18^th December 2009 – Today Save the Children China Programme’s Tibet Programme (SC Tibet Programme) hosted a conference with the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office in Lhasa to reflect upon the last two years of programme work in Tibet.

Senior members of the Tibetan Autonomous Region Foreign Affairs Office, Lhasa Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, Lhasa Education and Sports Bureau, and Lhasa Health Bureau attended the conference. Also present were the Lhasa Education and Sports Bureau’s Education Research Institute, Lhasa Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Lhasa Public Security Bureau External Affairs Department and partners from the Lhasa and its seven affiliated counties’ Education and Health Bureaus.

Flying in from Beijing to present at the conference was SC China Programme Director of Programmes, Mr Zhao Zhong Hua. SC Tibet Programme General Manager, Mr Jigme, followed with a presentation summarising the development of programmes in the Lhasa valley during 2008 and 2009; programme partners from the health and education sectors shared their thoughts and expectations about the programme; and SC Tibet Programme Coordinator, Ms Wang Xueyan gave attendees an insight into how the programme will look during 2010 to 2012, including plans for two new major projects in Lhasa - an Early Childhood Care and Development initiative for pre-school children and the Child Survival Campaign to reduce the mortality rate of children under five.

Vice Director Mr Wang La from the Tibet Autonomous Region Foreign Affairs Office also praised the way that SC and project partners have strictly adhered to the MOU and local laws, implemented solid internal work practices and provided standard remuneration packages to staff. He expressed his hope that the Tibet programmes could attract more funding, increase the impact of such funding and encouraged greater cooperation amongst programme partners to maximise outcomes.

The meeting provided a forum for SC’s partners at the grassroots level to provide feedback on the programme, allowing programme staff to gain a deeper understanding of the direction of the programme and its future needs.

Township Secretary Mr Qiong of the Dang Xiong County Education Bureau urged SC to continue with its teachers training programmes and curriculum development to increase the number of trained teachers in Tibetan nomad and farming regions.

Head of the Lhasa Education and Sports Bureau Education Nyima Institute proposed that participatory style train-the-trainer programmes be tailored to meet the requirements of the new school curriculum; the functionality of programmes be increased; and more research be applied during the education programmes’ preliminary stages.

Feedback and ideas at the conference was in no short supply with comments also coming from Lin Zhou County Health Bureau Director, Mr Nyima Tsering, who emphasised the role of schools as a focal point of health education. The Director hopes that the SC Tibet Programmes’ health initiative can change the way that teachers view health, continuing to improve overall health conditions in Tibet.

Head of the Health Education Institute at Lhasa’s Centre for Disease Control, Mr Pingcuo Wandui, believed that the turnover in local teachers had limited the effectiveness of health education training sessions. He suggested going forward, teachers who attend training be acknowledged with a certificate joint-issued by the Health and Education Bureaus. Cooperation between the two Bureaus would bring more stability to the programme which would be reflected in increased learning outcomes for students and in turn a reduction in disease.

The conference concluded with a short film to raise awareness about the SC Tibet programmes. SC Tibet Programme General Manager Mr Jigme also took the opportunity to thank SC partners and staff for their support of the SC Tibet Programmes over the years.