Post on 28-Oct-2014
transcript
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Fall 2012 www.tcccgc.org
Where The Center Stands Today: An Update from the President
On Saturday, September 15th TCCC president Mr. Kunsang Tanzin called a special meeting for community leaders and TCCC ambassadors. Mr. Tanzin updated everyone on the current financial situation and efforts underway by the Board of Directors to raise much -‐needed funds for the centre. The president emphasized moving forward and shared his vision for a functional centre without the burden of debt. A key aspect of this vision involves creating a financial plan to sustain the centre in the face of mounting debt.
To date, the centre owes Maystar General Contractors Inc approximately $400,000 and has a $2 million mortgage with the bank. The centre expects a significant HST refund, which will pay off a bulk of amount owing Maystar. The mortgage repayment strategy is more complicated and depends in large part on contributing members. The centre pays the bank approx. $20,000 monthly. In order to continue making timely payments, the centre has launched an aggressive membership drive. Currently, there are around 500 registered members who pay
Children play/pray at the prayer wheels outside the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre
their membership fee on a monthly bases. The fee is $10 per month. Mr. Tanzin reasons that if the centre is successful in getting 2000 members, the membership fees alone will cover the monthly payments to the bank. There were some interesting changes to membership benefits-‐ going forward, members will receive a 50% discount on tickets for the three major events: Trungkhar, Losar and the Dec. 10 Nobel Prize ceremony. The meeting concluded with the distribution of membership forms to community groups.
YOUTH FOCUS: TENZIN NGAWANG SHALUNG
Many community members are aware of TCCC's membership drive. The push to increase the number of members is a critical component of fundraising for the centre. As this newsletter goes to print, there are currently around 500 registered members. Ngawang Shalung, a fourth year Life Science student at University of Toronto, is one of the youngest members to register. An avid volunteer at St.Michael’s hospital, Ngawang intends to double major in human biology and animal physiology. At St. Michael’s hospital, he collaborates with numerous programs to raise awareness regarding youth safety and injury prevention.
When asked why he chose to support the TCCC, he replied, “It felt right and made sense after seeing my parent’s hopes and investments towards TCCC.” Ngawang
also donates monthly to the Canadian Cancer Society after losing a close relative to hepatocellular (liver) cancer. His interests include listening to music and competitive sports…cont’d p.4
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
• GTPN Mix n Mingle • Made in Tibet
Concert • Tibetans Language
and Performing Arts Schedule
• Upcoming Events
NEWSLETTER TEAM
Tenzin Hobum, Chimi Kuyee, Ngatso, Tenzin Nawang T, Youdon T
Want to join the team? Email us: tccc.newsletter@gmail.com
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As most of you are aware, the TCCC membership drive has been going on for the past few months. This membership drive is critical as it provides sustainable revenue to assist with TCCC monthly operating costs, including the mortgage payments. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our fellow Board members and the volunteers who have been helping us recruit new members. This is great time to provide a quick update and analysis of our membership base so far.
As of October 2, 2012, TCCC has 512 members. Although we admit the number is relatively low, we will continue to push more to increase our membership base. A great starting point towards increasing our membership base would be to analyze the demographics of our current members. Figure 1 shows the percentage of male and female in our membership base. As shown, 44% are female and 56% are male.
Figure 2 shows the age demographic of the current TCCC members. Here, we would like to point out that of the total 512 members, only 424 members had correctly entered their birth date information. The remaining 88 members had either put incorrect dates or left it blank. We will be contacting these members to get the correct dates (their address and phone numbers were correctly entered).
Next, we take a quick look at the locations of our membership base. Figure 3 shows that we have the majority of the members based in Toronto. This is not surprising as the community centre is located in Toronto. However, we do notice there are couple members scattered in Belleville, Ottawa, Peterborough and Brampton.
