Wed 24/Mar/2010 12pm-2pm @ front steps of parliament (by the Seddon statue). FREE - Your presence is meaningful.

Come along and join us highlight human rights and other issues facing Tibet while New Zealand MPs meet with a senior Chinese government official.

Mr Quingba Puncog is Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Regional People's Congress of Tibet. He is the most senior ethnically-Tibetan official from China to visit New Zealand. He is lunching with MPs to 'update them on economic and social developments in Tibet'.

We want to welcome him to Wellington with a nice show of Tibetan flags and highlight the realities of the economic and social conditions in Tibet. Where is the Panchen Lama (the world's youngest political prisoner)? When will Tibetans enjoy the same human rights that we do?

Mr Quingba Puncog is expected to be meeting with MPs between 12.45pm-1.45pm. Please come along anytime between 12pm-2pm and join us with flags flying, banners on show, and a clear message of support for the people in Tibet facing cultural genocide. Your presence is meaningful.

Organised by Friends of Tibet

Thu 26/Nov/2009 6:30pm @ Wellington City Library, Mezzanine floor meeting room (by the lifts). Entry by Koha (donation), with proceeds going to filmmakers and to aid Tibetan Refugees.

You are warmly invited to a FREE screening of 2 exceptional new short Tibetan films. Also included: free shared nibbles, a photo exhibition, and a stall of Tibetan goodies for sale, made by refugees.

Shining Spirit: The Musical Journey Of Jamyang Yeshi
This moving film documents a recording project by Tibetan musician Jamyang Yeshi. With the help of Western friends and multi tracking technology, Jamyang, in exile in Canada, joins voices with the family he left behind in Tibet. For the first time in over a decade, they sing together once again. The Shining Spirit Project is a testament to the power of music, the resilience of the Tibetan culture, and the enduring bond of a family separated by politics and geography.
34 mins, 2009. www.taracafeproject.ca

Leaving Fear Behind: Risking Everything, Tibetans Speak Out.
This incredible film, secretly shot by Tibetans inside Tibet, captures the thoughts, feelings and struggles of Tibetan people living under Chinese occupation. The footage was smuggled out of Tibet under extraordinary circumstances, with the filmmakers being detained soon after. They still remain in detention today.
25 mins, 2008. www.leavingfearbehind.com

Wed 11/Mar/2009 7:30pm @ The Film Archive mediatheatre, Wellington. $20 - all proceeds go to Tibetan refugees
Australia, 2008, 60 minutes, exempt from classification

The New Zealand Film Archive is presenting the New Zealand premier of Tibet: Murder in the Snow, the acclaimed documentary telling the story of a group of mountaineers who witnessed the cold-blooded murder of a 17-year-old Tibetan nun who was trying to escape from Tibet in 2006. The screening will be introduced by six Tibetan Gyuto monks (of Womad fame) who will perform a Tibetan chant and will be available for Q&A afterward. This is a fundraiser screening and all proceeds will go to Tibetan refugees.

This screening coincides with the 50th anniversary of the abortive Tibetan Uprising in March 1959 and Dalai Lama's subsequent flight into exile, and the first anniversary of last year's riots in Lhasa.

Tue 10/Mar/2009 @ Wellington. Free

7:30am-9am Rally outside Chinese Embassy on Glenmore Street - bring flags etc.

12 noon Join us at Midland Park on Lambton Quay to distribute information flyers - bring flags etc.

5.30pm Gather with us at the Cenotaph on the corner of Bowen and Lambton Quay (near Parliament) to commemorate the long struggle and suffering of the Tibetan people. Bring flags.

Organised by Friends of Tibet

Tue 10/Mar/2009, in cities across New Zealand, details to be confirmed in early 2009

Marking 50 years since the Tibetan Uprising Day and 50 years since HH Dalai Lama went into exile, events will be happening throughout New Zealand to mark this significant event and to draw attention to the human rights abuses, killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and other attrocities that still continue today in Tibet. If you would like to contribute your skills to these events then please contact us.

