Office of Tibet in Geneva Hosts Two-day Workshop for Tibetan Weekend School Language Teachers

The inauguration of this event was attended by Representative Thinlay Chukki; Tibetan Liaison Officer for European countries Dhondup Gyalpo; Director of Switzerland and Liechtenstein Tibetan Community Schools, Karma Choekyi; and Accountant of Office of Tibet in Geneva, Tenzin Choesang.

The Department of Education’s Joint Secretary Gedun Dhonyoe, Language Teacher Passang Tsering from Mewoen Tsuglag Petoen School, and Kindergarten Teacher Jampa Palmo from Upper Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamshala were invited as a workshop facilitators.

The event began with the attendees observing a minute of silence to the martyred Tibetans who sacrificed their lives by voicing for Tibet and its greater cause.

In her address, Representative Thinlay Chukki spoke about the restriction of Tibetan people inside Tibet, emphasising on the PRC’s systematic implication of policies to erase Tibetan language in Tibet through planned measures. She commended the teachers’ interest and active participation in this two day programme.

Tibetan Liaison Officer Dhondup Gyalpo highlighted the importance of educating parents on the significance of this training. Director Karma Choekyi gave brief introduction of Switzerland Tibetan Weekend Schools and their present situation.

Following this, Joint Secretary Gedun Dhonyoe introduced the foundational curriculum and textbooks for Tibetan Language Weekend Schools, explaining the textbook’s development and its core principles.

Passang Tsering provided in-depth guidance on methods for instilling the four language skills in students with the core focus on student-centred approaches for rapid Tibetan language learning.

Jampa Palmo gave detailed instructions to the teachers on how to familiarise vowels and individual letters to kindergarten students. She provided young student-oriented psychological approaches and teaching methods for kindergarten students.

The trainers provided in-depth instruction to teachers on teaching methods and approaches to education that align with students’ psychological development. This training included a participation of 30 teachers: 27 from Switzerland and 3 from Austria.