From left: Mr. Re Tou, Dr. William V. Bleisch, China Director Program
(holding an AIT Extension training catalogue), Mr. Ou Jia, Ms. Monica Gary, Executive Director, TBF, and Mr. Li Jia.
By Tenzin Rabgyal
AIT Extension was please to welcome recently a delegation representing America’s The Bridge Fund (TBF), a non-profit and non-political organization registered in California. As part of a courtesy fact-finding visit, Ms. Monica Garry, Executive Director, TBF, and Dr. Bill Bleisch, China Program Director, met with AIT Extension team members on October 31st. The pair came to AIT to learn more about the training and workshop programs offered by AIT Extension, and also to discuss possibilities for the partnership.
During the meeting, training specialist Mr. Voravate Chonlasin, outlined the various capacity building programs offered by AIT Extension and also explained the activities of AIT Extension in the region. AIT Extension’s Ms. Sorat Phutthaphithak also presented a proposal that was based on a TBF request.
While on campus, The Bridge Fund officials expressed keen interest in having their staff train at AIT Extension in the near future, saying that the programs on offer were quite suitable for their China-based staff in terms of boosting their career development. The TBF representatives said they expected to start sending staff for training at AIT Extension starting in early 2008.
As part of the visit, Ms. Monica and Dr. Bleisch also met with Mr. Jean-Philippe Thouard, Coordinator, French Cooperation-AIT, and Mr. Tenzin Rabgyal, Program Officer, ERCO. Ms. Garry said that TBF was very pleased to have started its cooperation with AIT through the French Government supported scholarship program. Currently two students studying at SERD are enrolled under TBF-French Scholarships. Later on, Ms. Monica and Dr. Bleisch met the students (pictured), who expressed their gratitude for the pair visiting them and the generous support that TBF has provided them to study at AIT.
The Bridge Fund (TBF) (www.bridgefund.org) is a non-profit and non-political organization registered in the state of California, USA. It is also a project of the Philanthropic Collaborative, Inc. (TPC) Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc. (RPA), New York, USA. The Bridge Fund was established in 1996 by a distinguished group of Asians, Americans and Europeans in response to needs expressed by Tibetan communities in China.