DHARAMSHALA: Staff from Information section of Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) headed by Secretary (equivalent) Dhardon Sharling held a meeting to discuss DIIR’s communications strategy with Ms Kate Saunders, Communications Director at International Campaign for Tibet (ICT).
During the discussion, Ms Saunders spoke about information as the new battleground and developing a fresh narrative to create a new Tibet strategy. She identified social media and the various open source websites as powerful tools in driving DIIR’s Tibet narrative on the global stage.
She also advised on honing the skill of information dissemination and crafting content-driven stories with an emphasis on the three-point rule of- prioritising information, information gathering and ordering/structuring the information.
She further mentioned that time has come to look at the Tibet story beyond the parameters of rights framework and suggested using the aura of Tibetan Buddhism, the global attention on environment and resilience of Tibetans protecting their cultural identiy as a wellspring to drive the Tibet issue further.
She spoke on how one needs to contextualise China’s Tibet policy, given the strategic and economic imperatives led by security architecture and also taking stock of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s belief that China’s national security is tied to Tibet’s stability.
Ms. Saunders said “When China seeks to subvert and distort global agenda internationally, Tibetans can shape and transform the China story and that can be achieved from standpoint of Tibetan identity.”
A writer and a journalist, Ms Saunders has specialised on Tibet for around 15 years advising journalists, academics, parliamentarians and government ministries across the world. She has written numerous reports for the International Campaign for Tibet and Tibet Information Network and her book ‘Eighteen layers of Hell: Stories from the Chinese Gulag’ was published by Cassell in 1996.
A group photo of the participants with Kate Saunders after the discussion.
DIIR Secretary giving an introductory remark on the importance of maintaining a strong communication strategy to drive the Tibet issue, 22 March 2017.