His Holiness the Dalai Lama smiles next to Franc Kangler mayor of the Slovenia’s second-largest city Maribor on April 5, 2010. His Holiness is on a three-day visit to Slovenia.

Maribor, Slovenia: His
Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived Monday in Slovenia at the invitation of
the Maribor City, Maribor University, the Prva gimnazija secondary
school and two local organisations. Maribor is the second largest city
in Slovenia.His Holiness the Dalai Lama was welcomed at his
hotel by city mayor Franc Kangler, Slovenian member of the European
Parliament Ivo Vajgl and about 200 other people.”We invited him
(His Holiness the Dalai Lama) as a man who fights for peace and
reconciliation,” said Mayor of Maribor Mr. Franc Kangler.A
Peace Tree will be planted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the city
park on the 6 April morning. Bishop dr. Stanko Lipovšek of Maribor of
the Catholic Church and the Mufti dr. Nedzad Grabus, the head of the
Slovenian Muslim community will be present.Then His Holiness
the Dalai Lama will address over one thousand students in front of the
1st High School in Maribor.  And in the afternoon, His Holiness will
speak on Ethics for the New Millennium at the Dvorana Tabor hall to
over 5,000 people. The public talk tickets were completely sold out
within one week.At a special address organised by the European
Academy of Sciences and Arts and Maribor University, His Holiness the
Dalai Lama will speak to over 880 intellectuals, members of the
parliament and invited guest on 7 April morning. His Holiness the Dalai
Lama will speak on Compassion: The Art of Happiness at Slovenian
National Theatre. The organisers of the visit said that during
this global crisis due to the demoralisation of individual economic
players, the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and lectures on moral
values are extremely important. A fortnight of Tibetan cultural
programmes including concerts, lectures and workshops began on 26 March
in Maribor. The monks from the Gyuto Monastery are making a sand
Mandala.  This is His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s second visit
to Slovenia. The first visit took place in 2002. Slovenia became an
independence state in 1991 and was an autonomous republic within former
Yugoslavia. In May 2004, it became member of the European Union.His Holiness the Dalai Lama will leave Slovenia on 7 April early afternoon for Zurich, Switzerland.–Report filed by The Tibet Bureau, Geneva