In January seven young Tibetans undertook an exchange program for 2 weeks. They visited New York and Washing DC then undertook field activities in Yellowstone National Park and Bozeman area.
The second exchange trip for the year took place in May with nine participants The group then travelled to Washington DC and on to Bozeman, Montana as a jumping off point for visits to Yellowstone National Park and surrounds. Activities included sightseeing, educational presentations and field based experiential learning where participants experienced ecotourism businesses by participating in activities and visiting local tourism operations.
The group bonded very quickly and turned out to be our most cohesive group yet. They approached all activities with enthusiasm and curiosity and it was very rewarding being their mentor and teacher throughout the program. Running the program in the spring enable different regions of Yellowstone National Park to be used for the program. We were also able to do different activities (such as horse trekking) due to the warmer weather. The good weather and wider range of activities contributed to the success of the program.
Business consulting workshops were run in August with all 2014 program alumni in Lhasa, Xining, Chengdu and Shangrila.