CTA to hold Global Summit of International Tibetan groups

By Choekyi Lhamo

DHARAMSHALA, FEB 17: Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) will hold the Global Summit of International Tibetan Associations and Organisation from Apr 2-4 in Dharamshala under the Five-Fifty (5-50) series of forums. The four themes of the summit: Enhancing International Advocacy for Tibet; Safeguarding Tibetan Culture, Education and Language; Strengthening the Tibetan Associations and Organisations; Deepening the Ties with the CTA.

The three-day summit will bring together over 125 representatives of various Tibetan associations and organisations affiliated with the Offices of Tibet. These are mostly registered charities and have their own operating community centres with paid staff. It will provide a core set of programs including weekend language classes. The first theme includes discussion on the strengthening of Tibetan residing overseas who exercise their rights in host countries in order to become stronger advocates for Tibet. The second theme includes discussion on cultural and language preservation through weekend classes with the help for CTA. The third theme will further look into strengthening Tibetan associations and organisations. The fourth theme will explore the important issue on the relationship between CTA and organisations in the Tibetan community.

The summit is being organized by SARD, Department of Finance and the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), which is funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour (DRL). CTA’s 5-50 vision calls for maximising efforts to resolve the Tibetan issue in short term through Middle Way Approach (MWA) while sustaining the freedom struggle, and Tibetan culture and identity for the next 50 years if need be. The 5-50 forums are organised to help the Tibetan leadership understand the core issues of the Tibetan community vis-a-vis cultural and freedom movement.