🇧🇹 DigiGyel: Building AI-Ready Youth and Schools — Teacher Training Begins!

🇧🇹 DigiGyel: Building AI-Ready Youth and Schools — Teacher Training Begins! On 4th July 2025, we kicked off the first cohort of teacher training for the DigiGyel Project at Changangkha Middle Secondary School, Thimphu. 47 teachers — primary and secondary educators, ICT focal teachers, and school leaders — gathered from Dzongkhags and Thromdes across Bhutan to begin a journey that matters deeply for the future of our classrooms and our country. DigiGyel: Building AI-Ready Youth and Schools (2026–2028) is a three-year initiative led by the VTOB Foundation, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD). Funded by The Dariu Foundation, with additional support from the Beat and Regula Curti Foundation, it builds directly on the Digital Literacy Initiative (2022–2025) — supporting the transition for Bhutanese schools from basic computer skills into the world of Artificial Intelligence. Over three years, this project will train 600 teachers across 500 + schools, establish AI Clubs, equip schools with 810 laptops, and ultimately reach 50,000 students with foundational AI literacy. The day opened with orientation by our resource persons — Mr. Mani Wangdi, Mr. Thinley, and Mr. Sonam Tshering — who walked participants through the training objectives and weekly schedule. The “AI and Me” session followed, where teachers worked in groups to share their current experiences with technology, their hopes for the course, and their ideas on bringing AI into Bhutanese classrooms. The afternoon moved into hands-on foundational AI sessions. The goal is simple and urgent: ensure Bhutan’s next generation understands AI — not just as users, but as thinkers, problem-solvers, and creators. A heartfelt thank you to The Dariu Foundation and the Beat and Regula Curti Foundation for funding this vision, and to MoESD for their support and guidance in making it happen. 🙏 The Dariu Foundation Sherig Bhutan