Gurgaon, July 18: The Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) today begins a five-day training in the field of International diplomacy and advocacy to representatives and staff of the Office(s) of Tibet and a select staff of CTA in Heritage Village, Manesar, Gurgaon.

The training aims to equip the participants with necessary international relations skills and to empower them to efficiently and effectively deal with the dynamics of international diplomacy and advocacy vis-à-vis their responsibility of presenting the case of Tibet in the international community.

A total of 35 participants comprising of representatives from the Offices of Tibet across the world and various sections of Department of Information and International Relations and staff from other departments of CTA are taking part in the training.

Speaking to TibetTV on the sideline of the meeting, Mr Tashi Phuntsok, Information Secretary, said this training in international diplomacy intends to impart and empower the staff, particularly in the field of international relations, with a right set of skills to cope with the ever-changing nature of international diplomacy and be efficient and effective in presenting the case of Tibet in various international diplomatic forum.

Dr Shashi Tharoor, Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, Ambassador Nirupama Rao, Ambassador Shyam Saran, Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, Mr Thubten Samphel, Kasur Tashi Wangdi, Kasur Ngodup Dongchung and Kasur Tempa Tsering are some of the impressive line of prominent Tibetan and Indian speakers with wide-ranging experience in foreign affairs and international advocacy for the training. The training will also impart media management skills by noted Indian media personalities Mr Karma Paljor and Ms Indrani Bagchi.

Tibetan history, India’s role in Sino-Tibetan issues, foreign offices of Tibet, engaging world media to sustain the Tibetan cause, Chinese outreach, UN and issues relating to Tibet, Legacy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Relations between Tibetans in Tibet and CTA etc are among some of the major topics that will be covered and thoroughly discussed among the participants during the training.

The training formally began with an introductory remark by Mr Tashi Phuntsok, Information Secretary of DIIR followed by the presentation of the first resource speaker Mr Thubten Samphel, Director, Tibet Policy Institute, who spoke on China’s interpretation of ancient Tibetan history and its impact and later followed a thorough discussion among the participants.

The training in international diplomacy and advocacy is the second to be organized by DIIR which organized the first training earlier in 2015 in Washington DC.

-Report filed by Tenzin Wangchuk and Lobsang Jigme-