A Tibetan youngster in Belleville town of Ontario, Canada has won the Waterfront & Ethnic Festival pageant on July 7. Seventeen-year-old Rignam Wangkhang representing the Belleville Tibetan Youth Congress of the Belleville community at the festival was selected to be the ambassador of the festival that celebrates the diversity and multiculturalism of the Belleville community and its surroundings. He was among half a dozen ambassador contestants, including those from many communities taking part in the weekend Ethnic Festival.
This is the first time that Belleville Tibetan community won the pageant in its 27-year history of participation in the Waterfront Festival. The annual event attracts a number of young people representing a variety of local communities. At the pageant, these youngsters are judged on personality, poise, confidence, speech delivery, speech content and ethnic costume. This year’s winner Rignam was a clear winner as he spoke confidently with poise and panache and delighted the audience and judges alike. Majority of his speeches reflected on the situation in Tibet; of how he aids in the fight for a Free Tibet; why the general public must pay close attention to Tibet and demanding why the world turns a blind eye to Tibet.
He carried out ambassadorial duties at a number of festival events; allowing the public to learn about Tibet; visiting the various venues over the weekend and representing Tibet at the major annual festival.
