Host School- TCV Selaqui School
Empowering The Vision Project has been facilitating the School Exchange programme for high school students since 2017 and this is the second Exchange programme this year between Cambrian Hall and TCV Selaqui.
Under this programme, ENVISION provides exchange opportunities to bring together young Tibetan and Indian communities together with the following objectives:
- To foster a better understanding of each other’s culture and develop respect, learning and sharing
- To nurture friendship and relationship between young Tibetans and Indians
- To expand comfort zones and broaden horizons of young Tibetans
The School Exchange Programme between TCV Selaqui and Cambrian Hall was held on the 8th of August at the latter’s campus. 142 (71 from each school) students participated in the Programme. The Indian students were welcomed by their counterparts with a traditional Tibetan Tashi Shoepa dance and a welcome speech given by one of the participating students from TCV Selaqui.
The Exchange Programme agenda includes buddy activity, an activity introduced with the objective of helping Tibetan students make personal connection with at least one student, School campus and classroom tour led by their new buddy, friendly basketball match between the two schools for boys and girls, and finally, a skit performance added to the agenda this year. Theatre is another engaging medium which helps in breaking barriers and building confidence. Students of both the schools were divided into eight groups comprising 16 students each and were made to work together to come up with a script, rehearse and perform a skit addressing various themes such as on anti-bullying, time management, compassion in action, and family bond.
At the end of the day, in order to gauge the impact of the school exchange programme, a feedback session was conducted wherein students (both Tibetan and Indian) shared their take on the day’s programmes. Tibetan students expressed how the programme helped them understand and learn Indian society and culture while their Indian friends shared how they gained more knowledge about Tibetan culture and community through their Tibetan peers. Many students also shared how the programme helped them foster friendships through the buddy activity and that they plan to stay in touch with each other in the future.