In an effort to collect and bring together ideas and opinions of the Tibetan youth for an improved advocacy and sustenance of the Tibet issue for the next 50 years, more than hundred Tibetan youths converged in Dharamshala, the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) from 17 August 2018. The four-day forum saw Tibetan youths from 15 different countries ranging in the age group of 20-40 years, deliberate and exchange ideas on strengthening the Tibetan freedom movement and improving the efficacy of the Central Tibetan Administration to resolve the issue of Tibet.
Speaking about the origin of the ‘Five-Fifty Vision’ on the inaugural day of the forum, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the president of the CTA said, ‘Five-Fifty Vision’ is premised on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s advice to “Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worst. “I remember very clearly in 2012 I had an audience with His Holiness where he told me, “One of your main responsibilities as a leader is to lead the movement forward as if I’m not there.” Those words struck me like a lightning bolt. I was shocked, emotional and overwhelmed. However, His Holiness continued to emphasize my duty as Sikyong to envision a movement without him. For our Tsawai Lama (Root leader), the movement is far more important than himself.
Dr. Sangay while acknowledging the importance of voicing opinions and sharing ideas, stressed that the youths must understand how the system works and not just criticise the system but the present solution as preached by the Buddha.
The forum hosted plenary sessions on four different themes, ie. Tibet and China: Historical ties, Establishing Dialogue with PRC—institutional, civil society, individual level, Young Voices in the Tibetan Freedom Movement: Communications, Advocacy, and International Relations, Homeland and diaspora—building linkages between Tibetans inside and outside Tibet and CTA’s Leadership toward the Five-Fifty Vision- creating visionary leadership, and resource mobilisation within and beyond CTA frontiers.
The open mic sessions with Dr. Lobsang Sangay on the first day of the forum saw a lively interaction of the participants with the president on varied subjects relating to the Tibetan people and the Tibet struggle. The Participants of the forum listened with great enthusiasm to an amusing and equally knowledgeable talk by Geshe Lhakdor, the director of Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) on ‘Mindfulness and Happiness’. Michael Van Walt Praag, the international law expert, spoke on the ‘Importance of Historical Ties and Establishing Constructive Engagement and Negotiations’.
The inaugural and plenary session of the forum which was streamed live on social media sites of CTA garnered views as well as interest from the Tibetan diaspora. Many of them posted their ideas and opinions on the social media sites while watching the live stream of the forum. On 20 August, the core organisers and the participants of the forum were granted an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed the participants on the importance of ancient Indian knowledge of Nalanda from which the Tibetan Buddhism was derived. “If you dedicate 5 years learning well, you will have the skills with you for the next 50 years”, His Holiness concluded.
Below are the netizens’ reactions to the first-ever CTA organised Five-Fifty Youth Forum held at Imperial Heights in Khanyara, Dharamshala:
