WASHINGTON, D.C.— On July 6, 2015, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet is turning 80 years old. VOA’s Tibetan Service is marking the occasion with a 4-hour live TV program covering the special celebration in His honor that will take place in Dharamsala, India, this Sunday, June 21.
The celebration will consist of elaborate Buddhist rituals and festive art performances. Thousands of faithful, including leaders of all Tibetan Buddhist sects, will gather around Tsuklakhang, the Dalai Lama’s monastery, to celebrate the life of the Tibetan spiritual leader.
VOA’s live program will be distributed on two satellite channels as well as shortwave radio and it will be live-streamed on the web. As a result millions of viewers and listeners in Tibet and around the world will be able to share this rich cultural experience for the first time since the Chinese take-over in 1959.
VOA Tibetan reaches its target audience on television, radio and the Internet with uncensored news that is unavailable to Tibetans through state-controlled Chinese media. VOA offers critical discussions on important issues and provides valuable information and expertise that help support the development of civil society. VOA Tibetan audiences are located in Tibet, in the ethnic Tibetan regions of China in Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan, and in Bhutan, Nepal, and India—where Tibetan speakers live.
