“The Space of Memories”

The project “The Space of Memories” has been created by Aref International Onlus to expand people’s awareness about the voices of the last living witnesses of a Free Tibet.
Many documents have been published on this topic, but the peculiarity of our Project is that the interviews with the elderly guests of the Jampaling Elders’ Home in McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala) were conducted by young students from the local Tibetan Children Village (TCV).
We didn’t want to just collect information on both the diaspora and individual stories but, above all, to create an emotional bond between the elderly and the young, in order to protect their commitment to transmit and make possible the right yearning for Freedom and Peace of people whose human rights have been offended for such a long time…
The Project, initiated in 2019, has been completed at the beginning of 2022. On February 25 an online inauguration ceremony took place on Zoom platform and finally, last December 9, 2022, we repeated the live inauguration ceremony at the Tibet Museum in McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala).
The new Tibet Museum, inaugurated on January 27 of  2022, is located near the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives in the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) area, Gangchen Kyishong, Himachal Pradesh, India, and collects findings and testimonies of great value, displayed with outstanding hyper-modern technology.
Moreover, it is our honor to have collaborated with this important Museum, through the Italian translation of the Audio Guide of the Museum itself, realized with the voice of our collaborator Angelo Andrea Vegliante.
From this page, you can view both the entire video, containing the salient parts of all 12 interviews, and the individual parts of each interview, as well as some explanatory documents and the credits of people and institutions who have contributed over time to the realization of this Project.
We wish to thank all these important supporters and those who offered their precious contribution to make both the inauguration and the special exhibition possible.
In particular: the Sikyon Mr. Penpa Tsering; Mrs. Dolma Gyari (Minister of the Dept. of Security); Mrs. Dolma Tsering (Vice President of CTA); Mr. Tenzin Topdhen (Director of Tibet Museum); Mr. Tsultrim Dorjee (Director of TCV); Mr. Namgyal (Head of Jampaling Elders’ Home); Mr. Sherab Woeser (Deputy Director of the Tibet Fund); Mrs. Tenzin Dolma (President of the Tibetan Women Association); Mr. Ngawang Gaden (President of Gu Chu Sum); Mr. Tashi Dhondup (President of the National Democratic Party); Mr. Rinzin Choedon (Students for a Free Tibet) and the Tibet Museum staff members: Tenzin Jinpa, Karma Tashi, Kunga Choedon, Tenzin Khtsum, Tsering Norbu, Tenzin Dolma, Dawa Tsamchoe.
The event was filmed by the operators of Radio Free Asia (from 30 to 35 minutes) and Tibet.Net.
An interesting article on the ceremony and the intervention of the Deputy Speaker (Vice President of the CTA) Mrs. Dolma Tsering has been published on the Tibet Museum’s website.
A special thanks obviously go to those special “grandparents” who personally attended the ceremony in representations of all the others interviewed. Among these: Ven. Jampa, Ven. Dorjee Tseten, Mr. Thupten, and Mr. Tsewang Chomphel, along with some of the girls who interviewed them: Penpa Lhamo, Tenzin Bhuti, and Tenzin Kyzom.
We are also profoundly grateful to all the Museum’s staff members who participated with enthusiasm and emotion in all phases, from the preparation to the conclusion, and actively contributed to the success of the initiative.
The project has been also realized with funding from the Tavola Valdese, with its own funds 8×1000.

INAUGURAL CEREMONY OF THE PROJECT "THE SPACE OF MEMORIES"

The project consists of 12 interviews conducted by female students of the Tibetan Children Village with the elders of the Jampaling Elders’ Home.
At the event attended: Mr. Penpa Tsering, Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration, Mrs. Dolma Tsering Teykhang, Vice Pres. of the CTA; Mrs. Dolma Gyari Minister Dept. of Security; Mr. Tsultrim Dorjee, Dir. of Tibetan Children’s Village, Mr. Tenzin Topdhen, Dir. of Tibet Museum; for Jampaling Elders’ Home, in the name of the Manager Mr. Namgyal Tashi, Mr. Yeshi Tenzin, Secretary of the Dept. of Home; Mr. Palden Dhondup, Secretary of the Dept. of Home; Mr. Karma Choeying, Secretary of DIIR.; and some Tibetan protagonists of the Product Video, some of the elders and some young students.
Together with Marilia Bellaterra and Federico Petrozzi, respectively Pres. and V.Pres. of the Association. The exhibition is available at the Museum until March 2023.

CREDITS