Ninth North American Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Working Committee Meeting Convened in Minnesota

Minneapolis, March 28 - Representatives of nine Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) chapters in US and Canada met in Minneapolis for two days starting June 27 for the 9th Working Committee Meeting of the North American Regional Tibetan Youth Congress.

WCM is held once every year on a rotation basis among the chapters during which members strategize and decide on activities to raise awareness and seek support for Tibet. This year’s participants include newly formed RTYC chapter in Burlington, Vermont, making this meeting the most represented so far. Other chapters participating are New York/New Jersey, Washington DC, New Mexico, Portland, San Francisco, Toronto, Seattle and Minnesota. President of Tibetan Youth Congress, Tsewang Rigzin, arrived from India preside over as the chief guest and moderator.

Participants discussed range of issues including strategies for effective campaign and improving ways to involve more Tibetan youth in the mainstream struggle and strengthening exile democracy by engaging the public in the election process, particularly as the Kalon Tripa election is due in 2011.

TYC is the largest non-governmental organization of the diaspora Tibetan community with complete independence for Tibet, as its goal, a political stand that is not in line with the Dalai Lama’s middle way approach of seeking genuine autonomy for Tibet.