in a wide range of topics, such as online education, teaching diverse learners, and phonics. The workshops will be needs based, focusing on the topics identified by Bhutanese teachers and principals from a consultation completed last quarter. BCF aims to implement this initiative in early 2021 after further review with partners.
New media initiative
BCF was one of eight successful NGOs selected in an initiative to identify and publicize international development stories. This initiative, implemented by the Ontario Consortium for International Cooperation and funded by GAC, will develop and disseminate a series of media outputs related to BCF’s Trans-Bhutan Trail initiative, with a special focus on its contributions to a just recovery during the pandemic. This initiative will include a podcast and illustrations that will be published in February 2021 during International Development Week.
