A Tibetan Yak at the festival
A humble ceremony was held on 22 June to celebrate the 50th anniversary of arrival of first Tibetan batch of students to France. The event jointly organized by the Bureau du Tibet, Paris and the Tibet Group in the Senate (French upper house) was held at the Senate’s Salon de la Questure.
The event was attended by the President of the Tibet Group in the Senate, Hon’ble Jean Francois Humbert and Hon’ble Andre Gattolin, also a member of the group, along with former member of parliament Monseiur Jean Michel Belorgey, whose role in the founding of the Parliamentary Group for Tibet in the French National Assembly was instrumental.
Mr. Ngodup Dorjee, who had recently took over the assignment as the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to EU, West Europe and Maghreb also graced the occasion.
Over hundred representatives from different NGOs and French Tibet support groups as well as Tibetans joined in to celebrate the occasion. Among the attendees were also six members of the first batch of Tibetan students, who had arrived in France in 1962 under the auspices and support of then French administration.
The gathering was aimed to thank the people and govt. of France for their hospitality and support.
Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay had sent a video message on the occasion. In his message, the Kalon Tripa congratulated the new French President and his party for the recent victory and urged for the continued support and solidarity of the French people and govt., particularly given the worsening situation and heightened Chinese repression in Tibet today.
The French Senators assured their continued support to the just cause of Tibet and to raise it at appropriate platforms.
Cultural Festival of Tibetan and Himalayan People:
People at the cultural festival of Tibetan and Himalayan people.
On June 23 and 24, a cultural Festival of Tibetan and Himalayan People was held in a Parisean suburb called Bois de Vincennes, a natural enclosure of huge green park with a lake and a Buddhist Pagoda that is upkeep by the French Buddhist Union.
The Cultural Festival of Tibetan and Himalayan People is an annual event organized by Maison du Tibet (Tibet House) Paris, the cultural wing of the Bureau du Tibet.
The two days of the festival saw more than three thousand visitors, despite the rain-spoiled second day, who had the opportunity to witness and relish the unique Tibetan culture; art, music and dance, handicrafts and Tibetan foods.
Other programmes include round table conference organized on the importance of the necessity to preserve Tibetan culture, film screenings, lectures on Tibetan Buddhism, meditation, Tibetan medicine as well as talks on different topics related with the Tibetan culture and identity, such as preservation of Tibetan language, Lhakar movement etc.
The Festival was inaugurated by the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to EU, West Europe and Maghreb, Mr. Ngodup Dorjee.
