Five-Fifty Forum: Towards a Resilient Tibetan Community

By Choeyang Wangmo / September 19, 2018;

Photo: Tenzin Jigme, DIIR

The third and final Five-Fifty Forum of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) was held from September 13-16 in Dharamshala. The Forum brought together over two hundred experts in various fields including leadership, education and funding partners, along with CTA donors and senior CTA officials to discuss strategies for building resiliency in the Tibetan struggle.
The themes of the four-day discussion of the Forum were sustaining the Tibetan culture, economic development, strengthening Tibetan education and building a healthier Tibetan community.
While speaking at the inaugural session on the objective the forum, the President of the CTA, Dr Lobsang Sangay said “The Five-Fifty Forum on Resilience comes on the heels of the Five Fifty Forum: Shaping Tibet’s Political Future and the Youth Forum. The Five Fifty Resilience Forum will specifically focus on strengthening Tibetan resilience and has brought together a select group of government donors and representatives of international supporters of the CTA.”
Applauding the initiative by the Central Tibetan Administration, His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote “It is important not to be complacent, content merely with what we’ve become used to. We should move with the times, keeping with the way the world is changing. This may involve new ways to thinking and setting a clear vision for the future”.
Ann Marie Yastishock, Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID Asia, was also present at the forum and gave an address, USAID and Strengthening the Resilience of Tibetan Community in Exile. “For the Tibetan community to realise its full potential much depends on the development path it continues to chart today. USAID is committed to supporting development decisions that continue to move you forward on your continued journey on self reliance and help achieve the objectives of the Five Fifty Vision”, she said.
The Five-Fifty Forum is looking at ways to strengthen Tibetan people’s struggle for genuine autonomy through the Middle Way Approach over the next five years, while simultaneously looking at strategies to sustain the movement over the next fifty years, if needed.