Figure 3: Map – Ontario Level
As we zoom further into the map, focusing on Toronto, we see an interesting distribution of our membership base in figure 4. This distribution shows the different pockets of Tibetan Canadian communities within the Greater Toronto Area. It should come as no surprise that the majority of the members live in Parkdale and Etobicoke. The next big community is along the St. Clair Avenue West and Weston Road area. From there, we move towards downtown Toronto i.e. the Wellesley St. area. Finally, we can see there are some members north of Highway 401 – from Brampton to Richmond Hill.
We hope you found this exercise as interesting as we did. The Board has access to more data granularity and will use it to make the membership drive more effective. We will continue to further collect our data and analyze to create programs to serve our members and community. At the same time, we would like to urge our community members to take the same responsibility and help us by approaching your friends, families, colleagues and neighbors. Although various groups and associations (“Kyiduks” and “Tsokpas”) have supported the TCCC, it would still not be enough with your assistance. We are confident that you will take the initiative to ask within your social circles to get more members.
For your convenience, we have distributed over thousand new temporary membership forms and cards to various organizations. You can sign up right at the spot and get your temporary card to take advantage of all the discounts we provide. You can also walk in to TCCC office and get it enrolled anytime during the office hours.
-‐ Jigdel Kuyee & Dorjee Namgyal (VP Fundraising)
TCCC MEMBERSHIP DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
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TCCC EVENTS
The TCCC Fundraising Concert featuring former Indian Idols Prashant Tamang and Amit Paul, with a special appearance by Tenzin Dolma was a huge success with over 1200 attendees.
Over 200 community members celebrated the 52nd Tibetan Democracy Day on Saturday, September 1st at the Centre. After the morning ceremonial function, there was an update by TCCC President regarding the membership drive.
The TCCC hosted the Maitreya Project Hearth Shrine Relic Tour September 14-‐16. More than 4000 visitors from the GTA visited the centre to view the relics over the course of three days.
The relics, which were found among the cremation ashes of Buddhist masters, are said to embody the compassion and wisdom of the master and are deliberately produced by the master at his death. Relics like these are usually enshrined in temples, where they’re off-‐limits to the public. But revered Buddhist leader Lama Zopa Rinpoche decided to put his collection on tour.
The relic exhibition was well attended and also covered by local media outlets like OMNI TV (Mandarin). Please visit www.maitreyaproject.org to learn more.
Amit Paul and Tenzin Dolma perform at the TCCC Fundraising concert
Visitors view the sacred relics of the Shakyamuni Buddha and other Buddhist masters
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TIBETAN LANGUAGE AND PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM 2012-‐2013
Date/Time: Sundays, September 2012 – June 2013 from 10:30am – 4:00 pm
Venue: Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, 40 Titan Rd, Etobicoke, M8Z 2J8
Age Group: Ages 6 and up
The Tibetan Language Program was introduced with the objective of helping Tibetan youth in the GTA to speak Tibetan fluently, to read, write and comprehend Tibetan texts at the appropriate grade level. Knowledge about Tibetan history, religion, and cultural practices is also emphasized.
The Performing Arts Program allows students to learn, practice and perform some of Tibet’s unique traditional arts including opera, dance, instruments and songs.
Genla reviews Lhadon’s work in Grade 1 Tibetan Class
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
TIME CLASS/ACTIVITY
10:30am-‐11am Morning Prayers
11:00am-‐11:50am Language Class
11:50am-‐12:05pm Recess
12:05pm-‐1:00pm Reading/Writing
1:00pm-‐1:30pm Lunch Break
1:30pm-‐4:00pm Performing Arts Class
YOUTH FOCUS: TENZIN NGAWANG SHALUNG
Cont’d from p.1… Like many other Tibetan youth, Ngawang’s greatest source of motivation to strive for excellence is his parents and considers Arnold Schwarzenegger his role model because “he succeeded in everything thing he wanted to do: from an actor to a politician.”
His advice to fellow Tibetan Canadian youth is to focus on their education because “its our only weapon towards our non-‐violent path to freedom.” -‐Tenzin Hobum Kuyee
Founded by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2009, the Dalai Lama Trust was established to support the advancement of Tibetan people.