One winter day of 1959 (March 10) General Chiang Chin-wu of Communist China extended a seemingly innocent invitation to the Tibetan leader to attend a theatrical show by a Chinese dance troupe. When the invitation was repeated with new conditions that no Tibetan soldiers was to accompany the Dalai Lama and that his bodyguards be unarmed, an acute anxiety befell the Lhasa populace. Soon a crowd of tens of thousands of Tibetans gathered around the Norbulingka Palace, determined to thwart any threat to their young leader's life.
On 17 March 1959 ... a few minutes before ten o'clock His Holiness, now disguised as a common soldier, slipped past the massive throng of people along with a small escort and proceeded towards Kyichu river, where He was joined by the rest of the entourage, including his immediate family members.
Official website of HH Dalai Lama - biography

The following resources provide further background to HH Dalai Lama's exile and the significance of the Tibetan Uprising Day.

• The Government of Tibet in Exile - history leading up to March 10th 1959
• 10 March 1959 Tibetan uprising
• HH Dalai Lama's exile to India
• Official website of HH Dalai Lama - biography

Organised by the Tibet Solidarity Network. Email: tibetsolidarity@gmail.com

Sun 8/Mar/2009 10am-4pm @ Newtown Fair, Wellington. Free

Wellington Friends of Tibet will have a stall at the Newtown fair on 8th March to highlight issues in Tibet at this time.

Organised by Friends of Tibet

Sat 7/Mar/2009 to Sat 14/Mar/2009; 8am-4pm weekdays, 9am-5pm weekends @ Kruezberg Cafe, cnr Cuba St & Webb St, Wellington (it's an outdoor venue, so if its raining, choose another day to come). Free. All welcome

Tibet Solidarity Network is proud to present Hope in Exile. The photo exhibition features selected photographs taken by Western photographers in both Tibet and India and will explore the varying realities of what it means to be a Tibetan living in exile today.

Prints (A3 and Block mounted) will be available to purchase at the exhibition

Free entry, donations are warmly welcomed.

Organised by Tibet Solidarity Network. For further details please contact us

Sat 20/Sep/2008, 4:30pm @ Film Archive, cnr Taranaki & Ghuznee Sts, Wellington

Shot clandestinely on location in Tibet and in Nepal, Windhorse is an astounding film based on true events that explores the oppression faced by Tibetans living in modern-day Occupied Tibet.

All proceeds from the screening will go towards a life-saving operation for a young Tibetan woman living in exile in India. Every cent raised will make a difference, so please come along if you can. Donations are also most welcome!
Film shown courtesy of Paul Wagner Films - Paul Wagner has very kindly given this screening his blessing

Sat 23/Aug/2008, 12:30pm-2pm @ outside CD-Store on the corner of Cuba Street & Dixon Street, Wellington

We are making a huge beautiful string of prayer flags to show support for human rights for Tibetans and we would love you to join in. Add your thoughts, wishes, hopes and prayers to the human rights prayer flags on Cuba street from 12.30 this Saturday. You are welcome to drop in and find out more about what is goin on in Tibet right now.

Organised by Tibet Solidarity Network

Sat 23/Aug/2008, 5pm-7pm @ 2-6 Glenmore Street, Kelburn, Wellington (rain or shine)

On Saturday, 23 August, the night before the Olympic Games end in Beijing, we will bring our light to the front of EVERY Chinese Embassy in the world. Our light will say that we will not let Tibet be forgotten after the games end.

"The Candle for Tibet initiative is a most wonderful thing, fitting in with the Tibetan tradition of lighting votive lamps in long rows in temples and in special butter lamp houses outside. We seem powerless to ameliorate conditions on the ground in the present crisis moment.

This peaceful prayer vigil, since it focuses the minds of many millions on the different sufferings of tormented and tormentor alike, is a powerful way to intervene. And it does not preclude anything else we can think of and do further on.

