Tibet Foundation is celebrating its 21st anniversary of helping the people of Tibet and Mongolia next month. The British Tibetan charity, founded in 1985 works toward creating greater awareness of all aspects of Tibetan culture and the needs of the Tibetan people.
The annual event enables supporters of Tibet Foundation to hear directly from the charity’s Board of Trustees about the work and achievements during the past year, as well as its future endeavours. The Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre will host this annual event on Saturday 2nd December from 2.30pm, which is supported by SOAS’s Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of London. The event includes a screening of two films on Tibet – “Garden of Peace” and “Aid to Tibet: In the Land of Khampas”.
This year, Tibet Foundation is very honoured to invite Kasur Mrs Rinchen Khando Choegyal, former Minister for the Tibetan Government-in-exile from India, as the Guest Speaker who will give an inspiring talk on Education and Healthcare: Tibetan Refugee Communities in India and Nepal. Rinchen Khando Choegyal was a former member of the Kashag (Tibetan Cabinet), served as the minister of Health and Home from 1993-1994 and then as the minister of Education from 1994-2001. She was one of the most active members of the Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) in exile and served as its President from 1984-1993.
The former Minister for the Tibetan Administration in Exile will highlight how Tibetan refugees continue to maintain their Tibetan identity and culture through the Tibetan education system whilst catching up with the modern world of science and technology. For more than 47 years in exile, the Tibetan refugee community, under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, has made remarkable progress in education and healthcare, sustaining their culture in the Indian sub-continent.
Tsegon Kawang, a renowned Tibetan singer will perform some of his favourite songs and musical pieces including western opera to conclude the formal programme. Tsegon is well known in the Tibetan world for his acclaimed single ‘Aro Khampa’ and has recorded several successful albums. He comes from a very rich musical background, who from an early age was very interested in traditional Tibetan music. He completed four years of training in a highly reputed Music School in Beijing. From 1993 to 1998, he joined the Tibetan Dance Troupe in Lhasa and later continued his career with the Centre for National Chinese Dance Performance. Tsegon has performed extensively in Tibet, China, Greece, Italy and Japan before coming into exile in Switzerland in 2002.
For further information, please contact Tsering Passang:
Tibet Foundation, 1 St. James’s Market, London SW1Y 4SB (UK)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 6001 Fax: +44 (0)20 7930 6002
Email: tsering.passang@tibet-foundation.org
www.tibet-foundation.org
Notes to Editors:
The “Garden of Peace” film is themed around the Tibetan Peace Garden, commissioned by Tibet Foundation, officially opened on 13th May 1999 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, patron of the Foundation. The Peace Garden honours one of the principal teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – the need to create understanding between different cultures and to establish places of peace and harmony in the world. It is hoped that it will create a deeper awareness of His Holiness’s thoughts and words.
At the same time the Garden also serves to create a greater awareness of Buddhist culture. At its heart is the Kalachakra Mandala associated with world peace. Merely to gaze on this Mandala is said to confer something of its blessing and power to transform. The Mandala, cast for the first time in bronze, rests as the central focus for the garden.
The film by Robin Lough also showcases the Tibetan Refugee Community’s efforts toward preservation of their unique culture in the Indian sub-continent and also includes an interview with His Holiness the Dalai Lama emphasising the need of creating better understanding between the people of all races and different faith groups. Through the film, the Tibetan Leader expresses his sincere appreciation to individuals and organisations helping the Tibetan people in exile, as well as inside Tibet in the field of education, and further encourages supporting healthcare projects and alleviating poverty especially amongst those living in rural areas.
The second film – ‘Aid to Tibet: In the Land of Khampas’, highlights Tibet Foundation’s Aid to Tibet programme and achievements over the last 14 years, including the successful completion of one of it’s major health aid projects and shows the situation as it is today inside Tibet.
Following changes in Tibet and China in the early 1990s, Tibet Foundation found a way to start small educational projects in central Tibet. This was to give practical assistance to the people living there. In 1995 a great natural disaster of snow blizzards killed thousands of livestock and destroyed the livelihood of thousands of Tibetan nomads in east Tibet. Tibet Foundation was one of the first British charities to respond sending some £200,000 to rehabilitate the nomads’ livestock and rapidly provide emergency relief of food, clothing and shelter.
Encouraged by the success of its aid programme and good relationship that developed between both the local people and their leaders, Tibet Foundation was requested to continue its work in the region.
