Talks, Conference Presentations & Workshops by Jan-Christoph Schlenk
Traversing the Ridge: Connecting Menstrual Research and Advocacy, Jun 6, 2019
Approximately 1.9 billion women and adolescent girls menstruate each month. Especially in Low and... more Approximately 1.9 billion women and adolescent girls menstruate each month. Especially in Low and Middle-Income countries (LMICs) it is difficult for girls and women to practice adequate menstrual hygiene because they are frequently either ill-informed about menstruation or lack access to appropriate infrastructure and menstrual management supplies as these are often not available or unaffordable. Considering the large number of adolescent girls and women affected by issues around MHM, the topic has received increasing attention at the global level from a variety of actors.
There is a growing pool of evidence with regard to the effectiveness of school-based MHM interventions under WASH in Schools (WinS). This is because schools provide the ideal environment to reach girls who have not yet experienced menarche or have just started menstruating as well as to address taboos and misconceptions in a culturally sensitive manner. Ministries of Education have the power and the responsibility to transform schools into places with MHM-friendly sanitation facilities and easy access to information about menarche and menstruation. Within the SDGs, MHM-related issues are implicitly addressed in targets 4.a (education) and 6.2 (WASH). By measuring the “proportion of schools with access to (...) (f) gender segregated, usable (accessible, functional, private) sanitation facilities; and (g) handwashing facilities with water and soap” (basic service levels), indicator 4.a.1 calls for MHM-friendly sanitation infrastructure in schools. Advanced service levels can be defined on national level based on country specific needs and available resources. The WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) has developed a set of direct indicators for MHM such as enhanced cubicles with covered bins/disposal mechanisms, lighting, emergency MHM material and access to information. Countries are required to integrate the core and respective advanced JMP questions into their Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), which clarifies the responsibility of the Education sector for WinS.
In addition, many countries are using the Three Star Approach for WinS (GIZ/Unicef, 2013) and a recognition or incentive based Monitoring System for WinS programme management, which provides direction and triggers action. Promising examples are the national WinS programmes in India and the Philippines, where more than half of schools nationwide participated in voluntary monitoring and benchmarking.
In April 2019, Dasho Karma Ura, the director of the Centre for Bhutan and GNH Studies in Thimphu,... more In April 2019, Dasho Karma Ura, the director of the Centre for Bhutan and GNH Studies in Thimphu, opened the Third International Vajrayana Conference, by stat- ing that he is taking pride in the fact that Bhutan is the last remaining Vajrayana Bud- dhist nation-state in the world, and his country consequently had a responsibility in safeguarding and preserving the Vajrayana Buddhist teachings. The prime minister of Bhutan, Dr. Lotay Tshering, gave an inaugural speech and H.M. Jigme Namgyal Wangchuck, the Fifth King of Bhutan offered a private audience to all international participants at the final day of the Conference, both of them reinforcing Bhutan’s strong sense of ownership of the Vajrayana Buddhist teachings as their ‘main stake- holders’. The conference was attended by a wide range of international scholars and practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism, as well the local intellectual elite and people in power.
The Bhutanese Buddhist state was founded by a Tibetan Lama and many important Tibet-born Buddhist authorities directly impacted Bhutan by spreading the Buddhist teachings there in person. Still, in present discourse, Bhutanese exclusively refer to their Buddhist practice as Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism, rather than ‘Tibetan Buddhism’, and when talking about their liturgical language solely use the term chos skad (“dharma language”), avoiding the English term “Classical Tibetan” at all costs. Obviously, there is a politically motivated necessity to protect the tiny state’s sover- eignty by means of emphasising its distinctive culture which is not to be equalled with Tibetan culture, stressing Bhutan’s ‘Non-Tibetanness’.
