Dalai Lama to address "Peace through Compassion"
Contact: Kathleen Maclay, Media Relations
(510)643-5651
kmaclay@berkeley.edu
20 April 2009
ATTENTION: Assignment desks (This event is sold out; there is limited availability for media credentialed in advance only. See details below.)
WHAT
His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama will give a talk entitled "Peace through Compassion."
This is the Dalai Lama's third visit to UC Berkeley. Saturday's visit is the result of his longstanding relationship with the American Himalayan Foundation and his thirty-year friendship with its chairman, Richard Blum. The American Himalayan Foundation and the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies are co-sponsoring the event.
Blum, a UC Berkeley alumnus, is a member of the University Of California Board Of Regents and is the founder of the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies. The Dalai Lama serves as honorary co-chair of the center. His visit to the campus follows the April 23 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Blum Center building that will feature remarks by former Vice President Al Gore.
The opportunity to hear the Dalai Lama speak was a big draw for UC Berkeley students, many who had camped out overnight to get tickets. By the time the Zellerbach Hall box office opened, the line of students had grown into a small city.
WHEN
Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m.
WHERE
The Hearst Greek Theatre on Galey Road on east side of the UC Berkeley campus.
WHO
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. Born on July 6, 1935, to a farming family in northeastern Tibet, at the age of two he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk.
DETAILS
This event is sold out. There will be no tickets available at the event.
His Holiness has been an advisor and a friend to the American Himalayan Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of the people in the Himalayas, since its beginning and is a strong advocate for AHF's role in helping Tibetans both in exile and inside Tibet. AHF has many stories of the personal impact of the foundation's work with Tibetans and interviews with AHF President, Erica Stone, will be available on request. Information about The American Himalayan Foundation, is available at its website: http://www.himalayan-foundation.org/.
Information about UC Berkeley's Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies, which focuses innovative research and education to alleviate global poverty, is available at its website: http://blumcenter.berkeley.edu/. Richard Blum first met His Holiness on a trip to Dharamsala, India, where the two became close friends. On a subsequent trip, Blum introduced His Holiness to his wife-to-be Senator Dianne Feinstein, and the two paved the way for his first-ever visit to the United States in 1979. For many years, Blum has attempted to broker discussions with the Chinese government on behalf of the Dalai Lama to resolve the conflict in Tibet.
Information on His Holiness is available at: http://berkeley.edu/dl/bio.html and http://www.dalailama.com/.