HH the Dalai Lama Arrives In South Tyrol November 16, 2009

Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy, 16 November 2009 (Office of Tibe Geneva) - His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived in Bolzano, the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol in Italy this morning. President Luis Durnwalder of South Tyrol welcomed His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Bolzano airport. On arrival at the hotel, both Italians and Tibetans gathered to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Tomorrow morning His Holiness the Dalai Lama will meet with President Luis Durnwalder and the entire South Tyrol Government. In the afternoon, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will travel to the Autonomous Province of Trento. President Lorenzo Dellai of Trento will host a luncheon in honour of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

 
In Trento His Holiness the Dalai Lama will address the conference on Regional Self-Government, Cultural Identity and Multinational Integration: Comparative Experience for Tibet. Both President Luis Durnwalder and President Lorenzo Dellai will also address the conference. The conference is organized by Autonomous Province of Trento in cooperation with Department of Legal Sciences, University of Trento and European Academy in Bolzano.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the guest of the Regional Governments of South Tyrol and Trento - an autonomous region in Northern Italy with a special statute.  On 17 November evening His Holiness the Dalai Lama will leave for Rome.

In Rome His Holiness the Dalai Lama will address the 5th World Parliamentarians' Convention for Tibet on 18 November. Over 100 Parliamentarians from 28 countries will attend this important convention. The two days convention will be held in the Lower House of the Italy Parliament organised by the Italian Parliamentary Intergroup for Tibet.

President Gianfranco Fini, the President of the Lower House of Italian Parliament will welcome and meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Parliament. Both President Fini and Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno will also address the convention.

The first World Parliamentarians' Convention for Tibet was held in New Delhi in 1994, then in Vilnius ( Lithuania), Washington DC (USA) and Edinburgh ( United Kingdom).

During His Holiness the Dalai Lama's last visit to Rome, Mayor Gianni Alemanno presented the prestigious Rome Honorary Citizenship on 9 February 2009 to His Holiness.

On 19 November His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return to India.