According to Harari, the most important skills for surviving and flourishing in the 21st century are not specific skills, like computer code, instead the key skill is how to keep mastering new skills throughout our life. In talking about our technology-dominated future, Harari shares his concerns about the social inequalities such changes will eventually bring to surface. People, and for that matter, nations that have access to new technologies will have the upper hand, being able to control...

If Isaac Newton were not curious enough to question why the apple fell straight down rather than up or sideways, it would have taken us quite some time to understand the gravitational theory. Today, the works of the visionary creative innovator, Steve Jobs reign supreme in our everyday lives, both personally and professionally - leaving behind a creative legacy. And, one of the most curious and creative minds, Leonardo Di Vinci said, “Learning never exhausts the mind.” ‘Curiosity and...

The world has been witnessing unprecedented digital acceleration in different fields. Even in Bhutan, we have always aspired to jump on the bandwagon faster, and the covid-19 pandemic leapt digital adoption forward by several years than we would have imagined possible. And with it taking some form and root in the country, this has indeed laid the foundation for its digital transformation journey. As the country capitalises on this momentum to embrace and explore the best of both innovation...

Nation Building - Lessons from Singapore’s Success

Learning from Singapore’s Success in Combating Corruption - Lessons for Bhutan

Factors Behind Singapore’s Economic Achievements

Sometimes, figuring out what is meaningful to you changes the course of your life and leads you to benefit people around you.  This in turn drives you to do more for the good of the larger world.  Such a profound drive a Purpose can be in one’s life. Professor Kendall Bronk defines purpose as “a stable and generalised intention to accomplish something that is at once personally meaningful and at the same time leads to a productive engagement with some aspect of the world beyond self.”  She...

When Simon Anholt first wrote about ‘nation brand’ in 1996, he simply observed that the reputations of countries behave like the brand images of companies and products, and they are equally critical to the progress, prosperity, and good management of those places. However, since then, the term has prominently evolved into ‘nation branding’ albeit with some differences in meaning and context. Countries today place huge importance on ‘nation branding’ and rightly so, as it has helped reap the...

Leadership of the Self – What it means and entails ‘Leadership of the Self’- As self-explanatory and familiar as it sounds, the phrase merits a more profound understanding of what it entails to summon ‘leadership of the self’ within each one of us. It not only transcends the conventional barriers like gender, nationality, religion & power to exercise ‘leadership of the self’ but integrates & values humanity to its core. Inspired by His Majesty The King’s address during the convocation...

Few have dared to dream different and found their niche by taking the road less travelled or, in literal terms, ‘taking the path less traversed’. She is a wanderlust – hitting adventurous high notes by taking us to places in Bhutan we would not have known otherwise. We mostly traversed with her to the most remote and sacred sites in the country, even if virtually—exploring & discovering nature’s wonderment, local hospitality, culture and heritage, age-old traditions and customs—all that...

Technology has presented a completely new evolution whereby we live in an era that surpasses our imagination every day with its limitless potential to revolutionize the economy, health, education, communication among many others. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly elicited the potential that technology holds for the future and made it acutely necessary for the world to embrace it, or risks being left behind. In Bhutan, His Majesty has been a staunch believer in leveraging emerging...

"Our nation's vision can only be fulfilled if the scope of our dreams and aspirations are matched by the reality of our commitment to nurturing our future citizens."- His Majesty The King The King His Majesty The King has always acknowledged and attributed our country's remarkable journey of modernization and development within a short period to our education system. It is also with the same conviction on the importance of education that His Majesty has established the Royal Academy in Paro...

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) remains one of Bhutan’s key development partners for almost 48 years since it first started its assistance program in Bhutan in 1973. Notwithstanding the challenges posed by the pandemic, the UNDP was quick to assess and evolve as necessitated by the situation and continues to forge a stout path ahead for a vibrant and resilient future. In the sixth episode of the RIGSS Podcast, Ms. Azusa Kubota, the Resident Representative of UNDP for Bhutan...

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) remains one of Bhutan’s key development partners for almost 48 years since it first started its assistance program in Bhutan in 1973. Notwithstanding the challenges posed by the pandemic, the UNDP was quick to assess and evolve as necessitated by the situation and continues to forge a stout path ahead for a vibrant and resilient future. In the sixth episode of the RIGSS Podcast, Ms. Azusa Kubota, the Resident Representative of UNDP for Bhutan...

This is the final episode of the series by Dasho Dr. Sonam Kinga on the institution of Bhutanese Monarchy. In the two previous episodes of this series, Dasho provided a comparative perspective on Bhutan as a Monarchy and talked on what makes Bhutan’s Monarchy modern as opposed to the general perception of the institution as being outdated. In this final episode of the trilogy series, Dasho will reveal the lesser known facts on the short, yet very important text of the “Genja” or the...

In this episode of the trilogy series on the Institution of the Bhutanese Monarchy, Dasho Dr. Sonam Kinga talks on “The Modernity of the Bhutanese Monarchy’ and questions prevailing ideas of monarchy as ancient, divinely ordained, feudal and irrelevant for modern society, and explains that the Bhutanese monarchy, on the contrary, is modern in ideological foundation and institutional design. He unpacks many assumptions and simplistic accounts of monarchy which are based on western experiences...

The trilogy series of a talk on the Institution of the Bhutanese Monarchy by Dasho Dr. Sonam Kinga has been specially curated to commemorate the momentous 113th National Day of Bhutan. The Part-I of this series will provide a comparative analysis of Bhutan’s Monarchy vis-zà-vis other monarchies and similar establishments around the world. Dasho provides a scholarly perspective on what makes us unique—one of a kind “Monarchy” in the world—and where we stand today as a nation. We have come a...

The dynamics of professions around the world are changing at a rapid pace, so is the pattern of the gender-based division of leadership that is transitioning to accommodate more women in the fields which were once considered patriarchal strongholds. There is no denying that women have sailed a long way in adding diversity to the workplace and continues to make slow yet steady strides in various leadership positions. We are also witnessing more women appointees in the international hierarchies...