This event was presented by members of the Anchorage, Alaska community. 

We thank all the performers and people involved for their collaboration,
as well as the 25 volunteers for their invaluable help.

The purpose of the event, and this website, is to raise awareness about the situation in Tibet, 
where Tibetans lack freedom and basic human rights. Under these conditions, the people
of Tibet are struggling to keep their culture alive and to live a dignified life.
Tibet was invaded by Communist China in 1959. Tibet had never been part of China
before that date. Since then, a cultural genocide of the Tibetan people has been
taking place, and continues to this very day.
Tibetans living in Tibet must be careful about how they express themselves because
they risk terrible atrocities like the ones suffered by Ngawang Sangdrol, who talked about her experiences at our event. She was imprisoned in Tibet when she was just thirteen years old,
and then again from the age of fifteen to twenty-six for peaceful forms of protest.
There is no freedom of speech in Tibet.

At the event a large number of people signed a petition asking for the release of Dhondup
Wangchen, a Tibetan imprisoned in Tibet in March 2008. He is still in prison today for interviewing Tibetans in a documentary about the 2008 Olympics.

You may find extracts of the documentary at:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8048230761996582635
Please join in signing the petition to release Dhondup Wangchen.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/tibetanfilmakers
For more information on how to help Dhondup Wangchen:
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=1674

The event was a completely money-free event (free tickets, free water and snacks,
no merchandise sold and no donations requested.) We wanted to make a point that money
can be put aside for one evening and we can just come together to communicate,
inform, learn, and support each other.

Another important aspect of the concert was the strong connection to the local indigenous culture, through the participation of numerous Alaskan indigenous performers.

Informative material about international associations supporting Tibet was distributed to the audience in the hope that people would join and be committed in helping Tibet.

Thanks to all the talented performers, 1500 people enjoyed the concert that lasted for
an unexpected three and one-half hours. At the end we had a standing ovation.