Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters across Sydney, New South Wales gathered at Forestville, a suburb of northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the conferment of Noble Peace Prize to the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

The celebration included speeches on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s noble contributions, his lifelong commitments and colourful cultural performances.

Chief guest was Lhakpa Tshoko, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, who spoke about the "Thank You Australia" event, a part of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)-initiated Thank You Year campaign, organised by the Office of Tibet Australia was held at the Australian Parliament in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, December 5, 2018.

The formal ceremony commenced with installation of His Holiness’ portrait on the throne. Representative led the train of well-wishers offering scarves. A group of Tibetan youths, presented the Nobel Peace Prize song. A minute’s silence was observed for the sacrifice of Tibetans for Tibet.

In addressing the solemn crowd, Representative Tshoko said that the Tibetan President’s third official visit to Australia was primarily to preside over the ‘Thank You Australia’ event designed to thank the government of Australia and its people for their generosity to Tibetan refugees. You can watch his event speech by clicking here.

He further said that around 15 elected representatives from the Australian major parties and 50 esteemed dignitaries attended the felicitation ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra. Over a 100 Tibetan dignitaries and members of the Canberra Tibetan community were also present at the special event. With pride, the Representative assured everyone that the Tibetan President, Dr Lobsang Sangay, made a "successful official visit to Australia."

Former MPs and officials were also among the guests who were invited to the ceremony. Speakers also reminded that 10 December is international human rights day. This must provide the opportunity for us to recall the continuing violation of human rights in Tibet.