I hope everyone who reads this will join in this important effort"
- Robert Thurman, President, Tibet House US

Bring Tibetan flags, prayer flags and candles!!

Organised by Candle 4 Tibet

Thu 7/Aug/2008, 5:30pm-6:30pm @ Civic Square, Wellington (rain or shine)

"We hope your Candle for Tibet campaign will inspire the Chinese authorities to appreciate the value of freedom of all mankind and the importance of the Tibetan Buddhist culture that is benefiting millions of people and has the potential to serve humanity as a whole, including the Chinese people," - Tsering Tashi representative of HH the Dalai Lama, Tel Aviv 29/Jul/2008

Kiaora, tashi delek,
We would warmly like to invite you to the Candle for Tibet event that Tibet Solidarity Network is planning on the eve of the Olympic Games. Take part in this global event for freedom.
We have worked hard to get our leaders to talk up for Tibet, and we have worked hard to raise awareness about the Tibet issue ...
At this important time, let us now project our positive thoughts, our hopes, and our best wishes to remember Tibet, to swiftly improve human rights and for a peaceful resolution to the Tibet issue. We will be joining in with more than 100,000,000 others worldwide, as we contemplate, meditate and / or focus our minds while we light a Candle for Tibet.

Wear something orange if you can. Bring a cushion or something to sit on, a candle, and a cup for warm and yummy free chai tea. You will have a chance to add to our human rights prayer flags.
This is a free event which is open to all. Please visit www.tibetsolidarity.net.nz or www.candle4tibet.org for more information about this global event.
If you can’t join with us in Civic Square you might like to light a candle in your home or with your friends, or shine a light on the Tibetan situation by lighting up any other source of light for Tibet on the 7th of August (see below for more information).

Organised by the Tibet Solidarity Network. Email: tibetsolidarity@gmail.com

Tue 5/Aug/2008, 1pm @ In front of parliament building, Wellington

The point of the event is to draw attention to human rights abuses in China in the lead up to the Olympics. It is also the first day of Ni Yulan's trial. Ni Yulan is prominent human rights activist and vocal critic of the Chinese government and will appear in court for defending the rights of displaced people in Beijing.

"Ni Yulan is a courageous activist whose only crime has been to defend her rights and the rights of victims of forced evictions in Beijing. To try her on the eve of the Games is an extraordinary insult to those who lost their homes to the Beijing Olympics and shows contempt for human rights concerns raised by the international community." - Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

Organised by the Green Party. Email: Hannah.Scott@parliament.govt.nz

Sat 2/Aug/2008, 7pm meal, 8pm movie @ Yoga in Daily life centre, 21 Jessie St, Wellington

Yoga in Daily is holding another dinner & movie night coming up this Saturday.
This week we will be watching 'Vajra Sky over Tibet'. An enthralling and heartfelt documentary exploring the beauty and vulnerability of the Buddhist tradition in Tibet today and it's importance to the West world.
Dinner (Indian vegetarian meal) will be served prior the movie at 7pm (suggested Koha $10) and the movie it self will begin at 8pm.

Please RSVP to Yoga in Daily Life by this Fri 1/Aug/2008

Organised by Yoga in Daily Life. Email: info@yogaindailylife.org.nz. Phone: 04 801 7012

Thu 10/Jul/2008, 7:15pm-9pm @ Newtown Community Centre, cnr Rintoul & Colombo Sts, Newtown, Wellington. Free. All welcome

A delicious spread of food and tea provided (including traditional Tibetan momos)

"Ten years in the making, this award-winning feature-length documentary was filmed during nine journeys throughout Tibet, India and Nepal. Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion brings audiences to the long-forbidden 'rooftop of the world' with an unprecedented richness of imagery ... from rarely-seen rituals in remote monasteries, to horse races with Khamba warriors; from brothels and slums in the holy city of Lhasa, to magnificent Himalayan peaks still travelled by nomadic yak caravans. The dark secrets of Tibet's recent past are powerfully chronicled through personal stories and interviews, and a collection of undercover and archival images never before assembled in one film. A definitive exploration of a legendary subject, Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion is an epic story of courage and compassion"

Organised by the Tibet Solidarity Network. Email: tibetsolidarity@gmail.com

Thu 26/Jun/2008 mid-day @ Civic Square, Wellington. Free.
Thu 26/Jun/2008 1pm @ Parliament, Wellington. Free.

