Di Hickey describes her experience at the Republic Day and Nepal Development Conference. It was an informative day and a good opportunity to network with many people who have a close relationship and connection with Nepal.
I was the first delegate to arrive, so managed to speak to a couple of the speakers, and organisers before kick off. There was a large marquee in the embassy courtyard, but we couldn’t enjoy the beautiful garden , as the weather was so awful.
H.E The Ambassador Dr Durga Bahadur Subedi and a Guest. Note the weather outside the Embassy.
The programme was very busy, and enjoyable with many interesting speakers, Nepali artists, an art exhibition,as well as performances by traditional singers and dancers. And after a delicious buffet lunch, we had the opportunity to network with other delegates, some of the speakers, and Embassy staff. I managed to speak with representatives from several organisations, and discuss their work in Nepal, while spreading the word about JMB Educational. I had a long and interesting conversation with a young man, who now lives and works in Edinburgh, at the Royal Botantic Gardens, specialising (obviously, in Nepalese indigenous flora) He was extremely interested in St Xavier’s as they have established a National Botanic Garden in Godavari. His boss, Simon Milne, gave a fscinating presentation on Botanical Relations, and Co-operation between Nepal and the UK.
The Ambassador had arranged a great mix of presentations. For me, a few other highlights were doctors speaking about educating and treating by way of telemedicine, discussing Political Development in Nepal, and the Role of Women in Nepal.
The energy and enthusiasm of everyone involved made me so proud to be there, representing our Charity, and spreading the word about the school and all the work done there.