news
January 19, 2012
Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclo cross, road biker – track racer and Olympic gold medalist, travelled to Bhutan in October 2011. She gave clinics to youth participating in the sports coalition in action program for school dropouts. She also gave a clinic to more advanced cyclists through the Bhutan Olympic Committee. The two groups joined Marianne for a tour from Paro to Thimphu. The youth were enthusiastic: never had they worked with such an experienced top sports women who took time to talk to them about finding personal talents and working to achieve the utmost. To actually cycle with her and learn what it takes to pursue your goals was an experience not to be forgotten.
While in Bhutan Marianne took the opportunity to witness the royal wedding.
Watch the you tube film about Marianne’s experience. English subtitles will be added soon: Marianne Vos in Bhutan
January 10, 2012
86 centimetres will have it’s US premiere at the 2012 environmental film festival in Washington DC. 86 centimetres will be screened on Sunday 18 March 2012 at the national museum of natural history in the nation’s capital.
86 centimetres is a film about Bhutan facing the indisputable effects of global warming; melting ice is weakening the walls of the Himalayan glacial lakes. 350 men and women walked 9 days up to Lunana, high in the mountains, the home of gods and spirits. They put up camp for three months and manually dig an outlet to reduce the volume of the waterlevel in the Thorthormi glacial lake and thus prevent the lake from bursting.
Tashi, a 21 year old farmer, enrols on the gruelling expedition, determined to secure his unborn child’s future and to help prevent a terrible disaster.
86 centimetres follows Tashi from the day he leaves for lake Thorthormi till his re-union, three months later, with his family.
Tshering Gyeltshen and Peter Jan van der Burgh – film directors, Henk de Jong – producer. 86 centimetres is financed by bhutan+partners.
more info
www.86centimetres.org
bhutan+environment
January 7, 2012
Henk de Jong, director bhutan+partners, world citizen and connector according to ‘Eigen’, a magazine for entrepreneurs in the Arnhem region of the Netherlands. The article describes Henk’s experiences in Bhutan and his connection to the country through bhutan+partners.
The full article, in Dutch language, can be found: Eigen – winter edition 2011, page 16 – 19
January 6, 2012
Mr Maarten Desmet and Ms Hanne van Gils conduct a study for bhutan+partners in Thimphu from 2 to 6 january 2012.
The study focusses on CO2 reduction in Thimphu and looks into the four components: mobility, building, food supply and industry.
The study comprises of a desk study and interviews with RGOB officials, entrepreneurs in the private sector in Thimphu city. Mr Desmet and Ms van Gils will investigate the engagement of stakeholders and possibilities to maintain or improve the present situation regarding CO2 reduction in Thimphu town.
Based on the study and interviews the report will describe feasibility of Thimphu to become a signatory to the covenant of Mayors. the report will also include recommendations, time frame and next steps to be taken.
The study is conducted in close collaboration with Thimphu Municipality – Bhutan, Chiel Boonstra – Trecodome, The Netherlands and Maarten Desmet and Hanne van Gils, Belgium.
for more information contact: postmaster@bhutanandpartners.org or phone: +31 (0)313 41 20 98
January 6, 2012
The Friends of Bhutan association in the Netherlands organize a lecture ‘Bhutan – 30 years development’ by Mr Kees Klein, the Honorary Consul to Bhutan in the Netherlands, on 20 January 2012 in The Hague.
Theannual Bhutan Day organised by the Friends of Bhutan will be held on 25 February 2012 at Scheveningen the Hague. The program includes speakers who attended the wedding celebration in October 2011 and a film by a young Bhutanese filmer. The day will be concluded with an informal dinner.
Information about both the lecture on 20th January 2012 and the Bhutan day in February 2012 can be obtained through the secretariat of the Friends of Bhutan: Mr Harry Zonder, postmaster@friendsbhutan.nl
January 3, 2012
bhutan+partners thank you for your kind collaboration and support in 2011, a year full of many memorable auspicious moments.
We wish you a prosperous 2012, full of joy and happiness.
Lem, Matthijs, Frank, Corinne, Erica, Tineke and Henk – board and staff bhutan+partners
December 15, 2011
The Umoja Climate Fund contributed gore tex jackets to the project field workers working at Thorthormi lake from August to mid October 2011 to reduce the water level in the lake.
