Upcoming Events
The Bhutan Society organises several events each year, in London and elsewhere, for Society members.
The next events will be:
2026
13th May in person and on-line: Annual General Meeting, and talks by Dr Charles Coughlan and Scott Steedman on the work of the Trust Fund covering some of the exciting projects being funded. (Zoom link here)
Venue: Salonik Room, Polish Hearth Club, 55 Princes Gate, London SW7 2PN
6.00pm Bhutan Society of the UK AGM, members only
6.45pmThe AGM will be followed by a talk open to members and guests followed by an opportunity to catch-up over a drink.
There will be a £10 collection for the event from paying members and guests staying for drinks.
Please inform Scott Steedman secretary@bhutansociety.org if you are planning to attend in person.
Dr Charles Coughlan is a Trustee of the Bhutan Society Trust Fund and a hospital doctor specialising in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine. He is based in London and from September to December 2024 worked in the Internal Medicine department at Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital in Thimphu.
Charlie maintains strong clinical and research links with Bhutanese colleagues. He will provide an overview of Bhutanese health services, the health needs of the population, and his own experiences of volunteering in Bhutan, before outlining an exciting fungal diagnostics project being supported by the Trust Fund.
Scott Steedman is the Secretary of the Bhutan Society and also a Trustee. He will talk about the Mountain Dentist project, founded by Dr Tenzin Dorji, which was funded last year. Dr Tenzin was a Chevening Scholars at King’s College, London where he took a Master’s Degree in Dental Public Health. His aim is to bring improved oral health practices and dental services to communities in remote mountainous areas of Bhutan, where dentistry is largely unknown. The Fund supported Dr Tenzin to purchase a portable dental X ray machine and to carry out camps in Lingzhi, Merak and Sakteng to demonstrate the value of the work. Scott will talk about the success of the project and Dr Tenzin’s plans for the future.
11th June at 6:30pm, in person and online: Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh
The Conference Room is in the RBGE Science Building, 20a Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR. It is about 100 meters north of the East Gate (not the West Gate, where the big café is).
Click on the zoom link here to join online
Members are strongly encouraged to bring guests, and there will be a £10 charge for the event by way of a contribution to the event.
Please inform Deborah Keith if you plan to attend in person (deborah@scottsteedman.com)
Bhutan Through the Eyes of George Bogle: The First British Diplomat to Bhutan by Jamyang Choden
Jamyang will explore the historic journey of George Bogle, the first British envoy sent in the late 18th century by the Governor General of the East India Company to Bhutan, en route to Tibet to establish diplomatic and trade relations. She will also highlight Bogle’s observations of Bhutan’s people, landscape and government at the time.
Bhutan Then, Now, and Tomorrow: A Visual Journey - Tshering Dorji and Dr David Long
For centuries the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan remained unknown, which helped to keep its landscapes, architecture, traditions and culture extraordinarily intact. Modern development was initiated in 1961. The talk will present a visual journey of Bhutan’s development seen through its cultural and environmental landscapes.
Jamyang works at the National Biodiversity Centre in Thimphu, currently residing in Edinburgh. During her time in the UK, she is engaged in digitising and transcribing George Bogle’s archival material and conducting an in-depth study of his writing, aiming to bring new insights into the important historical encounter.
Tshering Dorji is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh (and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh) specialising in Bhutan’s grassland ecosystems. Tshering worked in various capacities in the Royal Government of Bhutan with his first placement as a plant collector for the National Herbarium and more recently as a forester in the Department of Forests and Park Services.
Dr David Long, based at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, is a taxonomist with expertise in bryophytes and in the vascular plant flora of the Sino-Himalayan region. He worked extensively in Bhutan as a plant collector since the 1970s. His work culminated in a 9-part Flora of Bhutan, which he co-edited.
SAVE THE DATE!
1st July at 6.30pm in York. Sonam Rinzin and Professor Rachel Carr
Professor Rachel Carr and Sonam Rinzin will present their groundbreaking research on glacial lake outburst floods and the growing risks they pose to communities and mountaineers.