Victorian State Parliament Accords Warm Welcome to His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
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| His Holiness addresses members of the Victorian State Parliament |
Melbourne: His
Holiness the Dalai Lama has begun the final leg of his Australian
visit, heading to Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria, where he
is attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions and celebrating
the 20th Anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize.
This morning His Holiness the Dalai Lama
received a warm welcome from over fifty members of the Victorian State
Parliament.
Speaking at a function inside Parliament House, His
Holiness spoke about the value of democracy and the importance of
respect for different religious and cultural traditions, before taking several questions. The function was organized by the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet.
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| His Holiness meets with children from Marysville, a town ravaged by bush fires earlier this year |
Following
his meeting with MPs His Holiness met with a group of schoolchildren
from Marysville, the town worst affected by devastating bushfires that
ravaged rural Victoria earlier this year.
In the afternoon His
Holiness headed to the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the world’s
largest interfaith gathering. After a meeting with twenty-five youth
representatives, His Holiness gave the keynote address at the closing
plenary of the conference.
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| His Holiness at the closing plenary of the Parliament of the World’s Religions |
Over
five days the eight thousand delegates from around the world have
discussed a wide variety of topics including environmental
responsibility, youth empowerment and, of course, interfaith
cooperation. His Holiness urged the delegates not to leave their new
ideas and understanding at the conference but to put them into action.
Tomorrow
is the Twentieth Anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s Nobel Peace Prize. His
Holiness will begin the day at a breakfast function organized by
Australia Tibet Council and Amnesty International.
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