When researching Bhutan’s communal Vajrayana festivals, I was often taken aback, how different Bhutanese practice of ‘cham festivals is in comparison to all festivals I had observed in Ladakhi/Zanskari and Tibetan-exile monasteries in India and what I knew from literature about ‘chams located in Tibet. As a consequence, I started to understand Bhutanese practice of ‘Tibetan Buddhism’ as syncretism, a “creative blend- ing of indigenous and foreign beliefs or practices into new cultural forms” (Havilland 2013), resulting in ‘Bhutaneseness’ of Vajrayana Buddhism in Bhutan, rather than ‘Ti- betanness’. Drawing on my field research, I would like to discuss ‘Non-Tibetanness’ and the transformation of ‘Tibetanness’ into ‘Bhutaneseness’ using the example of communal ‘cham festivals in Bhutan.
Articles by Jan-Christoph Schlenk
Mitteilungen der Osterreichischen Geographischen Gesellschaft, 2018
The article focuses on the immigrant economy of the Tibetan exile community in India's capital by... more The article focuses on the immigrant economy of the Tibetan exile community in India's capital by examining the development of the settlement Majnu Ka Dila at the flood plains of the Yamuna River. Majnu Ka Tilla developed from a squatter settlement in the 1960s into the Indian centre of Tibetan commerce in exile and a tourist hotspot. The economic development potential of Majnu Ka Tilla - within the legal framework of Delhi - is investigated by analysing the data of a qualitative and quantitative field study grounded in concepts of ethnic economies. The collected data show that the first migrants started with very simple businesses like food stalls, small pubs, brewing of Tibetan beer, and small-scale textile enterprises - mostly sweater-selling'- which enabled them to survive in the city. The second generation, better educated than their parents, was already able to open stores allowing them to achieve greater financial independence. With increased options, economic activities became more diverse as demonstrated by the opening of travel agencies, beauty parlors and hotels. The 'microcosm' of their own ethnic businesses forms the foundation for integration into urban society, a further economic diversification based on better education and the establishment of international economic networks.
Papers by Jan-Christoph Schlenk
Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geographischen Gesellschaft
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Talks, Conference Presentations & Workshops by Jan-Christoph Schlenk
There is a growing pool of evidence with regard to the effectiveness of school-based MHM interventions under WASH in Schools (WinS). This is because schools provide the ideal environment to reach girls who have not yet experienced menarche or have just started menstruating as well as to address taboos and misconceptions in a culturally sensitive manner. Ministries of Education have the power and the responsibility to transform schools into places with MHM-friendly sanitation facilities and easy access to information about menarche and menstruation. Within the SDGs, MHM-related issues are implicitly addressed in targets 4.a (education) and 6.2 (WASH). By measuring the “proportion of schools with access to (...) (f) gender segregated, usable (accessible, functional, private) sanitation facilities; and (g) handwashing facilities with water and soap” (basic service levels), indicator 4.a.1 calls for MHM-friendly sanitation infrastructure in schools. Advanced service levels can be defined on national level based on country specific needs and available resources. The WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) has developed a set of direct indicators for MHM such as enhanced cubicles with covered bins/disposal mechanisms, lighting, emergency MHM material and access to information. Countries are required to integrate the core and respective advanced JMP questions into their Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), which clarifies the responsibility of the Education sector for WinS.
In addition, many countries are using the Three Star Approach for WinS (GIZ/Unicef, 2013) and a recognition or incentive based Monitoring System for WinS programme management, which provides direction and triggers action. Promising examples are the national WinS programmes in India and the Philippines, where more than half of schools nationwide participated in voluntary monitoring and benchmarking.
The Bhutanese Buddhist state was founded by a Tibetan Lama and many important Tibet-born Buddhist authorities directly impacted Bhutan by spreading the Buddhist teachings there in person. Still, in present discourse, Bhutanese exclusively refer to their Buddhist practice as Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism, rather than ‘Tibetan Buddhism’, and when talking about their liturgical language solely use the term chos skad (“dharma language”), avoiding the English term “Classical Tibetan” at all costs. Obviously, there is a politically motivated necessity to protect the tiny state’s sover- eignty by means of emphasising its distinctive culture which is not to be equalled with Tibetan culture, stressing Bhutan’s ‘Non-Tibetanness’.
