This is His Holiness the Dalai Lam’s first trip abroad in 2009. The visit comes as Tibetans worldwide are preparing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.His Holiness the Dalai Lama is visiting Rome at the invitation of its Mayor, Gianni Alemanno, to receive the Honorary Citizenship of Rome. The ceremony will take place on 9 February afternoon. The Rome City Council had approved by an overwhelming majority a motion in September 2008 to the conferral of Honorary Citizenship to His Holiness for “his international efforts to find a peaceful solution for Tibet and for having affirmed the principles of human rights and peaceful conflict-resolution between nations.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will then travel to Venice to receive that city’s Honorary Citizenship on 10 February. The Venice City Council unanimously approved a resolution for this purpose on 29 July 2008.
Media Control, one of Germany’s leading market-research companies as well as an interpreter in media-studies, analysis, and evaluation, will present His Holiness the Dalai Lama the Deutsche Medienpreis (the German Media Prize) on 10 February afternoon in Baden Baden. A 20-member jury consisting of Germany’s most important and influential media chief editors voted His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the 2008 Award.