Tibetan Democracy and Debate མང་གཙོ་དང་བགྲོ་གླེང་།

Do we need substantial democratic reform of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile? Chithue Youdon Aukatsang has authored a report titled "Strengthening Tibetan Democracy in Exile: Reforming the Tibetan Parliamentary System" with several recommendations. Should representatives from abroad have representation in the Standing Committee in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile? What should a future structure of the parliament look like? How can we move forward with reform? These are some of the questions the "Democracy & Debate" team discuss with three Tibetan parliamentarians representing the Tibetan regions of Dothoe (Youdon Aukatsang), Dhomey (Choedak Gyatso) and U-tsang (Lobsang Gyatso Sither). Background reports (in PDF format): "Strengthening Tibetan Democracy in Exile: Reforming the Tibetan Parliamentary System" (2021) https://drive.google.com/.../1TCFjzW9AH8N6luTrWmu.../view... "Survey Report on Parliament Seats for Tibetan Diaspora Community Outside South Asia" (2021) https://drive.google.com/.../1nOAuV8w4V6YEpAGoMDb.../view...

How has the Tibetan exile demography changed and why has this not been reflected in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile? Why is it important that all part of exile community is represented in the parliament? What is the relationship between the effectiveness of the freedom struggle and a representative parliament? What is the importance of the Standing Committee in the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile? These are some of the questions the "Democracy & Debate" team discuss with four Tibetan parliamentarians representing Europe (Thubten Wangchen and Thupten Gyatso), North America (Thondup Tsering) and Australasia (Tenzin Phuntsok Doring).

What is the history of Tibetan media? What is the relationship between media and democracy? What are the main challenges facing Tibetan media and how can it be improved? These are some of questions the "Democracy & Debate" team discuss with Tenzin Sangmo (Journalist at Voice of America) and Choekyi Lhamo (Journalist at Phayul). In addition, the team conduct a mini-survey with the journalists on the democratic performance of the Tibetan news media.

What is the level of knowledge on democracy in Tibetan society? How can democracy be improved in a way that is effective and sustainable for the struggle? What can we learn from advanced democracies? These are some of questions the "Democracy & Debate" team discuss with Kelsang Gyaltsen (former HHDL envoy and current CTA strategic planning committee member) and Kyinzom Dhongdue (former Chithue representative from Australia and current Strategic Campaigns Associate at Amnesty International Australia).