Secretary Thinley Wangdue of the Office of Tibet, Brussels attended and addressed the 15th founding anniversary of Choerig Zinkyong’s Jamyang Lophel Tibetan Language and Cultural school and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 88th birthday in Antwerpen on 24 June 2023.

Chief guest Thinley Wangdue, secretary of the Office of Tibet, Brussels congratulated the staff, the children and the parents for their resilience and determination in making so much progress. He appealed to the parents to send their children to the Tibetan weekend schools irrespective of their difficulties. He said that though learning Tibetan language may not earn their children a job with high pay it will definitely help their children to become a good human being.  As frequently emphasised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he urged that it’s vital to preserve the endangered Tibet’s custom, culture, and language, but more than that, preserving our distinct Tibetan values and characteristics such as love, compassion, tolerance, and warm heartedness which is truly admired by many people around the world. He further urged the Tibetans in Belgium to make green book contributions to fulfil their basic duty as a Tibetan national.

In his opening remarks, Director Jigme of the Chorig Zinkyong School greeted the audience and briefed about the school’s current status and various activities carried out in the past 14 years. He also explained detailed accounts of the school’s financial position and appealed to the parents on their contribution to the success of the school.

Thereafter, Secretary Thinley handed over the certificates to the school toppers. The program was concluded with a vote of thanks from Vice Director Dorjee Kyab.

The day-long event was followed by traditional Tibetan dance and songs performed by the students of the six schools. After the main program, the audience performed Tibetan circle dance. The event was also attended by various Tibetan Associations in Belgium, children and parents of the six schools.

Currently, the organisation runs 6 schools with over 433 children and 54 teachers in Belgium namely Antwerp, Brussels, Leuven, Ostende, Gent and Brugge.