Dharamsala, May 22 – The Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama will address the second bridge conference in New York City Sunday as the keynote speaker. The conference is held to “build positive relations and free exchange of perspectives and ideas between Chinese and Tibetan youth with a strong foundation of mutual respect and understanding.”
With the theme of “Friendship and mutual understanding” the conference is expected to be attended by 230 Chinese and Tibetan students at Hunter College, which is sponsoring the event with Chinese Youth Foundation. The conference will be webcast live at 10:30 am EST.
In line with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s initiatives of building closer ties with Chinese people, Tibetan and Chinese youths in the United States have pledged to resolve their differences through dialogue and interaction.
The first bridge conference took place in New York City on March 14 this year.
With different cultural and religious backgrounds, the youths not only recognize the unique cultural and historical path of the Tibetan people but also the overriding importance of China’s national unity in the 21st Century, the organizers said during the first conference.
The youths had earlier met His Holiness the Dalai Lama and had several in-depth discussions with high-level Chinese government officials dealing with Tibet.
“With a shared dedication to building a civil society, we believe that having constructive dialogues is the best way to solve differences and promote friendship, and is also the first step with indispensable significance towards future resolutions,” say the organizers.
“We are group of students and young people with no affiliation to any political, national, or religious groups. We share our commitment to promote the growth of a healthy and productive civil society, beyond any disciplinary, cultural, or ideological barriers.”
Famous Tibetologists and several experts in journalism, legislature, economics, institutional reforms, Internet activism, constitutional democracy, patriotic movement will speak on the issue of Tibet from their professional perspectives.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will also address the Tibetan community of New York and New Jersey today. The Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche and Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament Penpa Tsering will also speak at the gathering.
