Dharamshala: The Department of Information and International Relations of Central Tibetan Administration is convening the Second Five-Fifty Youth Forum: Shaping Tibet’s Future from 16-19 August this year. The forum invites a select group of 100 young Tibetans from across the globe to converge at the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamshala to deliberate on CTA’s Five-Fifty Vision in shaping Tibet’s political future and strengthening the Tibetan freedom movement.
President Dr Lobsang Sangay formally announced the launch of the second Five Fifty Youth Forum at a press conference earlier today.
President Dr. Sangay gave a brief introduction to the themes of the Five Fifty Political Forum, Youth Forum and the Resilience Forum. Reflecting upon the successful Five-Fifty Forums held in the preceding years, Dr Sangay emphasised the significance of the upcoming Youth Forum.
He remained confident that the major outcomes of the preceding Five Fifty Forums will further inform the deliberations of the Special General Meeting of Tibetans scheduled in October this year in Dharamshala.
“Hence the outcomes of the Five Fifty Forum are very visible and palpable” said President Dr. Lobsang Sangay.
The Five-Fifty Vision calls for resolving the issue of Tibet and Tibet’s political future in the next five years. The vision is premised on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s advice to “Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worst. The vision calls for maximizing efforts to resolve the Tibet issue in five years based on the Middle Way Approach while ensuring CTA’s resilience to sustain the Tibetan freedom struggle and preserve Tibetan culture for the next fifty years if needed.
The Themes of three Five-Fifty Forum held in 2017 and 2018 are as follows:
Five-Fifty Forum: Shaping Tibet’s Political Future
Theme 1: Tibet and PRC: Importance of Historical Ties and Establishing Constructive Engagement and Negotiation
Theme 2: Tibet’s Core Relationship with India and Asia
Theme 3: International Relations, Communications
Theme 4: CTA Leadership Toward the Five-Fifty Vision
Five-Fifty youth Forum: Shaping Tibet’s Future
Theme 1: Tibet and PRC: Importance of Historical Ties and Establishing Constructive Engagement and Negotiation
Theme 2: Inclusion of and Responsiveness to Tibetans inside Tibet and Diaspora
Theme 3: Young Voices in Tibetan Freedom Movement: Communications, Advocacy, and International Relations
Theme 4: CTA’s Leadership Towards the Five-Fifty Vision: Visionary Leadership and Resource Mobilization
Five-Fifty Forum Towards a Resilient Tibetan Community
1. Sustaining Tibetan Culture-
a) Defining and Sustaining Tibetan Culture.
b) Sustaining and Growing the Tibetan Language.
c) Promoting and strengthening Tibetan Buddhism and its Values.
d) Preserving Tibetan Culture through Museums, Libraries, and Archives.
e) Sustaining Tibetan Culture through Arts
2. Strengthening Tibetan Education-
a) Addressing Quality of Education Issue
b) Strengthening School leadership
c) Impact of Social and Demographic Challenges on Education
d) Challenges Regarding the Basic Education Policy Implementation
e) Nurturing Professionals in the Tibetan Community
3. A Healthier Tibetan Community-
a) Health Challenges Faced by the Tibetan Community
b) Financial Stability of the Tibetan Health System (THS)
c) Capacity Building and Improvement of Health Service
d) Integration and Expansion of Sowa Riga (Tibetan Medicine System)
e) Alternative Service Delivery Models and Preventive Health Care
4. Economic Development of Tibetan Community-
a) Addressing Migration and Youth-Related Issues
b) Shifting the Agriculture Model in the Settlements
c) Building Tibetan Financial Institutions and Services
d) Supporting Small and Medium-sized Business and Encouraging Entrepreneurship
e) Role of Tibetans Living Overseas