Department of Information & International Relations

The Information Division of the DIIR primarily works towards disseminating information about the political, human rights and environmental conditions in Tibet to Tibetans and the world community at large, and to keep the Tibetan issue alive. Under this Division, there are four major sections: Tibet News Bureau, Tibet Museum, Translation and Publication, and Media Coordination Desk.

Tibet News Bureau is the information and broadcasting wing of the Department. The news and information are distributed in Tibetan, English, Hindi and Chinese languages through print, web and TV medium as follows:

Tibetan Sheja

A monthly journal in Tibetan, first published in 1968, it aims to educate Tibetans about Tibet and the activities of the CTA. The readers are mostly concentrated in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Switzerland, the United States and Canada.

Tibetan Freedom

Tibetan Freedom is the first Tibetan official newspaper published in exile. Now published weekly, it features news items on Tibet and the activities of the CTA. Like Sheja, its main readers are Tibetan-speaking people.

English Tibetan Bulletin

First published in 1967, Tibetan Bulletin is a bimonthly news magazine with sections on Tibet, international and CTA news. It aims to bring out information on His Holiness the Dalai Lama, CTA, Tibet Support Groups and Tibetan people inside and outside Tibet.

Web Site

Tibet.Net, the official website of the CTA, located at http://www.tibet.net, is a trilingual website in Tibetan, English and Chinese languages. A specially developed “dynamic font” for Tibetan script makes it possible for Web surfers from anywhere to download the pages in Tibetan automatically. The site acts as a window to the departments and offices of the CTA, Tibetan settlements, schools and institutes.

Audio Visual Section

The Section is further divided into Video, Museum and Web TV segments.

Tibet TV is the official broadcasting channel of the Central Tibetan Administration. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to connect all the Tibetans in diaspora as well as to inform Tibet supporters about the issues of Tibet. It disseminates information on activities and teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Central Tibetan Administration and current situation of human rights in Tibet and about activities in the diaspora community.

Tibet TV is currently one of the principal sources of information related to Tibet and Tibetan issues and the information is disseminated in 12 languages namely Tibetan, English, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Nepali and Russian.

Additionally, Tibet TV also produces information material on Tibetan culture, environment, language and religion. Besides, it also produces documentary films, short and feature-length films etc. It makes use of social media (Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter) to communicate to its viewers and also relays the information through the local cable TV operators in Dharamshala.

The Tibet Museum was established in 1998 with the purpose to document, preserve, research, exhibit and educate Tibetans and non-Tibetans on all matters related to Tibet’s history, culture and present situation.

The museum aims to inform about the Chinese occupation of Tibet, to provide personal accounts of lives lost in Tibet since the occupation and to inform on the continuous and ongoing abuses carried out by the Chinese government against the Tibetan people.

It also aims to educate the exile Tibetan community on the values of democracy, human rights, environment protection, freedom struggle, as well as to strengthen the Tibetan spirit and collective pride through presentations on Tibet’s rich history and culture.

For information on the current activities of the Tibet Museum,
click here: http://www.thetibetmuseum.org

Translation and Publication Section

This Section translates relevant materials between English and Tibetan for all DIIR publications. It produces books, booklets and pamphlets in Tibetan, English and Hindi on various aspects of the Tibetan issue.

Press Officer

  • Disseminating information on policies and programmes of the Central Tibetan Administration;
  • Providing media facilitation and press card;
  • To arrange audiences with His Holiness the Dalai Lama for media persons;
  • Attending and arranging press conferences, media interviews and issuing press releases;
  • To receive and help international and national (India) media personnel in gathering information on Tibetans and Tibet;
  • To supply reference materials like books, video footage and still photographs to media personnel and writers;
  • To serve as interpreters for interviews as requested;
  • To disseminate information on current affairs of Tibet;
  • Maintaining cordial relations among media personnel of various media houses.

