The AAJA/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Media Tour, sponsored by Hearst Newspapers, enables participants to gain a better and more informed perspective of major programs being undertaken by UNDP in Asian countries.
2004 AAJA/UNDP Media Tour Bhutan
Members of the Asian American Journalists Association will participate in a 5-day media tour to Bhutan, tentatively set for November 8-12, 2004. The tour will focus on environmental protection of the country's remote ecosystem and will also look at the effects of the transfer of Bhutan's government from royal rule to democracy.
Six AAJA members have been chosen to attend the media tour. They are: Sharon Chan, reporter, The Seattle Times, Rene Ciria-Cruz, editor/writer, Pacific News Service, Hema Easley, reporter, The Journal News, Craig Gima, reporter/assistant city editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Ken Moritsugu, national correspondent, Knight Ridder and Putsata Reang, Santa Clara County reporter, San Jose Mercury News.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is situated in the eastern Himalayas and borders South and Southeast Asia. Bhutan has common borders with the Autonomous Tibetan Region (China) in the north and the Indian States of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in the west, south and east. It's territory rises from an elevation of 60 metres in the south to several peaks of the great Himalayan range of more than 7,000 metres on the northern border.
Bhutan has had a remarkable 40 years of development. Since opening up to planned development in the 1960s with the building of the country's first roads, there has been consistent improvement in adult literacy, life expectancy, and enrolment in schools. Though it has made major strides, Bhutan remains one of the world's least developed countries. The mountainous and difficult terrain pose major challenges to development. People still live in small isolated settlements and basic infrastructure is weak. The visit to Bhutan will focus on environmental protection of the country's remote ecosystem and will also look at the effects of the transfer of Bhutan's government from royal rule to democracy. Learn more about Bhutan.
Past tours took place December 2-6, 2002 to Vietnam and January 24-30, 2004 to Burma.
About the UNDP
UNDP is the United Nation's principal provider of development advice, advocacy and grant support. With 132 country offices, it has long enjoyed the trust and confidence of governments and NGOs in many parts of the development as well as the developed world. It is typically regarded as a partner rather than an adversary, and its commitment to a universal presence has proven especially useful in post-conflict situations and with states that had been otherwise isolated from the international community. Learn more about UNDP.