Canada supports gender equality and digital capacity-building in Bhutan’s media

The media plays an important role in promoting democracy and good governance. In Bhutan, members of the relatively young media landscape appreciate opportunities for exposure to international best practices and training in journalism. The Thimphu Press Club, established in October 2023, is providing a much-needed platform for journalists to connect and share information with one another. 

Leveraging the press club’s influence, the Embassy of Canada to Bhutan supported a panel discussion and a 3-day training workshop in Bhutan’s capital of Thimphu in March 2024, in partnership with prominent media organizations in the country. The embassy also partnered with the prestigious Royal Thimphu College to present a lecture on digital journalism for students of mass communications.

Ensuring gender-inclusive newsrooms

The panel discussion, on gender in the newsroom, was held in collaboration with the Bhutan Media Foundation. The panellists included senior-editor-level journalists from Bhutan and India, as well as Minelle Mahtani, an associate professor in the Institute for Social Justice and chair of Canadian Studies at the University of British Columbia, who joined virtually. The speakers discussed ways to ensure there are safe and supportive environments in newsrooms, how to create pathways for women to rise to leadership positions, ways of including men in activism for equal participation and how to give more visibility to the LGBTQI+ community in the field. About 50 journalists from print, broadcast and digital media attended the event.

Reporting with multimedia content

The 3-day training workshop on multimedia journalism was held in collaboration with the Journalists’ Association of Bhutan. Experts from Bhutan and India led the workshop, which was attended by more than 40 journalists representing a wide spectrum of media. The participants learned how to produce engaging multimedia content, connect with and inform their audiences through various platforms, and convert scripts into compelling stories. Practical exercises in filming, shot sequencing, creating storyboards and editing, ensured that the training was interactive. 

Storytelling in the digital era

Continuing its long association with the Royal Thimphu College, the embassy co-hosted a lecture entitled “Storytelling in Digital Journalism,” by Amrita Dutta, National Editor of Scroll Media, an online publication in India. Dutta gave an insightful presentation on the evolving trends in media and the skills that today’s journalists need to compete in a digital world. More than 65 students and members of the college’s Faculty of Mass Communications attended the lecture.

Colin Wetmore, First Secretary at the High Commission of Canada to India, which covers Bhutan, says that over the past several years, Canada has partnered with numerous organizations in Bhutan, Nepal and India to host capacity-building workshops and forums on key issues such as misinformation, equal representation and data journalism. “Our partnerships with media organizations in Bhutan are part of ongoing efforts to help the journalists of tomorrow share knowledge and best practices that will help them face the challenges of modern-day reporting,” he says.

Helping to create an informed media

These events in Bhutan were among of a series of capacity-building initiatives that Canada has hosted for media in the sub-continent since 2011. Wetmore says that bringing together voices from Bhutan, India and Canada to discuss gender diversity in newsrooms was strategic, given the issue’s importance to Canada and continuing challenges in both India and Bhutan. He adds that the panel discussion, workshop and lecture reflected Canada’s global commitment to fostering an informed press and promoting democratic values.