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Dharamshala: Marking a watershed moment in history, Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration launched the programme "Strengthening Cultural Resilience of Tibetan Communities" helmed by the Department of Religion and Culture (DoRC) and funded by the USAID, on 3 November 2023 at the Kashag Secretariat.

In attendance were Secretary Chime Tseyang, the Department of Religion and Culture; Dr. Poonam Smith Sreen, Deputy Director of General Development Office of USAID; Additional Secretary Kunga Gyaltsen, the Department of Religion and Culture; Geshe Lobsang Monlam, the founder of Monlam Tibetan IT Research Center; and staff from Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

The 3 year-long programme is an ambitious project seeking to preserve and promote Tibetan religion, culture, and language, and to further elevate the distinct cultural identity at the international platform. The creation of a digital library becomes one of the most important projects under this programme. The Department of Religion and Culture in collaboration with Wadhwani AI and Monlam ITRC worked to bring this project to fruition. The Department of Religion and Culture co-ordinates with monasteries, nunneries and libraries to solicit the rare/important manuscripts, thangkas and artifacts under their possession and digitise it. While the DoRC's role is to solicit all the documents, the tech prime of this project Wadhwani AI and their subgrant Monlam ITRC will develop the digital repository.

In his inaugural address, Sikyong apprised the gathering of the broad scope of the programme and its significance, especially given its connection to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's vision. Furthermore, he underscored the need for preservation of the precious manuscripts by digitising them in keeping with the times. The day also marked the inaugural of the women's empowerment conference in the morning and an event on artificial intelligence later in the evening which prompted the Sikyong to recognise its historic significance. Speaking on the topic of preservation of sacred Tibetan texts, Sikyong recollected the great contribution of the Late E. Gene Smith, founder of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC).

Dr. Poonam Smith Sreen, Deputy Director of General Development Office of USAID, acknowledged the Tibetan people's notable efforts for the preservation of their cultural identity in exile over the course of 70 years under the leadership and guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama while urging them to continue their efforts and briefed them on the importance of the project of maintaining a digital library.

Additional Secretary Kunga Gyaltsen of the Department of Religion and Culture addressed the gathering briefly on the project's background.

Social and Resource Development Fund (SARD) staff Tenzin Norsang delivered the vote of thanks.

Dharamshala: The Department of Religion and Culture, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), held a virtual meeting with representatives from around 100 monasteries and 5 cultural centres as part of its Tibetan Digital Library Initiative on 26 and 27 December 2023.

The main objective behind this two-day web conference is to promote understanding among the participants of CTA's Tibetan Digital Library Initiative and curation of antique Tibetan religious scriptures and paintings as per cutting-edge approaches.

Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the incumbent Kalon (Minister) of the Department of Religion and Culture, along with Secretary Chime Tseyang and Additional Secretary Kunga Gyaltsen, addressed the webinar.

The head of the department's Culture Section, Dhondup, updated the virtual meeting attendees on the initiative's progress and process, while the project's dealing staff, Tsomo, presented an overview and the future steps of the Tibetan Digital Library Initiative. Karma Gongde, the head librarian of the Buddhist Digital Resource Centre, and Geshe Lobsang Monlam, the director and CEO of Monlam, discussed the organisation and cataloguing of digital libraries, respectively.

The virtual meeting was convened as a result of regular correspondence between the department's concerned staff and its associated monasteries over the past two months. Staff were also dispatched to settlements in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Gangtok, and Dehradun to deliberate about the project with monasteries.

Dharamshala: The Department of Religion and Culture, CTA, is hosting a 2-day Consortium Conference of the Tibetan Digital Library as part of the ‘Strengthening Cultural Resilience of Tibetan Communities’ program from March 12-13, 2024.

The inaugural ceremony was graced by Sikyong Penpa Tsering, Veena Reddy, Mission Director of USAID India Mission, Additional Secretary Kunga Gyaltsen of the Department of Religion and Culture, and Mark Tegenfeldt, Office Director of the General Development Office, USAID.

The ceremony commenced with Sikyong and Mission Director Veena Reddy lighting a butter lamp and offering of scarves to the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Additional Secretary Kunga Gyaltsen delivered the welcome address.

A message from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in both Tibetan and English was also read out during the ceremony.

In his address, Sikyong expressed gratitude to the older generation of Tibetans for preserving Tibetan Buddhism by bringing religious scriptures while fleeing Tibet. He acknowledged the various stakeholders involved in the program, from USAID, Tibet Fund, SARD, Wadhwani AI, to Monlam ITRC, and highlighted the significant contribution of the Late E. Gene Smith, founder of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC). Sikyong emphasised the need for collective effort for the programme’s success and urged participants to utilise the conference as a platform for networking with scholars and experts.

