The Organizers

Trace Foundation
Trace Foundation was established in 1993 to support Tibetan culture while strengthening the ability of Tibetan communities to meet their own needs. The Foundation valorizes local traditions and adds value to the unique resources of individual communities. Projects supported by the Foundation integrate culture and development goals and respect environmental principles. Trace works cooperatively with local partners in order to bring about long-term social and environmental benefits, and ensure that communities are at the center of the development process. Housed within the Foundation’s headquarters in New York, Trace Foundation’s Latse Library is the premier research library dedicated to the study of Tibetan and Himalayan civilization.
 

Shang Shung Institute
The International Shang Shung Institute was founded in Italy in 1989 by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, and inaugurated in 1990 by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Its aim is to deepen the knowledge and understanding of Tibetan cultural traditions in order to ensure their survival and preservation. The International Institute currently has three main branches, located in Italy, Austria, and the USA, which work together as one to promote all initiatives.
 

Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC)
TBRC is a registered non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation, organization and dissemination of Tibetan literature. Using the latest technological solutions, and a dedicated team of scholars, engineers, librarians, and technicians, TBRC aims to make the extraordinary literature of the Tibetan people available to all.

Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Since its establishment in 1949 as the East Asian Institute, the Institute has been the center for modern and contemporary East Asia research, studies, and publication at Columbia, covering China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Mongolia (Inner Asia), Tibet, and, increasingly, the countries of Southeast Asia. In 2003, the Institute was renamed the Weatherhead East Asian Institute to honor the generosity of the Weatherhead Foundation. Through its research projects, conferences, and seminars, the Institute creates an international forum on economic, political, and security issues facing East Asia.

Columbia University’s Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures
Founded in 1902, as the Chinese Department, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALAC) at Columbia University is an international center for the research and study of East Asian civilizations. The department offers courses in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan languages, as well as classes in the arts, literature, and history of the region. The department includes more than 60 faculty members and associated scholars.