Celebrating Tibetan Culture by Creating an Afternoon or Evening Festival During World Tibet Day

1) Contacting musicians, dancers and other artists to celebrate and showcase Tibetan culture
2) Helping to organise musical performances and artistic presentations as part of World Tibet Day — from Thangka painting, demonstrations of Tibetan calligraphy etc.

Organising Speeches and Presentations on the Issue of Tibet

1) Contacting informed celebrities and local politicians and inviting them to come to the event to speak about general issues of human rights and religious freedom and in particular about Tibet issues
2) Helping to organise showings of a Tibetan film or even a small Tibet film festival
3) Helping to set up an exhibition of Tibet photos or thangkas
4) Helping to organise a slide show and lecture about Tibet.

Setting up World Tibet Day Information Tables

1) Contacting Tibet Support Groups and Human Rights Groups and inviting them to set up information tables at the event.
2) Showing films about His Holiness as part of World Tibet Day celebrations honouring his birthday
3) Talking about His Holiness Dalai Lama's life and emphasising everything the Dalai Lama represents and symbolises as a spiritual leader, as the exiled leader of Tibet working tirelessly for his people, and as a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Interfaith Outreach for Tibet

Contacting religious and spiritual leaders, giving them Tibet materials and Interfaith Call for Tibet and encouraging them to hold interfaith services linked with World Tibet Day advocating a restoration of religious freedom and human rights in Tibet. ◼

WE are living at a time when different circumstances have resulted in increasing interdependence within the global community. On the other hand, we are witnessing a new era of freedom as people's long-suppressed seek to assert their liberty and preserve their distinct identity.

We, six million Tibetans have a unique and distinct cultural heritage just as other people have. Even today, our rich culture, peaceful outlook and respectful attitude to the environment contain a wealth of experience that can be of widespread benefit to others. For this reason our cultural traditions from a precious part of the world's common heritage. Humanity would be poorer if they were to be lost. Although those of us in exile have made every effort to preserve and promote them, we will not succeed in isolation. We require help and support. That depends on the Tibetan people and their traditions being better understood and a greater awareness of the threat that confronts them both.

I am greatly encouraged that there is to be another World Tibet Day. It gives me great pleasure to know that the cause of Tibet has such strong support. I send you my greetings on this occasion and I am happy to learn that our supporter's participation in World Tibet Day will also be able to enjoy yourselves. The Tibetan people continue urgently to need hope and encouragement. They will find these if they feel they have friends and I no doubt that the World Tibet Day will be a great opportunity for reinforcing that friendship.

The Dalai Lama
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Richard Rosenkranz, the Founder

RICHARD Rosenkranz (1942-2014) is a Pulitzer Prize nominee in history and a former correspondent from the US Senate. In 1997, he initiated World Tibet Day (WTD) in Chicago at an informal meeting between Tendzin Choegyal, the Dalai Lama's younger brother. He is the founder of World Tibet Day Foundation. Same year, Rosenkranz founded the Interfaith Call for Universal Freedom of Worship and for Human Rights in Tibet. He intended the Call as a vehicle to help raise awareness and support for religious freedom and human rights in general, and in particular for the Tibetan people.

Having lost members of his own family in the holocaust, Rosenkranz was both disturbed and energised by predictions that the religion and culture of the people in Tibet could be wiped out within years because of genocidal practices of the Chinese government. He created the Call party to help the Tibetan people as well as the world at large. Largely through his perseverance and energy, the Call became a phenomenal success in an incredibly short time. At the end of last year, more than 150,000 people made a commitment to observe the Call, up from 8,000 people the previous year.

Working from his house in Florida, Rosenkranz did extensive outreach on a shoestring budget, financial largely through his savings. Relying mainly on e-mail and occasional mailing, he succeeded partly from his ability to convince total strangers this was a cause worth volunteering their time and effort.

He established a network of volunteers, especially young students, to help him reach out to thousands of houses of worship from many faith traditions. He also created a Web site — with help from friends with computer skills — and then solicited prayers for the Call from many eminent spiritual leaders, including His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He posted the prayers on his site, and then asked theologians from different faith traditions to write full prayers services for the Call. As a former national correspondent, he used his journalism skills to write numerous media releases to raise awareness about issues related to the Call. ◼
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How You Can Help!

THERE are a number of events and campaigns, all intended to help the cause of Tibet, each deserving our support. And the more of us who stand up, in as many effective ways as possible, supporting basic freedoms for the Tibetan people, the harder it will be for the Chinese authorities to pretend the world doesn't care about Tibet.

With World Tibet Day (WTD), we urgently need any help you can give. At a minimum, you can simply show up at the closest World Tibet Day celebration near you, and volunteer with set-up, clean up, running a booth. Something much more useful would be your working with a Tibet Association or a Tibet Support Group near you, helping to organize and put on a World Tibet Day celebration July 6, the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Contacting the media would be an enormous contribution by taking advantage of WTD to increase awareness of Tibet issues. You can also help promote the event by helping members of the Tibetan Association to contact artists and performers, thereby attracting more people to the event while also celebrating Tibetan culture. In general, you would contribute greatly by making the WTD event as big as possible, thereby hopefully widening the base of support for the Tibetan cause.

We need your support to make things happen! Be an organisation or an individual, you can join World Tibet Day campaign to spread awareness about the Tibet cause and to stand up in solidarity. To officially support the World Tibet Day Foundation or to receive additional information, email us at: worldtibetday@friendsoftibet.org or contact Sethu Das, Director of the World Tibet Day Foundation at: sethu.das@friendsoftibet.org
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