Veena Reddy, Mission Director of USAID, commended the Tibetan movement for its dedication to preserving and promoting Tibetan culture, recognising the importance of these efforts in safeguarding the culture against threats to its existence.

Dhondup Tsering, Head of the Culture Section, conveyed the vote of thanks.

A total of 64 participants from monasteries and cultural institutions attended the conference.

This digital library project is a collaborative initiative with Wadhwani AI and Monlam ITRC.

The program was officially launched by Sikyong in November 2023 and is directly funded by USAID.

Dharamshala: As part of its ongoing Tibetan Digital Library Initiative, the Department of Religion and Culture, Central Tibetan Administration, convened a two-day introductory workshop on 13 and 14 May 2024. The workshop’s primary objective was to acquaint the staff and dealing personnel from three Dharamshala-based Tibetan monasteries and cultural centres with the sophisticated tools and methodologies provided by Wadhwani AI and the Buddhist Digital Resource Center’s application.

With the successful conclusion of the workshop, the task force responsible for the initiative commenced the pivotal phase of researching and digitising ancient scriptures housed within the monastic repositories on 15 May.

Under this initiative, the project will render mechanical facilities, along with training and a year-long salary, to dealing staff of the monasteries to realise this digitisation initiative in 20 monasteries by forthcoming September.

The project was funded by USAID.

London: During the recent 7th International Seminar of Young Tibetologists at the University of Oxford, a team from the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration showcased its Tibetan Digital Library Project funded by USAID. The team distributed informative pamphlets and provided a comprehensive overview of the project to inform the participants of its objectives and progress.

To facilitate a deeper understanding of the initiative, the team conducted engaging talk sessions in two separate auditoriums, allowing participants and seminar facilitators to gain a clearer insight into the project’s scope and significance.

In addition, Charles Menson, the Tibetan Subject Consultant Librarian at Oxford University; Daniel, a member of the seminar’s organising committee; and Representative Sonam Tsering Frasi from the Office of Tibet in London, were given detailed briefings about the project.

Dharamshala: As part of the department’s Strengthening Cultural Resilience of Tibetan Communities project funded by USAID, the Department of Religion and Culture has successfully completed orientation workshops on the Tibetan Digital Library Initiative at 20 different Tibetan cultural and religious institutions, marking the beginning of the research and digitisation of scriptures.

On 13 May this year, the first orientation session was held in Dharamshala, followed by other assigned regions, namely Bylakuppe, Hunsur, Kollegal, and Mundgod, where the mentioned institutions are located. Over the span of four and a half months, the Department of Religion and Culture, in collaboration with Wadhwani AI and the Monlam IT Research Centre, conducted a series of workshops at the aforementioned Tibetan settlements on the implementation of the Tibetan Library Management System application, as well as on researching and digitising ancient scriptures.

In addition, during these orientation workshops, the task force team from the Department of Religion and Culture also participated in the project. Thus far, the initiative has completed QR code integration for 2,000 bookshelves and 70,000 master texts.

Varanasi: On 21 November 2024, an assigned representative from the Tibetan Digital Library Project, Department of Religion and Culture, CTA, introduced the project at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS) in Varanasi.

The project’s dealing staff, Tsomo, initially met with the Vice Chancellor of CIHTS, Professor Wangchuk Dorje Negi, during which she presented the project pamphlet and provided detailed information to the latter.

Following that, a gathering was held with the heads and staff of the Institute’s Research and Development Cell to introduce the project further. The event was attended by Prof. Lobsang Dorjee Rabling (Restoration Department), Prof. Pema Tenzin (Translation Department), Dr. Thinlay Ram Shashni (Rare Buddhist Texts Research Department), and Geshe Beri Jigme Wangyal (Tibetan Literature Department), along with others.

In the afternoon, a similar awareness session was held at the Shantarakshita Library, where the head librarian, Prof. Lhakpa Tsering, and library staff members were also briefed on the project.

Dharamshala: The Department of Religion and Culture (DoRC), Central Tibetan Administration, successfully conducted a series of training sessions focused on the Tibetan Digital Library project in 12 monasteries across Tibetan settlements in South India from 26 to 30 December 2024.

