As the role of spirituality continues to evolve, more than 30 religious leaders from across the country gathered in Thimphu for a three-day workshop to learn new ways to guide their communities, blending Buddhist wisdom with modern approaches to education, innovation, and leadership.
The three-day Bhutan Innovation in Pedagogy and Leadership Workshop, held from Friday, was organised by the Khedrup Foundation in collaboration with the University of Virginia’s Generative Contemplation Initiative.
The workshop is designed to help emerging monastic leaders strengthen their leadership and teaching skills through innovation and value-based learning.
“There are changes slowly happening, the world is changing, our people’s mental health is changing, and the way people think is changing. So we are learning how to face these changes. It is very important to prepare how to raise leaders with the right qualities, and we are trying to address that,” said Monla Khedrup, President, Khedrup Foundation.
“Instead of coming here and saying here are these western frameworks and practices and models that we are going to educate you in, we are really trying to work with participants in a reflective process to think about innovation, pedagogy, innovation and leadership from the ground up through the lens of Buddhism, Bhutanese traditional values and practices and ideas and gradually begin to think about how these might be related to extrinsic global trends,” said David Germano, Professor, University of Virginia.
He added that the workshop is expected to strengthen participants’ leadership qualities, enabling them to apply innovative teaching methods and help them balance traditional Buddhist values with the evolving needs of students and society.
“From my experience in monastic institutions, we used to conduct continuous classes simultaneously. Through this workshop, I learned that integrating storytelling, exercises, or other activities between classes can be very effective in keeping students engaged,” said Namdak Drolma, Teacher, Kuenga Rabten Nunnery, Trongsa.
“We have learned how to better engage with students and, most importantly, how to teach them effectively. Instead of just explaining concepts, it’s important to check whether they truly understand. Encouraging students to ask questions and discuss with each other helps keep them engaged. Before, we would simply teach the subject, and the class would be over,” said Tashi Dorji, Principal, Tharpaling Shedra, Bumthang.
By bridging tradition and innovation, the workshop has set the foundation for a new generation of spiritual leaders ready to guide their communities with wisdom and adaptability.
Kinley Bidha
Edited by Phub Gyem
