His Holiness opens Peace Jam 2001
Dharamsala April 30 2001: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 1989 Nobel Laureate, inaugurated the 2nd Peace Jam Asia Youth Conference 2001 at the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) School, with Ms Jody Williams, co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against landmines as this year’s guest.
Photo: Lobsang Wangyal
His Holiness the Dalai Lama stressed the need to built a society where dialogue rather than confrontation is used as a tool to settle conflicts. However, he warned that conflict will remain and one should not think that “peace means a world without conflict”. “Conflict will stay as long as human race survives, and as long as the gap between the rich and the poor remains,” said His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The Conference aims to teach the youth “how they can contribute to world peace” and “how we can make a difference”, said Mr. Ngawang Dorjee, Education Director at the TCV School.
Jody Williams is scheduled to spend two days working “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the students to hone their peacemaking, conflict resolution, and community healing.
Peace Jam is an international educational youth outreach programme built around twelve Nobel Peace Laureates who work with youth to pass on the spirit, skill, and wisdom they embody. The goal of the Peace jam is to inspire a new generation of peacemakers who will transform their local communities, themselves and the world.