Annette served with the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala, India in Summer 2009.
As the Copy Editor for the Department of Information and International Relations for the Central Tibetan Administration located in Dharamsala, India, I spent the majority of my time working under the guidance of the Secretary of Information alongside the Editor of the Tibetan Bulletin. Together, we researched and reported on the advancements made in Tibetan education over the past 50 years of life in exile in India and Nepal. Some of the most memorable interactions I had were through interviews with many of the leaders in Tibetan educational system. It was amazing to see just how hard the Tibetans living in exile have had to work over the past 50 years to adopt the host country’s educational ways and standards, while at the same time preserving Tibetan language, arts and cultural traditions. My article on Education in Exile appeared in the Tibetan Bulletin.
Some of my other responsibilities included helping the Department of Information and International Relations establish reporting guidelines while also copy-editing all articles written for publication in English. I also assisted in a film documentary translation project with the government TV station which can be viewed at http://www.tibetonline.tv/videos/77/unveiling-the-truth.
My overall objective in working with the Department of Information and International Relations was to help the Tibetan English writing reporters understand, develop and improve upon their print reporting techniques. Just as it is for nearly every reporter, the main difficulties those in Dharamsala faced was learning how to write effectively, while dealing with the pressure to produce quality stories under a deadline. There were, of course, language barriers to overcome as well, along with a few conflicting methodologies; however, this just added even more beauty to the experience of working with some of the kindest, most driven people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.