The Foundation was invited by the UN University for Peace, Costa Rica (created by UN General Assembly Resolution 35/55) to conduct a series of lectures, as part of the University’s Master’s programme in Religion, Culture and Peace Studies. These explored His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s philosophy of peace, conflict resolution, inter-faith harmony, and approaches to nurturing compassion. Future lectures and workshops will focus on methodologies from India’s civilisational heritage to facilitate internal transformation through secular practices.
Sharing a number of peace-oriented agendas, the Foundation and UPeace also formalised a partnership, signing a Memorandum of Understanding in Geneva in October 2022. Aside from the lectures and workshops, the collaboration is expected to involve a taught course on His Holiness, hosting UPeace students in India for the Gurukul and Interfaith programmes, film screenings, and a range of other transformative initiatives.
Plans to establish a fourth Dalai Lama Chair for Peace Studies at UPeace are in the works along with the Foundation’s hopes to create opportunities for engagement between its Indian university partners and UPeace students.
One such aspiration is the summer school programme, in which 40 Indian university students will participate in a three-week course at the University for Peace. This will include on-campus learning, off-campus field visits in Costa Rica as well as lectures, reflective activities, documentary screenings, and guest speaker sessions, aimed at exploring peace and conflict studies.