The following results were achieved through field work at the glacial lake :
1. Main Thorthormi lake – water level reduced by: 1.45 m
2. Subsidiary lake II – water level reduced by: 1.1m
The overall achievements so far are 3.68m reduction in the lake water level of the main Thorthormi glacier lake. This includes 0.86m in 2009, 1.37m in 2010 and 1.45m in 2011.
The water level reduction of 5m by the end of the project will definitely reduce the risk of glof originating from the lake. However, there will still be certain level of risk posed by thorthormi lake and other glacial lakes in the headwaters of Pho Sub-basin. in this regard, the department of energy under the same glof project has installed fully automatic early warning stations to warn the downstream population in the valley in case of unforeseen glof disaster from those glacier lakes: including the present lake where we are doing the glof risk mitigation work.
Mr Dowchu Drukpa mentioned that: “The jackets have been very popular among the workers and in fact, some of the local workers (from Lunana area) joined the project mainly because of the jacket. The jackets have been very good in terms of quality and varying size options.”
Bhutan+partners supported the Umoja Climate Fund with information and coordination of this Jacket Project.
December 13, 2011
Marianne Vos, Dutch professional cyclist travelled to Bhutan in October 2011. She conducted two clinics and did a tour with 25 trained and untrained cyclists from Paro to Thimphu to commemorate the Royal Wedding of His Majesty the King of Bhutan to Ashi Jetsun Pema.
Mark Blankwater, a Dutch youth sports worker, trained the youth workers of a sports program running in Thimphu and financed by the Dutch government. Marianne Vos worked with some of the youth enrolled in the sports program. The youth also joined in the Paro-Thimphu tour.
Both Mark and Marianne were interviewed for an article on cycling in Bhutan. The article was published in the Dutch magazine ‘Fiets’ (Bicycle), #12,December 2011. The 4-page article talks about Marianne’s and Mark’s experiences in Bhutan, the example set by His Majesty the King who cycles to the remotest districts and in Thimphu, the challenges to make Thimphu biking city #1 in Asia and the sports program.
Full article in Dutch – Fiets #12, December 2012
More information about the sports program: www.bhutanandsports.org
December 1, 2011
Bhutan+partners issued a special edition newsletter in English. The special edition updates our English speaking partners about the contribution from the Netherlands to the Royal Wedding festivities in Bhutan in October 2011; the sports activity organized as a contribution to the Royal Wedding celebrations, the press delegation that travelled to Bhutan from the Netherlands to report about the Royal Wedding for the Dutch public and the flower bulbs sent by the World Horticultural Expo Floriade 2012 and the International Flowerbulb Centre supported by the Dutch Embassy in New Delhi.
The sportive press delegation generated articles and radio/TV items about the sports program, the Royal Wedding and Bhutan in general in the Netherlands:
Radio – 5 interviews
TV – 5 interviews/reports, coverage: 3,490,000
Magazines/newspapers/Websites – 17 articles, coverage over 2,500,000
Twitter – 16,000
read the newsletter:bhutan_wedding_newsletter_07
overview media coverage:
press the Netherlands October 2011
coverage media 2011
November 28, 2011
Bhutan+partners strengthened their relation with Bhutan during a dinner hosted by the Bhutan Society of the United Kingdom on the occasion of the Society’ 20th anniversary on 25th November 2011. Their majesties the King and Queen of Bhutan attended the dinner at the Inner Temple, London, and met with Bhutanese students, representatives of European friendship associations and members of the UK friendship association.
Henk de Jong and Erica Sluyters, Albert van der Schaaf and his wife Paula represented respectively bhutan+partners and the friends of Bhutan in the Netherlands.
The Bhutanese students and the European representatives were officially introduced to their majesties.
Henk de Jong had the honour and opportunity to inform HM about the 4000 tulip bulbs sent to Bhutan as a gift to the Royal Couple by the World Horticultural Expo Floriade 2012 and the International Flower Bulb Centre with support of the Dutch Embassy in New Delhi and bhutan+partners. He also informed Her Majesty about the request to name one newly cultivated tulip ‘Queen of Bhutan’.
Their majesties are on a private visit to the United Kingdom. They have spent their honeymoon working with state visits to India and Japan.
On 26 november Henk de Jong and Erica Sluyters joined the European representatives for an informal meeting. Mr van der Schaaf was also present. The group exchanged information and discussed developments in Bhutan and mutual interests in specific programs.
