Note: The Local Philadelpia ABC Channel (http://6abc.com/live/) will re-air the entire ceremony on Sunday, November 1st at 1:00pm (Eastern Standard Time).
October 27, 2015: The National Constitution Center awarded His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet the 2015 Liberty Medal on October 26, on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. His Holiness had to cancel his trip to the United States due to health reasons. Richard Gere introduced His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Mind and Life Institute, represented by Dr. Thupten Jinpa, Dr. Richie Davidson, and Carolyn Jacobs accepted the award on behalf of His Holiness. President George W. Bush sent a video message congratulating His Holiness. Mayor Michael Nutter spoke and represented the city of Philadelphia. Kaydor Aukatsang, the Representative of the Dalai Lama to North America, was also in attendance.
In announcing the award, National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen cited the Tibetan spiritual leader’s work in emphasizing “the ideals of freedom, dialogue, and tolerance.”
His Holiness thanked the the Constitution Center for recognizing his effort and “my little service to humanity” through a video message and reiterated his core commitment to the promotion of human values including freedom and liberty.
The medal comes with a $100,000 prize, which His Holiness donated to the Mind and Life Institute, a Massachusetts nonprofit organization that aims to build scientific understanding of the mind as a way to reduce suffering and promote human potential.
Tibetan children from the Tibetan Association of Philadelphia sang at the opening of the award ceremony and Tibetan community leaders and members from Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey, Washington DC and other neighboring areas also attended the event.
The Liberty Medal, established in 1988, annually honors men and women of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe. Established in 1988 to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, the Liberty Medal is awarded annually to men and women of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe. Other past Liberty Medal recipients include Nelson Mandela, Shimon Peres, Kofi Annan, Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, Mikhail Gorbachev and Vaclav Havel.