When researching Bhutan’s communal Vajrayana festivals, I was often taken aback, how different Bhutanese practice of ‘cham festivals is in comparison to all festivals I had observed in Ladakhi/Zanskari and Tibetan-exile monasteries in India and what I knew from literature about ‘chams located in Tibet. As a consequence, I started to understand Bhutanese practice of ‘Tibetan Buddhism’ as syncretism, a “creative blend- ing of indigenous and foreign beliefs or practices into new cultural forms” (Havilland 2013), resulting in ‘Bhutaneseness’ of Vajrayana Buddhism in Bhutan, rather than ‘Ti- betanness’. Drawing on my field research, I would like to discuss ‘Non-Tibetanness’ and the transformation of ‘Tibetanness’ into ‘Bhutaneseness’ using the example of communal ‘cham festivals in Bhutan.
Articles by Jan-Christoph Schlenk
Papers by Jan-Christoph Schlenk
There is a growing pool of evidence with regard to the effectiveness of school-based MHM interventions under WASH in Schools (WinS). This is because schools provide the ideal environment to reach girls who have not yet experienced menarche or have just started menstruating as well as to address taboos and misconceptions in a culturally sensitive manner. Ministries of Education have the power and the responsibility to transform schools into places with MHM-friendly sanitation facilities and easy access to information about menarche and menstruation. Within the SDGs, MHM-related issues are implicitly addressed in targets 4.a (education) and 6.2 (WASH). By measuring the “proportion of schools with access to (...) (f) gender segregated, usable (accessible, functional, private) sanitation facilities; and (g) handwashing facilities with water and soap” (basic service levels), indicator 4.a.1 calls for MHM-friendly sanitation infrastructure in schools. Advanced service levels can be defined on national level based on country specific needs and available resources. The WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) has developed a set of direct indicators for MHM such as enhanced cubicles with covered bins/disposal mechanisms, lighting, emergency MHM material and access to information. Countries are required to integrate the core and respective advanced JMP questions into their Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), which clarifies the responsibility of the Education sector for WinS.
In addition, many countries are using the Three Star Approach for WinS (GIZ/Unicef, 2013) and a recognition or incentive based Monitoring System for WinS programme management, which provides direction and triggers action. Promising examples are the national WinS programmes in India and the Philippines, where more than half of schools nationwide participated in voluntary monitoring and benchmarking.
The Bhutanese Buddhist state was founded by a Tibetan Lama and many important Tibet-born Buddhist authorities directly impacted Bhutan by spreading the Buddhist teachings there in person. Still, in present discourse, Bhutanese exclusively refer to their Buddhist practice as Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism, rather than ‘Tibetan Buddhism’, and when talking about their liturgical language solely use the term chos skad (“dharma language”), avoiding the English term “Classical Tibetan” at all costs. Obviously, there is a politically motivated necessity to protect the tiny state’s sover- eignty by means of emphasising its distinctive culture which is not to be equalled with Tibetan culture, stressing Bhutan’s ‘Non-Tibetanness’.
When researching Bhutan’s communal Vajrayana festivals, I was often taken aback, how different Bhutanese practice of ‘cham festivals is in comparison to all festivals I had observed in Ladakhi/Zanskari and Tibetan-exile monasteries in India and what I knew from literature about ‘chams located in Tibet. As a consequence, I started to understand Bhutanese practice of ‘Tibetan Buddhism’ as syncretism, a “creative blend- ing of indigenous and foreign beliefs or practices into new cultural forms” (Havilland 2013), resulting in ‘Bhutaneseness’ of Vajrayana Buddhism in Bhutan, rather than ‘Ti- betanness’. Drawing on my field research, I would like to discuss ‘Non-Tibetanness’ and the transformation of ‘Tibetanness’ into ‘Bhutaneseness’ using the example of communal ‘cham festivals in Bhutan.