Nepal Day 2013 Celebrated in Dublin

Post date: Aug 5, 2016 10:02:48 AM

29th September 2013. Nepalese community and friends of Nepal in Ireland, in co-ordination with Embassy of Nepal to the UK & Ireland, have jointly organized ‘Nepal Day’ in Farmleigh, Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland. There were more than 8000 visitors. This is the inaugural Nepal Day being held in Ireland to coincide with 60th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. The program was organized with the objective to promote Nepalese Culture and Nepal Tourism in Ireland.

The event comprised of different segments including photographic exhibition, mountaineering talks, cultural programmes, handcraft and Thanka stalls, Irish trekking stalls, henna and face painting stalls, food and other stalls. Nepalese living in Ireland were clad in their ethnic dresses and costumes which gave authentic representation of Nepalese culture in Ireland.

The cultural program was presented by Nepal Cultural Group Ireland. The local artists presented ethnic dances representing different parts of Nepal. The cultural program was co-ordinated by Dambar Singh and the dances were choreographed and architected by Ms. Prajaya Neupane.

The photographic exhibition was the most popular of all with people constantly pouring in throughout the day. At one point people had to queue to get in. More than 100 photographs, showing touristic and cultural sides of Nepal, were on display. The photographic exhibition was co-ordinated by Ms. Alison Irvin.

The mountaineering talk program was also oversubscribed with people needing to stand at the back to listen to Irish Mt. Everest Summiteers talk about their experiences of Mt. Everest ascent and their stay in Nepal. All of them highly recommended the audience to visit Nepal and were full of praise for the Nepalese people for their hospitality and how wonderful the country is. The speakers were Mr. Dawson Stelfox (First Irishman to climb Mt. Everest 20 years ago), Mr. Pat Falvey (motivational speaker and two times Mt. Everest summiteer and Cian Brolchain (Mt. Everest summiteer in 2012).

The event was very well received. There were very good responses from the visitors:

John O'Brien said “I visited Nepal 11 years ago. Nepal Day event and the photographic exhibition have refreshed me of my visit. I will definitely plan my next visit sometimes next year.”

Lisa Brennan said “I didn't know Nepal was such an amazing place. The photographs are stunning. The cultural dances are mind boggling. I have put 'Nepal' in my places to visit list.”

Ronan O'Connor, “Very enjoyable day- hope it is not a one-off.”

Ron Crowden commented on Facebook after seeing Nepal Day pictures - "Looks like the day was an outstanding success. Really enjoyed looking through the photos. Well done!!."

Andrea Farneti said “I had some interest before, but now I'm willing to visit Nepal as soon as possible”.

There was a raffle as well with the winner getting two Dublin-Kathmandu two-way tickets sponsored by Turkish airlines. There were more than 40 banners, depicting touristic sites and cultural heritage of Nepal, put up at different locations of the event venue. Some of the slogans written on the banners were - ‘Awesome Nepal', ' Experience Nepal - Traditions that wow everyone', ' Explore Nepal - Centuries old architectural Gems' etc.

During the inauguration ceremony, Nepalese Ambassador to the UK and Ireland H.E. Dr. Suresh Chandra Chalise said - "Relationship between Nepal and Ireland has significantly grown in past few years. However, in order to expand and deepen our relationship, we need to do a lot- at both- government and people’s levels. I am delighted to mention that Nepal Ireland Society constituted its first executive committee with members from both Irish and Nepalese community in its recent general assembly. It is the efforts like this that help in enhancing links between the two communities at people level and at the country level as a whole ". MEP Ms. Emer Costello said that she was delighted to be invited to the Nepal Day event. She said the government is working to integrate different communities. Lord Dublin Mayor Representative Councillor John said, “It is great to see such a big colourful event with stunning presentation of culture and photographic exhibition that captures the beauty of Nepal”. The inauguration program was hosted by Ms. Emma Lynch. To welcome the guests Mr. Jivan Timalsina, Mr. Prakash Mali and Mr. Ganga Ram Kandel offered ‘khadas’ to all attendees.

The program was supported and partially funded by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). The Irish government 'Office of Public Works (OPW)' department provided the venue.

Overall, it was a great success with many people asking whether the program will be organized again next year or not. There were lot of queries on Nepal visit regarding flights, best time of the year to visit Nepal etc. People were interested to go on trekking as was seen in the number of attendance in the mountaineering talks and the questions they had.

“Nepalese diaspora, Nepal Tourism Board and the Embassy of Nepal should proactively work together to organize these types of events abroad to attract more and more tourists to Nepal. There are lot of people who would want to visit Nepal. Nepalese diaspora just needs to step up and advertise, in respective countries they reside in, what Nepal offers. If this spirit can be kept on, Nepal will soon become one of the top holiday destinations in the world”, co-ordinator of the event and NTB Honorary Public Relations Representative Mr. Deepesh Man Shakya said.

Nepalese community in Ireland is represented by different organizations namely Nepal Ireland Society, NRN-Ireland, Cork Nepalese Community, Limerick Nepalese Association, Nepal Cultural Group Ireland etc. Executive committee members of all these associations put their best effort to make this event a grand success and a memorable event.