All welcome to meet on Thursday 26th June at 12 midday at Civic Square, Wellington, for the relay along the waterfront to Parliament (rally and hot soup there at 1pm).

The Tibetan Freedom Torch is a symbol of the hopes and aspirations of the Tibetan people for freedom and justice, and of the commitment of people around the world to helping achieve this goal. The Tibet Torch is carrying a message of truth through more than 50 countries between March 10th and August 8th, at which point it will reach the border of occupied Tibet on the day that the Olympics begin in Beijing. The Torch is in New Zealand from the 23 June in Invercargill and traveling all the way to Whangarei.

The Olympic torch should embody the ideals of peace and harmony for all, but this year, the Chinese government is trying to use the Olympic torch relay to cover up its brutal occupation of Tibet and abysmal human rights record in China and abroad. At the same time, the International Olympic Committee has rejected Tibetan representation at the Olympics or to stop the Olympic Torch traveling through Tibet.

Remember Tibet

Organised by the Friends of Tibet. Email: friendsoftibet.wgtn@yahoo.com

Sat 24/May/2008, 8:30pm @ Bodega Bar, 101 Ghuznee Street, Wellington. $5 entry. All welcome

Tibetan benefit gig at Bodega Bar featuring 100% New Zealand music. The Actualities & Date with Doom

Proceeds go to Tibetan Solidarity Network fund to raise awareness, share information and provide on-going support to essential Tibet - related activities in Wellington

The Actualities

The Actualities are three years young. The Wellington-based five piece formed at high school with a sound that is complex and difficult to pigeonhole. Their first self-titled EP was released in 2006.

Organised by the Tibet Solidarity Network. Email: albert@tibetsolidarity.net.nz

Sun 18/May/2008, 6pm meal, 7pm movie @ 20 Alexander Road, Raumati Beach. Free. All welcome

"Vajra Sky Over Tibet, a documentary feature, is a cinematic pilgrimage to some of the most revered venues and festivals still surviving in Tibet. This poignant journey bears witness to the indomitable faith of its endangered Buddhist community and the imminent threat to its very survival. The vastness of the Tibetan sky, reflecting snowy mountains, rushing rivers, and turquoise lakes, leads the journey west. Tibetans respond to the denial of the human right to practice one's religion without interference with a defiant devotion. As interviews were not appropriate because of likely retribution, Vajra Sky Over Tibet employs the evocative voices of Tenzin Choegyal and Dadon, both Tibetans in exile. Many of Tibet's most legendary musicians and singers are featured in the compelling soundtrack"

Organised by Yoga in Daily Life. Email: kapiti@yogaindailylife.org.nz. Phone: 04 904 0136

Thu 15/May/2008, 7:15pm-9pm @ Newtown Community Centre, cnr Rintoul & Colombo Sts, Newtown, Wellington. Free. All welcome

"Ten years in the making, this award-winning feature-length documentary was filmed during nine journeys throughout Tibet, India and Nepal. Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion brings audiences to the long-forbidden 'rooftop of the world' with an unprecedented richness of imagery ... from rarely-seen rituals in remote monasteries, to horse races with Khamba warriors; from brothels and slums in the holy city of Lhasa, to magnificent Himalayan peaks still travelled by nomadic yak caravans. The dark secrets of Tibet's recent past are powerfully chronicled through personal stories and interviews, and a collection of undercover and archival images never before assembled in one film. A definitive exploration of a legendary subject, Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion is an epic story of courage and compassion"

Organised by the Tibet Solidarity Network. Email: tibetsolidarity@gmail.com