Dharamshala — The Skoll World Forum on April 14th awarded the prestigious Skoll Global Treasure award to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in recognition of his efforts to promote compassion and human values around the world.
The ceremony, organized by the Skoll foundation, was held at University of Oxford, England, and attended by some of the world's most influential social entrepreneurs and thinkers.
Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman, introduced the award, saying, "This year the forum explores the notion of fierce compassion. We had hoped to bestow our Global Treasure Award on someone who exemplifies fierce compassion like no other."
"This is a man who calls himself just a simple Buddhist monk but is in fact a world leader, a nobel laureate and an inspiration to millions, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso."
The Skoll chairman applauded His Holiness' contribution to promoting warmheartedness and embedding moral values in our economic system. Identifying His Holiness' message and wisdom as best suited and effective for social entrepreneurship, he quoted His Holiness, saying, "It is the task of a leader to create an organization with strong and warm heart and to see things as they really are."
In a personal letter to the forum, His Holiness expressed regrets for not being able to participate in the Skoll World Forum, "I have been looking forward to participating in the Skoll World Forum because I feel the vision and intent of the meeting resonate with my basic commitment to promoting human values. I am deeply committed to the promotion of human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self discipline."
"Today growing numbers of people are coming to recognize that such values are not confined just to religious practices, but also to making human life happier. Therefore if we are to create a happier, more peaceful world, it is essential that all of us are not only aware of these basic human values but also take steps individually to make them part of our lives," the letter reads.
Past recipients of Global Treasure Award are Mohamad Yunis, Archbishop Tutu, Malala Yoousafzai and Graca Machal.
The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is the premier international platform for advancing entrepreneurial approaches and solutions to the world's most pressing problems. Their mission is to accelerate the impact of the world's leading social entrepreneurs by uniting them with essential partners in a collaborative pursuit of learning, leverage and large-scale social change.
Each year, nearly 1,000 of the world’s most influential social entrepreneurs, key thought leaders and strategic partners gather at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School to exchange ideas, solutions and information.
