Tibet: Meet Chinese Youths For Bridge Conference Wednesday, 3 March 2010
A group of Chinese and Tibetan students feel that the best way to resolve tensions, bias or misunderstandings is through the free exchange of ideas among people with different perspectives from all walks of life.
Below is an article published by Tibet.net:
So they came up with a fresh idea called “The Bridge Conference” to interact with each other informally to explore the causes and sentiments of each side, which was affected especially after the peaceful protests in Tibet and the subsequent crack down by the Chinese government since March 2008.
Sponsored by Hunter, The City University of New York, Pace University and China Youth Foundation, the group is meeting for an interactive discussion on topics concerning Chinese and Tibetan issues in New York on 14 March 2010.
“The participants came from different educational institutions and organised panel discussions in their schools to analyse the issue of Tibet from social, political, economical and anthropological perspectives. Many of them have met with Tibetan and Chinese intellectuals, Chinese officials, as well as His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet,” the organisers said in a statement posted on its website.
“The Bridge Conference is an on-going project with annual activities dedicated to building positive relations and the free exchange of ideas between Chinese and Tibetan youth. It consists of students and young people with advisory support from some faculty members and has no affiliation to any political, national, or religious groups.
“It comes out of a shared commitment among the participants not to any shared political objective but to promoting the growth of a healthy and productive civil society back home, beyond any disciplinary, cultural, or ideological barriers.
“Many of the Chinese students had not been to Tibet or studied Tibetan culture, and most of the Tibetan students overseas often did not speak Chinese or have much knowledge of Chinese culture. The students also had widely differing backgrounds, religious beliefs and political views. But they were able to exchange ideas and articles, to learn more about each other’s situations, and to create basic channels of communication and trust between each other.
“The events will exchange ideas and build communication between participants by learning from community representatives, eminent speakers and student participants about relevant topics concerning Chinese and Tibetan issues,” the organisers said.
