DHARAMSHALA: Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay assured the Central Tibetan Administration’s full assistance and support to Tibetan entrepreneurs for the overall economic development of the Tibetan community. He was speaking at the two-day Global Tibetan Entrepreneurship Conference held at Mundgod Tibetan Settlement yesterday.
The conference, moderated by Ms. Youdon Aukartsang, a member of Tibetan Parliament, and jointly organised by Empowering the Vision, a Delhi based Tibetan NGO and the Federation of Tibetan Cooperatives in India, was attended by over 50 Tibetan entrepreneurs from Nepal, India and Europe.
Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, in his address, spoke about the need for a robust economic model to develop the economic condition of the Tibetan community, and called for establishments of small-scale industries to build Tibetan entrepreneurship from the grass roots level. He reiterated his point by recalling a speech by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibetans in Washington DC this year, where he said that there should be Tibetan millionaires and billionaires.
He also spoke about the social responsibility of entrepreneurs while doing business. Entrepreneurs should also think about the society and fulfill their social responsibility. Doing business solely with a profit motive is not healthy, he said.
Speaking about the rich traditions of Tibetan religion and language, Sikyong said, “no matter how rich one gets, we should realise that the base of Tibetan wealth is in the rich traditions of Tibetan religion and language.” We, Tibetans, can walk around in pride, only because of our rich religious heritage and language, he added.
Recalling another speech by His Holiness the Dalai Lama regarding the state of Tibetan education, Sikyong Dr. Sangay said the education of Tibetan children is the first domestic priority of the present Kashag.
“To emphasise the 14th Kashag’s commitment to education, I make it a point to visit the schools and interact with the students whenever I visit the Tibetan settlements. I speak to them about the importance of education and inform them about the initiatives of the education department to boost Tibetan education in exile,” he said.
“So far, the Kashag’s efforts seem to be materialising. For instance, 321 students scored above 75% marks this year. This is an increase of 150% as compared to 127 students who scored above 75% marks in 2010. So, our efforts are yielding some progress, “ Sikyong explained.
Mr. Sandeep Marwah, the Chairman of the International Chamber of Media and Entertainment Industry, also attended the conference.
( Report filed in Tibetan by Ngawang Thogmey, DIIR )