His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the “eternal optimist”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was greeted warmly in Bozen, the capital of South Tyrol September 2-11, said Claudia Wellnitz of Diamant Verlag. The main local paper referred to His Holiness as the “eternal optimist,” she said.

His Holiness was the guest of this autonomous region and was received by Dr. Durnwalder, its president. The government briefed the Tibetan leader about the unique autonomy status of this Italian region, where German is one of the official languages, and discussed future co-operation with the Tibetan government-in-exile.

At his talk in Bozen, His Holiness very clearly stated that he wanted to preserve the culture of Tibet, which he felt was valuable to the entire world; he wasn’t just being nationalistic, Claudia said. More than 1000 people were unable to get into the packed hall. The government gave a generous donation of funds to the local Tibet support group, said Claudia.

The Dalai Lama then visited Trieste and Gorizia regions of Italy. He last visited Italy in May last year.