The Scholarship program of the trust is intended to further the human capital development of Tibetans by supporting the pursuit of excellence among Tibetan students in a specialized academic field.
Every year, a few exceptional candidates of Tibetan descent will be selected to receive scholarship awards of up to US$10,000. Past awardees of the program are required to reapply each year.
In order to apply, applicants must be enrolled full time in/accepted in a graduate degree, post-‐graduate or Phd. program in a university in Europe, North America or Australia and must
DALAI LAMA TRUST SCHOLARSHIP FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
demonstrate proof of Tibetan Heritage.
For last year’s applicants, the application form was due May 31st and awards were announced by mid July.
The Dalai Lama Trust has selected 15 exceptional Tibetan students to receive scholarship award for the year 2012-‐2013.
View details of the selected candidates, including their field of study from the Dalai Lama Trust website at www.dalailamatrust.org.
You can also sign up to receive regular updated from the Trust.
CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY’S TIBET SCHOLARSHIP
CEU’s scholarship for Tibetan students applies for study toward any MA or MS degree at CEU. The Tibet Scholarship Program will fund up to two scholars of Tibetan origin for graduate studies at Central European University in a one-‐year or two-‐year MA or MS degree program. The scholarship includes:
• Tuition waiver • Housing in the CEU Residence Center • Stipend for living expenses
Selection criteria will include:
• Prior academic achievement • Potential for academic success in
graduate studies • Potential for service to the Tibetan
Community • English language proficiency • Clearly defined academic and career
goals • Preference for candidates with a good
knowledge of spoken and written Tibetan
Tibetan women are especially encouraged to apply. For further details about eligible degree programs and the application process, please visit http://www.ceu.hu/academics/degrees .
DHOKHAM CHUSHI GANGDRUK SOCIETY OF CANADA SCHOLARSHIP
DCG Canada will select one candidate of Tibetan descent to receive a scholarship award of CDN $1000. Previous recipients will not qualify again. The purpose of this program is to recognize outstanding students in the community. Applicants must be enrolled full time in a university in Ontario and must demonstrate proof of Tibetan heritage. The application deadline is Dec. 10, 2012. Completed application forms along with supporting documents must be sent to: Dhokham Chushi Gangdruk Society-‐Canada, 77 Cadillac Avenue, Toronto, ON M3H1S5. Winners will be announced on December 25, 2012 at DCG Christmas fundraising day.
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COMMUNITY EVENTS
GTPN MIX N MINGLE
A note from GTPN Toronto:
We would like to thank all who attended our annual mix and mingle in the heart of Yorkville! We hope you left feeling empowered and motivated to build a stronger Tibetan professionals network! Special thanks go to Mr. Kunsang Tanzin la, President of CTAO, who gave an inspirational talk on the importance of being a successful Tibetan professional and contributing member of society, whether locally or globally. Keychu Homecare Solutions, Inc. CEO, Jigdel Kuyee shared his wonderful new business initiative that will fill a much needed gap in Canada by Tibetan healthcare workers!
Attendees included professionals from the financial sector, real estate, healthcare, insurance, advertising, marketing,
photography and business entrepreneurs! Team building exercises allowed professionals and students to connect. They were rewarded with fabulous prizes from our corporate donors, Kiehls, RBC, LCBO, Fidelity and the Food Network. GTPN Toronto aspires to connect professionals with potential job leads and provide mentorship opportunities to students or those newly arrived to the city. With a long term goal towards establishing a strong Tibetan professionals network within our diaspora we hope our annual networking event and workshop series brings us closer to this goal.
A big thank you to all our wonderful members that made the evening a success. Please connect with us at gtpn4toronto@gmail.com, and be sure to join our GTPN Toronto FB page for job postings and information on upcoming events.