On 26 December, a joint training session was held at the Drepung Loseling Library in Mundgod Tibetan Settlement for six monasteries: Drepung Loseling, Drepung Gomang, Gaden Jhangtse, Gaden Shartse, Ratoe Dratsang, and Sakya Tsechen Dongag Choeling Monastery. The session was attended by 12 librarians who were introduced to new features of the Tibetan Library Management System’s progressive web app, the operation of overhead scanners, and the application of accession QR codes to manuscripts and xylographs. The training concluded with an interactive Q&A session where participants actively engaged and resolved app-related bugs and other technical issues.

Following the training, DoRC staff visited the respective monastery libraries in Mundgod on 26 and 27 December to monitor their progress under the Tibetan Digital Library project. These visits included hands-on training sessions that focused on assigning accession QR codes to manuscripts. The team also addressed several technical problems and bugs encountered by the libraries, ensuring that their systems operated smoothly.

On 28 and 29 December, the DoRC team conducted similar training sessions for monastery libraries in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement. The libraries visited included Sera Jey, Sera Mey, Tashi Lhunpo, and Namdroling monasteries. At Tashi Lhunpo monastery, Tehor Khanze Zeekgyab Tulku, the monastery’s abbot, met with the DoRC staff and shared positive feedback about the project.

The official visit concluded on 30 December in the Hunsur Tibetan Settlement, where the team visited Gyudmed Monastery and Dzongkar Choede Monastery. During these visits, the team engaged with librarians to monitor the cataloguing and digitisation efforts and provide additional guidance where needed.

Throughout their visits, DoRC staff worked closely with monastery librarians to follow up on the ongoing cataloguing and digitisation processes. They gathered valuable feedback on the project, identified bugs in the TLMS application, resolved technical glitches, and addressed doubts regarding its implementation. This comprehensive approach ensured the effective transfer of skills and knowledge to the monasteries, enabling them to manage their libraries more efficiently. This comprehensive approach ensured the effective transfer of skills and knowledge to the monasteries, enabling them to manage their libraries more efficiently.

Dharamshala: The Department of Religion and Culture, Central Tibetan Administration, organised second Consortium Conference on the Tibetan Digital Library from 15 to 16 January 2025, at Hotel Imperial, Khanyara, Dharamshala, in collaboration with Wadhwani AI and Monlam ITRC. This event, funded by USAID, aims to further strengthen the cultural resilience of the Tibetan community by enhancing collaboration and developing actionable strategies.

The ceremony was honoured by the presence of Department of Religion and Culture Secretary Dhondul Dorjee, the Project Management Specialist Radharani Thakuria and development assistance Specialist Balaka Dey of the USAID, founder of Monlam AI and Monlam IT Geshe Lobsang Monlam, and Director of Buddhist Digital Resource Center Dr. Jann Ronis. Around 58 participants from different monasteries and cultural institution attended the conference.

The inaugural ceremony began with Secretary Dhondul Dorjee, Radharani Thakuria, and Balaka Dey lighting a butter lamp and offering prayers, followed by an introduction to the conference. The Department of Religion and Culture also screened a video showcasing the project’s first-year accomplishments and undertakings.

Dharamsala: The Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration organised a three-day session on Tibetan Digital Library content and catalogue classification, from 5 June to 7 June 2025, at the Department of Education’s Conference Hall. The meeting was held in collaboration with the Monlam Tibetan IT Research Centre.

The meeting convened with scholars and experts to develop standardised frameworks for the Tibetan Digital Library project, currently under development. The distinguished participants included Additional Secretary Kunga Gyaltsen, Geshe Lobsang Monlam, founder and CEO of the Monlam Tibetan IT Research Centre; Professor Jampa Samten, Senior Professor of Tibetan Buddhism and History at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi; Professor Sonam Gyaltsen, Senior Professor at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarah; Ju Tenkyong, a researcher at Monlam IT Research Centre, and Sonam Tobgyal, head of the Tibetan Section at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA).

The event commenced with the address, Secretary Dondul Dorjee of the Department of Religion and Culture, followed by the head of the culture section, Dhondup Tsering, detailing the Tibetan Digital Library Initiative’s presented a comprehensive overview of the digital library initiative, outlining its objectives, implementation phases, current progress, and future roadmap.

Geshe Lobsang Monlam underscored the crucial role of proper cataloguing and classification systems in ensuring the digital library’s effectiveness and accessibility.

The primary aim of the consultation was to finalise the cataloguing and classification schemes—essential components of the Tibetan Digital Library website. Once implemented, these systems will enable researchers and members of the global Tibetan community to clearly locate and access documents through the digital platform.