14 Mar The Story of Sonam Tsering: A Brighter Future for Bhutan
Sonam Tsering is a 32-year-old young woman from Bhutan and a brilliant student enrolled in the second year of the Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Heritage Conservation at the University of Vienna on a scholarship funded by the Enrico Dell’Angelo Fund.
After graduating with a degree in architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, India, she worked for a year at the Department of Culture and Development of Dzongkha, a Bhutanese government agency responsible for the preservation, protection and promotion of Bhutan’s cultural heritage.
The Director of the Department told us that Sonam Tsering has proven herself to be not only a very professional but also a friendly and compassionate person and a resilient colleague. “Her contributions to various projects have been exemplary,” she told us. ”She has contributed to the design of a restaurant for the Bhutan Women’s Technical Training Institute, public toilets in Lhakhang Karpo, a new temple in Tsirang (one of Bhutan’s twenty districts), and other small projects, demonstrating team spirit leadership skills.”
Sonam is very committed to the preservation of Bhutan’s cultural and architectural heritage, and she has her own distinct vision: a balance between progress and preservation, in which contemporary architecture can evolve while integrating traditional elements. She believes that this balance should be founded on a multidisciplinary and coordinated approach between government, local communities, and other stakeholders to protect and enhance traditional architecture, which is also considered a key element for tourism and environmental sustainability.
The Cultural Heritage Studies Program at the Central European University in Vienna is highly qualified and offers students a comprehensive view of cultural heritage conservation practices.
Thanks to the Enrico Dell’Angelo Fund, we were able to cover the first year of Sonam’s scholarship, but we still lack the funds to support the current year, the second, and the final year, which amounts to 9,300 euros.
The Fund was established in 2018 to honor the memory of Enrico Dell’Angelo, with the goal of supporting university or professional studies of young Himalayans in order to improve the quality of life in the areas where they live and spread their culture and traditions around the world.
So far, thanks to the contributions of many generous people who care about the preservation of culture and the welfare and development of Himalayan communities, we have been able to fund the studies of 15 male and female students, who can really make a difference because of their high level of education and training.
If you would also like to contribute to the Fund and participate in the Sonam Tsering Scholarship, you can do so through our website by clicking on this link: DONATE NOW
and choosing “MAKE A SINGLE DONATION” on the “ENRICO DELL’ANGELO FUND” drop-down menu.
It is through an excellent education that a capable and a determined woman like Sonam will be able to emancipate herself and be a key player in the future of her country.