274 Media in the New Political Order (original) (raw)
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Bhutan,asecludedcountryintheHimalayas,betweenChinaandIndia, for centuries remained in self-imposed isolation, however, the geopo litical. tension in the 1950s forced it on a path of modernisation. An ar ray of educational, governmental, and social reforms was initiated. Press in the late 1960s and radio and the beginning of 1970s were introduced and in 1999 television and internet as one of the last countries in the world. Moreover, in 2006 the king abdicated in favour of his son, the media were allowed to be private, and the country began changes of its political system from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. All the above transformations were tumultuous for very traditional and custom bound Bhutanese society, therefore strong media on the guard of democracy had to be fostered. Bhutan Media Foundation (BMF), an independent organization was created. This paper presents the begin nings of BMF, describes its core areas ofwork and activities it conducts. It is based on the deepened interviews conducted by the author in No vember 2015 and data available online. Conclusions are also drawn from, the opinions of BMF actions recipients.
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