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 China in 1959. 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.

Another important aspect of the concert was the strong connection to the local
indigenous culture of Alaska, with the extraordinary participation of the Inuit band Pamyua and the very exciting presence of the MC Shyanne Beatty, on-air radio star at Earthsongs and Native Voice One.

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.

Thanks to all the talented performers, 1,200 people enjoyed the concert that lasted for
an unexpected three and one-half hours. At the end we had a standing ovation.