Paris, 16 June : For two days, thousands of French and Tibetans thronged the Bois de Vincennes Park in the Paris suburban to celebrate the annual Festival of Tibet and the Himalayan People.

This is the fourteenth year of the Festival, eagerly awaited by supporters and Tibetans alike.

This year the Festival was specially dedicated to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a means to pay homage for his tireless work and leadership on behalf of the Tibetan people.

A Round Table conference on the subject : A tribute to His Holiness the Dalai Lama was organized participated by former French Deputy and member of Tibet Group Mr. Louis de Broissia, the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Mr. Ngodup Dorjee and Mr. Sonam Tsering Frasi, a former member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.

Two other rounds tables on the themes The Self-immolations in Tibet, and Human Rights and Cultural Genocide in Tibet were also held during the two days of the Festival. Noted French China expert Mrs. Marie Holzman, Senator Andre Gattolin, former French Deputy Jean Michel Belorgey, Reporters without Borders Asia Director Mr. Benjamin Ismail and Tibetologist Katia Buffetrille participated in the round tables.

Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, the Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile was Chief Guest at the Festival and also participated in the panel discussion on self-immolations and Cultural Genocide, to packed audiences.

This year’s Festival also marked the first ever Inter-European cultural competition between the Tibetan communities of France, Spain, Belgium and United Kingdom (UK). The competition is aimed at preservation and development of Tibetan performing arts among the new generation Tibetan youngsters in the west. The cultural competition was jointly organized by the Thangthong Nyaiyang Cultural Troupe of the Tibetan Community in France and the Office of Tibet, Paris.

Films, exhibitions of Thangkas and Tibetan opera masks, Tibetan poetry readings, creation of Sand Mandala, Tibetan calligraphy, meditation and buddhist teachings were other programmes that enlivened the two days of the Festival.

The ‘Festival of Tibet and the People of Himalaya’ is organised by the Maison du Tibet (Tibet House) in Paris with an objective of preservation and development of Tibetan Culture and to create awareness of this rich tradition.