On November 19, The Steering Committee of Mosaic’s “New Beginnings: Young Canadians’ Peace Dialogue on China and Tibet” was awarded the 2014 YMCA Peace Medallion by the YMCA of Greater Toronto at a special ceremony held in their honour. The group was recognized for their outstanding contributions to peace, both in Canada and internationally. “Being awarded the YMCA Peace Medallion is such an honor; it definitely provides encouragement for future peacebuilding projects,” said Tenzin Tsundue, one of the group’s members.
The “New Beginnings” Steering Committee is a dynamic group of young Canadian adults committed to peace. Half of them are of ethnic Tibetan background, and the other half are of Han Chinese background. Together, they played a pivotal role in the success of “New Beginnings”. Under the guidance of the Mosaic Institute, the group was instrumental in helping design and deliver dialogue-based programming for their communities in Toronto and Calgary over two years, starting in April 2012. Although the Dialogue formally ended earlier this year, the Steering Committee continues to engage with each other through CanEngage, the community service project the Dialogue inspired them to create. CanEngage is working in partnership with Machik Canada to provide educational opportunities to rural youth in Tibetan areas of China, and has so far raised over $10,000 for the cause.
The group also continues to hold discussions related to Canada’s engagement with China on issues related to Tibet.
The members of the Steering Committee are: Cindy Chung, Lobsang Rapten, Max Guo, Jigdel Kuyee, Nawang Tekan, Rebecca Leung, Zijian Yang, Tenzin Tsundue, Jigme Duntak, Mimi Liu, Kalvin Chen, Yvonne Lau, Tenchoe Dorjee, Jigmay Phunkhang, Catherine Qian. Congratulations to all!