International Relations Section

This section has five sub-sections:

Offices of Tibet

Under the International Relations, there are representative offices in 13 countries. These offices act as de facto embassies of the CTA and are based in New Delhi, India; Kathmandu, Nepal; Washington DC, USA; Geneva, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; London, UK; Brussels, Belgium; Canberra, Australia; Paris, France; Moscow, Russia; Pretoria, South Africa; Taipei, Taiwan and Sao Paolo, Brazil. They spearhead the CTA’s international relations and UN initiatives. They establish contacts with governments, parliamentarians, Tibet Support Groups, non-governmental organisations and human rights groups and keep them posted on recent developments in Tibet. They also help to coordinate the exchange of information between individuals and organisations working for the welfare of the Tibetan people. For contact addresses of the Offices of Tibet. click here

For information on worldwide Tibet movement, click here: Global Tibet Movement

Tibet Support Groups Desk

The main functions of the TSG Desk are to
-Inform TSGs about the policies and initiatives of the CTA;-Inform TSGs about Tibet and the Tibetan communities in exile;-Interact with members of TSGs, and coordinate their programme during their visit to Dharamshala;-Act as an observer to the ITN Steering Committee;-Facilitate international conferences of TSGs;-Keep records of campaigns and activities of TSGs, and present annual reports on the state of the worldwide Tibet movement.

China Desk 

Established in 1994, China Desk’s main aim is to outreach the Chinese people outside China. It strives to:
-Establish contacts with the Chinese people outside China, and hold meetings and discussions with them on issues related with Tibet; Disseminate Tibet related information to the Chinese people; Update and maintain the official website in the Chinese language: www.xizang-zhiye.org.

The China Desk is further divided into two sections, one of which is responsible for establishing contacts with the Chinese, holding regular meetings on China and Tibet, publishing Chinese books on Tibet, and receiving visiting Chinese from various countries. The other Chinese Media section is responsible for managing the official Chinese website: xizang-zhiye.org. The website provides current news and general information on Tibet and the Tibetan community in exile. Translate and publish books and other materials into the Chinese language; Publish a bimonthly journal in Chinese, Tibet Bulletin (Xi Zang Tong Xun), featuring Tibet related news and information. This journal is also available online at www.xizang- zhiye.org

UN, EU and Human Rights Desk

The main activities of this Desk are: 
Monitoring and reporting human rights violations in Tibet; Providing information and materials related to human rights situation in Tibet to the UN and related organisations, rights groups, governments, parliaments, and individuals; Advocating for human rights in Tibet at various levels and platforms.

Protocol Section

This Section is assigned to extend official reception to the official guests visiting Dharamshala. It is responsible for making necessary arrangements for their visit. It coordinates the visitors program, accompany them on local visits to Tibetan institutes, and arrange meetings with Tibetan officials and individuals in Dharamshala. It aims to make their visit educative and informative on various aspects of Tibet: religious, cultural and political. The visitors may include diplomats, government officials, parliamentarians, Tibet and China watchers, members of human rights groups and NGOs, researchers on Tibet related subjects, and individuals interested in Tibet and the Tibetan people.

The Branch Sections placed under the DIIR are:

Tibetan Computer Resource Center (TCRC), initially founded as Common Publishing Center, now functions as the IT department of CTA with its missions in creating a virtual Tibetan community, promote effective use of IT tools in achieving CTA’s vision and mission and to empower citizens through e-Governance and enhancing efficiency through digital services and ensuring CTA’s communications and data security.

In the year 1993, the first email service was introduced in our Tibetan community and with the building of Local Area Network (LAN) in 1997, CTA offices were able to use the email from their respective desktops. Information Technology has evolved over the years and so does the TCRC roles and responsibilities, from common publishing centre to supporting computer hardware, giving basic computer skills training and to the development of websites and web applications, malware analysis and providing secure communication systems and securing the data. It also provides platform to young Tibetan computer graduates to give back to their own community with their skills set.

Narthang Press

Privately owned printing press whose printing press and its publication Sheja (monthly Tibetan news magazine) was taken over by the then Information Office in 1971. After its take over the printing press was named Narthang Press. However, over the years, it has expanded and today it prints, in addition to Sheja, Tibetan Freedom, Tibetan Bulletin (both English and Chinese) and all other publications and stationaries of departments and offices of the CTA.

Tibet Policy Institute Section (TPI) ( Update awaited)

The TPI will strive to serve as an intellectual hub for Tibetan scholars/researchers across the globe and to become an internationally recognized and effective platform for Tibetan scholars/researchers to articulate their argument on the issue of Tibet that will shape the perception of the international community and the policies of the various governments regarding Tibet and the Tibetan people.

The TPI will serve as a think tank to assist the Kashag of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to identify strategic issues and challenges for Tibet and the Tibetan people and come up with analysis or recommendations for the Kashag.

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