With the advent of global IT boom, especially the Internet, as a medium for mass, instant transmission of information, the Tibetan Diaspora has managed to create a cohesive, virtual community in the domain of cyberspace, where distance is never a factor for enhanced connectivity.

Scattered as they are across the globe, the challenges before the Tibetan exiles in remaining cohesive and organized is bound for a major boost with the opening of a web TV station--a landmark, pioneering initiative of the Central Tibetan Administration, slated for launch on Thursday, 3 August 2006, by Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, at a official ceremony here.

"This online TV could well become a rallying point for Tibetans worldwide," Kalon Lobsang Nyandak Zayul said, adding that "distance often uproots people from their social and cultural moorings. The Tibetan exiles will therefore hail any such initiatives that will keep their community connected and close-knit."

However, the benefit of this web TV--which will devote a bulk of its coverage on the accomplishments and teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, on both domestic and international arenas--may not reach the Tibetans inside Tibet, given China’s increasing success in censoring Internet, as it does all other mediums of communication.

"In the light of changing social patterns, particularly the young, increasingly relying on the Internet for news and information, the web TV will go a long way in getting across the policies and works of the Central Tibetan Administration, realizing thereby one of the cardinal objectives of the Kashag: transparency," Kalon Zayul said.

The TibetOnline.tv will also feature an archive of the best of documentary films on Tibet. As the online TV station establishes itself in the web of exile media, should everything went to plan, the frequency of news videos will be increased from the initial monthly to fortnightly, to weekly, to daily.

As part of a drill before its actual opening, the web TV (along with the audio-visual) section of the Department of Information and International Relations of the CTA has already gone through (besides on local cable) the live webcasting of numerous events, ranging from the grand, elaborate ceremonies of long-life offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the daily proceedings at the various sessions of the Assembly of the Tibetan People’s Deputies.

For more, visit www.tibetonline.tv

(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration.)

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