-‐Tsering Zongdho Photo credit: Lodoe Laura Photography,
“Once more!” screamed the crowd as Swiss-‐raised Karma Norbu, famously known as Shapaley, performed at Toronto’s Ukrainian Hall on Saturday, September 1st. Definitely a crowd pleaser, the evening’s headliner delivered an incredibly memorable hip-‐hop performance with the utmost style and charisma. Shapaley started off – rather nervously – with Made in Tibet, an inspiring song about Tibetan pride, by paying a special tribute to the self-‐immolators. Last year, he caught the public eye with his single Shapaley, which received over 40,000 views on YouTube. “I chose to write about shapaley…when I thought about it; it started to really connect to Tibetan traditions. It’s a lot more than just a song about food,” he laughs. When asked why he began writing for Tibet, he replied, “My parents have done a lot for me and our culture has gone through a lot, so the least we can do is still keep it alive. Pay attention to Tibet.” Third-‐year medical school keeps Karma-‐la very busy; consequently rapping is a side gig. Influenced by artists like Jay-‐Z and J. Cole he says, “I chose rap because you can tell the truth, you can be straight-‐ forward.”
SFT Canada hosted the summer’s most anticipated show with live performances by rapper, song-‐writer Shapaley, SFT’s very own Tendor and aspiring local artists Sonam Chokey, Tenzin Choekyi and Tsering Choesang. Performances spanned various genres: Tenzin Choekyi’s R&B cover of Pemsi’s Rewa, Tsering Choesang’s (Tsling) head-‐bobbing beat boxing, Sonam Chokey’s classical take on Bhoemi Lhasok by Tsewang Lhamo, Tendor’s acoustic guitar sounds, and the SFT team’s group sing-‐a-‐long. The merging of contemporary arts with old traditions and customs was most definitely worth the $20 cover charge for the night.
Despite being miles away, Karma-‐la’s impeccable Lhasa dialect manages to preach the importance of upholding Tibetan language, traditions, and religion especially since our people have migrated to different parts of the world. “Everyone has good intentions and wants to do something… do the best you can.”
A big round of applause is well deserved by the SFT committee for ending the summer on such a fist-‐pumping note. Songs for Tibet leaves us with bittersweet memories, hopes, and faiths. It was a jovial night with our thoughts forever embedded in our homeland.
-Ngatso
MADE IN TIBET CONCERT
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JUST FOR LAUGHS…
Meme credit: Tenzin Rigzin Meme credit: Karma Tsedon
COMMENTS/ SUGGESTIONS? We’d love to hear from you! Write to us at tccc.newsletter@gmail.com.
FLAME OF TRUTH TORCH RELAY - TORONTO
Over 200 Tibetans and supporters participated in welcoming the “Flame of Truth” torch relay to Toronto on Sep. 8th. The relay, initiated by the Tibetan Parliament-‐in-‐Exile, began in
India as an expression of solidarity with the courageous acts of Tibetans inside Tibet, and has since traveled to North America, Europe and Australia. Over 1000 signatures were also collected for the petition urging the United Nations to address the issue of Tibet, to send an independent international fact-‐finding delegation to Tibet and to ensure that the basic aspirations of the Tibetans inside Tibet are fulfilled.
Long time supporters the Hon. Consiglio Di Nino and Peggy Nash, Member of Parliament for Parkdale-‐High Park (pictured let) were also present at the ceremony welcoming the torch relay to Toronto.
MP Nash called upon the international community and the UN to act on the critical situation inside Tibet. She also demanded an end to the persistent violation of human rights in Tibet and the total disregard for Tibetan people’s personal life and freedom.
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 13 TCCC Day
October 20 Gold Medal Ceremony, Fundraiser Rummage Sale
October 27 TCV Alumni Charity Concert
November 3 SFT Halloween Party
November 10 Private Event
November 24 TCPC Talent Show
December 8 Nobel Peace Prize Day
December 9 Gelug Group
December 25 Pokhara Tibetan Group
December 31 CTAO New Years Eve Party