READ Bhutan
Team Members:
Moises Tenorio Garcia, Sociology, Oakes ’22
Neha Narayan, Sociology, Stevenson ’20
Simone Sarte, Art, Oakes ’24
Partner Organization: READ Global
Although Bhutan is known for the beauty of its mountains and “Gross National Happiness”, most of the population lives in remote areas with rugged terrain and few educational or economic opportunities. Bhutan has one of the lowest literacy rates in Asia and before READ established their first Center in Bhutan, there was only one public lending library in the entire country. Bhutan was closed off from the rest of the world until the 1960’s, and READ Global is one of the only international non-profit organizations operating in Bhutan. READ Bhutan Centers aim to increase access to, usage of, and exchange of knowledge, information, and resources; increase economic opportunities; increase women’s empowerment; and increase community ownership and engagement.
Total Funding: $2,605.00
Project Description
Over a 5 month period, in collaboration with students at GCIT, we will create a website that displays Bhutanese digital content including videography, a story-map, illustrations, and information about READ centers and their resources for those in Bhutan. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, our collaboration has been adapted strictly to online platforms such as Zoom, Whats App, and email. Despite this minor setback, the resilient students of GCIT will actively gather information regarding various rural and under-represented communities in Bhutan as our eyes and ears. This will give us the ability to collect and display such culturally sensitive content on our website that is accessible to all. Our collaboration with READ Bhutan will also help expand access to resources for local communities in Bhutan through our user-friendly website.
Project Outcomes
Our anticipated outcome is to create a collaborative multimedia website that will serve as an information hub to offer a proper representation of contemporary rural Bhutanese communities. We aim for this website to inform not only those curious about Bhutanese culture outside the Kingdom, but most importantly, Bhutanese people who cannot easily travel to other regions due to the lack of adequate roads and transportation in their mountainous terrain. In the hopes of increasing literacy, we hope to create a tool to connect the people of Bhutan with the resources of the READ centers. Lastly, we hope to create strong bonds with the GCIT students that will last a life-time and encourage future generations to follow in our footsteps of collaboration and partnership. Currently there is not much information regarding Bhutan on the internet, but through our website we will develop information that will be accessible for years to come. Our user-friendly website aims to also support READ Bhutan in its mission to promote digital literacy across the Kingdom of Bhutan, by creating a platform that can be updated and revised over-time to introduce multiple READ Bhutan centers and their resources on a growing basis.