As a part of upcoming Nepal Festival 2016 in Brisbane 0n Saturday 12 November, NRNA Australia QLD State Coordination Council is setting up a very special “Nepal House” with an aim of attracting non-Nepalese visitors to Nepal Festival and promoting Nepal as an amazing destination for tourists. A special pavilion will be set-up and Nepali handicrafts, carved windows, thankas, paintings, traditional and ethnic costumes, utensils, and many other items representing unique and rich Nepalese tradition and culture will be showcased during the Nepal Festival. A traditional entrance typical to some of the historical buildings in Nepal will also be set up for the pavilion. Audio visual materials promoting tourism in Nepal will be displayed on a large screen continuously and there will be a number volunteers answering questions that a visitor might have. A number of volunteers with traditional Nepali costumes will also be present. A special desk will be set-up for displaying promotional materials from Nepal Tourism Board. Attempts will be made to provide typical Nepalese ambience.

A special seminar titled “Nepal – One Destination, Endless Opportunities” is also being organised from 11 AM till 12:30 PM as a part of the Nepal House activities. Main objective of this seminar is sharing and exchanging experiences, exploring opportunities and promoting tourism in Nepal and strengthening the relationship between Australia and Nepal. A number of prominent speakers, who have got very close ties with Nepal in recent years, have been approached as potential speakers. There will be 5 separate presentations on topics including mountaineering, trekking, tourism, development activities, and trade and business. People who either already have close links to Nepal or intend to establish links in future will be the targeted audience for the seminar.

A committee has been set-up to manage the Nepal House related activities, which has already completed the preparatory work. Local Nepalese families will be providing the items to be displayed. Additional items are also being imported from Nepal. The committee is seeking help from community members in collecting necessary items, setting them up before the event and also promoting this very special event. Dr Keshab Sharma leads the Nepal House committee and can be contacted through email: sharma.keshab@gmail.com