Berlin, July 30 – The Tibet Intergroup of the German Parliament hosted the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe – Germany for their 2nd annual meeting on the weekend of 29th/30th July. Under the patronage of the Tibet Intergroup of the Bundestag, the 18 participants of the meeting – members of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe from Switzerland and Germany – were able to meet in the historic Bundestag for two intensive days of talks, workshops, brainstorming and planning. External guests of the TYAE, including individual Tibet supporters and members of staff from local Tibet Support Groups, also attended the first day of the meeting to listen to the speakers and give their input.
The proceedings were officially opened by the patron Holger Haibach, Member of the German Parliament for the the Christian Democrats, the ruling party in Germany, and Chair of the Tibet Intergroup. Haibach welcomed the TYAE, spoke on the work of the Tibet Intergroup and expressed the wish to co-operate with young Tibetans on future political campaigns such as the
2008 Olympics Campaign. Kelsang Gope, TYAE co-President, also was able to briefly introduce the TYAE and the organisation’s goals to Haibach.
Tsewang Norbu of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Radio Free Asia then spoke on the current political status of Tibet with a look back on the historical roots of the issues that concern Tibet today.
The afternoon session on Saturday started with the Taiwanese Representative to Germany, Prof. Dr. Jhy-Wey Shieh, who spoke on Tibet from the perspective of Taiwan. Shieh’s in-depth and informed talk began with a concise overview of the modern history of Taiwan and Tibet in the context of China. He clearly portrayed the changing view of Tibet through Taiwanese eyes according to the process of Taiwan’s democratisation. A lively debate on perspectives for Tibet’s future that followed was enriched by the comments of a Chinese journalist living in Berlin as based on his experiences working for a Chinese state-owned newspaper. Shieh ended his session with a plea for closer collaboration between the Taiwanese and Tibetans in their pursuit for democracy and human rights.
“Sentenced to Die”, a documentary about Tenzin Delek Rinpoche closed the first day of the meeting. The director Elinore Burke spoke on her motivation behind making the film in 2004 and her current plans to re-edit and update it.
The 2nd day of the meeting gave space for just the participants to discuss and brainstorm on the activities of the TYAE with a particular focus on Germany. TYAE board member, Dechen Pemba, gave a briefing and presentation on campaigning.
The TYAE was founded in 1970 on Switzerland. TYAE – Germany was founded in the summer of 2005 in Nuremberg. For more information on TYAE please visit www.tibetanyouth.org
