Empowering Tibetans, Many at a Time

In September this year, we will be inviting requests for grants from the Rowell Fund for Tibet (RFT), from established or aspiring and talented Tibetans pursuing interests such as photography, film, writing, journalism, and projects that promote these skills within the Tibetan community. This program is just one of the initiatives taken by the International Campaign for Tibet to empower Tibetans to develop themselves.

I have always enjoyed coordinating or participating in such programs. These programs help establish a special relationship between ICT and the community and show the relevance of ICT. Personally it has been educative interacting with young Tibetans and to see them take the lead in the movement.

When the International Campaign for Tibet was founded in 1988, the initial objectives were to reach out to the international community, particularly to the people and government of the United States, and to utilize their support for a satisfactory resolution of Tibetan issue.

In the years since then, ICT has been able to see success in that direction and today support for Tibet is institutionalized in the form of a Tibetan Policy Act of the United States Congress. ICT also expanded to Europe, and today we are seeing a similar trend there where through ICT’s pan-European activities we are working to encourage a coordinated European approach towards the issue of Tibet. The latest of such examples is the policy paper presented by ICT to the European Union on the eve of the EU-China Summit, scheduled for May 20, 2009.

Back in the United States, we witnessed some sort of demographic transformation when the United States Congress granted 1000 immigration visas for Tibetans from the Indian subcontinent. That initiative resulted in a comparatively larger number of Tibetans resettling here and subsequently becoming Tibetan Americans. ICT then felt that if the Tibetan struggle is to have a firm footing on American soil, Tibetan Americans need to be trained to participate actively in the political process here. Similarly, given the changing political situation in China and Tibet and internationally, it was apparent that the Tibetan community needed encouragement to take a deeper look at their situation and to strengthen their struggle.

Accordingly, ICT started a Tibetan Youth Leadership Program in 2001, “to provide Tibetan youth exposure to different fields of activism and the skills necessary to become effective leaders in their communities.” Until today, we have had six such leadership programs that enabled us to bring the participants to Washington, D.C. Brussels and Amsterdam, where they had the additional opportunity to interact with American and European policy makers. Many graduates of these programs today hold responsible positions in the Tibetan movement.

We also started an Essay Contest, among Tibetans, as a way to recognize talented individuals who can formulate and articulate innovative and practical solutions to pressing issues facing the Tibetan people. The topics ranged from economic development in Tibet to the issue of laws and regulations governing various parts of Tibetan territory, etc.

We invited respected scholars within the Tibetan community to judge the entries. Dr. Thupten Jinpa, a scholar and long time interpreter to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, was a judge in the 2006 contest and had the following reaction to the winning essay of that year.

“This essay gets to the heart of the issue and insightfully singles out the key aspects of the environmental challenges – the slow insidious nature of environmental degradation, the conflict between economic development and conservation, and so on. The piece is particularly strong in its suggested solutions, recommending ways in which we can actually do something about the pressing issue right now.”

Last year, RFT selected 11 projects by Tibetans, living in five different countries, that ranged from an environmental project to the protection of endangered species to the publication of a science vocabulary book for children and an in-depth investigation of Tibetan maps.

Commenting on the program, John Jancik, an RFT Advisory Board member said, “The growth of the Rowell Fund for Tibet since its inception has been very exciting to watch, demonstrating support the world over for the Tibetan culture and homeland.”

Funds for the RFT are raised through specific separate activities.

Through such programs, ICT feels that we have been able to make some contribution to the empowerment of the Tibetan community. In the future, too, we hope to continue appropriate programs that can assist the Tibetan people to play an active role in the development of their own community and the world at large.

(Photo Caption: Group photo from the 2006 Grand Teton Benefit Climb that raises money for the Rowell Fund for Tibet.)