Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
| Formation | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Website | Official website |
The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is an international charitable organization and education center located in Vancouver, Canada. Established in 2005, the center describes its mission as " educate the hearts of children by informing, inspiring and engaging the communities around them."
The organization is advised by several prominent leaders involved in peace-making and has organized events centered on discussions of spirituality, climate change, the environment, peace and other topics.
The 14th Dalai Lama's ties with Vancouver, Canada date from the early 1960s when Vancouver-based writer George Woodcock traveled to India to support Tibetan exiles and met the Dalai Lama. Over the years, the Dalai Lama visited Vancouver several times, in 1980, 1993, 2004, 2006 and 2009. The Dalai Lama's brother, Tendzin Choegyal, also has close ties with the city, having traveled there often to give speeches and teach.
Victor Chan, a 30-year friend of the Dalai Lama, is founding director of the center. Chan co-authored a book with the Dalai Lama called, The Wisdom of Forgiveness. According to the Dalai Lama, Vancouver was chosen as the center's location because it is "multiethnic and multiracial population gives it harmony."
The center was formally inaugurated in September 2006 in Vancouver. The Dalai Lama, in attendance at the event, was awarded honorary Canadian citizenship by the government of Canada. Also attending the inauguration were Tim Shriver, Deepak Chopra, and Sonja Lyubomirsky. James Hoggan & Associates provided public relations services for the event.
The center originally announced its intention to have a permanent facility constructed by 2009. In a 2006 interview with the Vancouver Sun, Chan explained that the center's facility would be 4,645 square meters and include an outdoor European-style piazza, Zen garden, bookstore, film-screening theater, performing arts theater, art gallery, library, and studios for classes or group discussions. Chan stated that the facility would highlight the Dalai Lama's international connections, invite guest speakers, host interfaith dialogues, and hold discussions on peaceful resolutions to conflicts. Chan added that half of the center's $60 million budget would go to operating costs, research, local programming, and an endowment, and the rest towards construction of the facility and a meditative retreat. As of March 2010, however, the center's website indicated that the organization had yet to construct a physical facility.
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