Wolfson launches groundbreaking crowdfunding campaign

Wolfson is one of the first Colleges in Oxford to use this new method of fundraising to support an academic project, and it is an exciting opportunity to help secure the future of this small, but vitally important, discipline.    

The Tibetan speaking world and its Buddhist legacy are a precious and integral part of the world's cultural heritage. However, they are in a precarious situation: the Himalayas are affected by rapid changes and modernisation, and, due to political circumstances, the Tibetan-speaking communities are scattered over many countries. Studying and preserving the Tibetan cultural heritage is therefore an urgent need.

Oxford provides a unique environment for learning about Tibet and the Himalayas. Researchers are part of a dynamic environment with world-famous academic visitors, unique museum and library resources, and an interdisciplinary Tibetan and Himalayan Studies Centre at Wolfson College. Here they find ideal conditions to engage with the Tibetan cultural heritage and carry the knowledge about Tibetan culture into the future.

This initiative enjoys the support of His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of the Drukpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. His Holiness is a keen advocate of the preservation of the cultural richness of the Western Himalayas and wishes to raise the awareness of the local population for the importance of their cultural heritage.The Research Fellowship at Wolfson can support this process by helping to expand and promote cultural knowledge. 

The project is being run on the educational crowdfunding platform Hubbub, and updates will regularly be posted on Facebook. Dr Ulrike Roesler, Wolfson Governing Body Fellow, is leading the project, and will be supported by many other Tibetan and Himalayan Studies scholars throughout the College and the university.