New York, February 13 – His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be presented the “Democracy Service Medal” by the US based National Endowment for Democracy.
The award is “recognition of the Tibetan spiritual leader’s commitment to advancing the principles of democracy and human dignity.
The award will be presented at a ceremony on February 19 at the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress in Washington, a day after the Tibetan leader’s meeting with the US President Barack Obama.
The award ceremony will be the only public event that the Tibetan leader will attend in Washington.
NED President Carl Gershman said the Tibetan leader has not only pioneered a democratic system of governance in exile but also initiated reforms in independent Tibet.
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983, ostensibly to promote democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress. Although administered as a private organization, its funding comes almost entirely from a governmental appropriation by Congress and it was created by an act of Congress. It also funds projects for Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal.
