HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) Friday announced that
it will sponsor two public talks in Honolulu featuring Tenzin Gyatso, His
Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, April 14th and 15th.
The talks are part of the
Dalai Lama's three-day stay on O'ahu (April 14-16), where he will participate
in a series of conversations with local leaders and visits to important
cultural and historical sites. The Dalai Lama is visiting O'ahu at the
invitation of Pierre and Pam Omidyar. Support is being provided by a lead grant
from the Omidyar Ohana Fund in addition to other partners providing in-kind and
cash donations.
The Dalai Lama's visit
marks the launch of a new HCF initiative entitled "Pillars of Peace
Hawai'i: Building Peace on a Foundation of Aloha." The program aims to
bring global peace leaders to Hawai'i to exchange ideas about the many forms of
peace that exist here at home in Hawai'i, and around the world.
"The people of
Hawai'i, their welcoming 'spirit of aloha' and the blending of many cultures
are facets that make our islands a special place to live," said Kelvin
Taketa, President and CEO of the Hawai'i Community Foundation. "We take
pride in our ability to embrace our diversity and peacefully co-exist, and are
honored to be able to share this valuable lesson with others around the world.
Through the Pillars of Peace program, we hope to share these examples with
global peace leaders such as the Dalai Lama, while also absorbing the wisdom
they have to share from their own cultures and experiences."
The visits from global
leaders are designed to spark dialogue about the roles of compassion,
diversity, and culture as key components for practicing peace.
"Peace is an active
state of being-it is not passive," said Pierre Omidyar. "We hope that
the Dalai Lama's visit will inspire people to consciously embrace compassion
and apply peace in their everyday lives."
The Dalai Lama will speak
at two public events during his visit to O'ahu; both will take place at the
Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawai'i campus at Manoa. The first
event, for high school and college students titled, "Educating the
Heart," will be held on April 14th at 1:30 p.m. HAST. More than half of
the tickets for this student talk are free and being distributed through public
and private high schools on O'ahu.
The second event, intended
for the general public, "Advancing Peace through the Power of Aloha,"
will take place on April 15th at 1:45 p.m. HAST.
Tickets for both events
can be purchased online starting February 22nd at 6:00 p.m. HAST. Beginning
February 23rd, tickets will also be sold at the University of Hawai'i Stan
Sheriff Center box office.
Additional ticket and
event information is available at www.pillarsofpeacehawaii.org
For those unable to attend
in person, both events will be available for playback after the events conclude
on the Pillars of Peace Hawai'i website.
For more information about
the Dalai Lama's visit to O'ahu, please call 1-855-PEACE00 (1-855-732-2300), email
info@pillarsofpeacehawaii.org
Copyright 2012 Hawaii News
Now. All rights reserved.
