Tibetan leaders travelled to Wagga from across the country as a new collection of books was presented to the city's library at the weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Wagga's Tibetan community was joined by leaders from near and far, including the Dalai Lama's top Australian diplomat Karma Singey, as more than 50 books were presented to the Wagga City Library on Sunday morning.
The sizeable collection of Tibetan literature ranges from children's books to history books and more, with the library now just the second in the country to contain such a collection.
![Wagga City Council library services manager Christine Bolton and chief Tibetan diplomat to Australia Karma Singey shake hands as a Tibetan collection was handed over at the weekend. Picture by Madeline Begley Wagga City Council library services manager Christine Bolton and chief Tibetan diplomat to Australia Karma Singey shake hands as a Tibetan collection was handed over at the weekend. Picture by Madeline Begley](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/172474527/3a82c52e-7407-4f58-9511-5bb385c794ac.jpg/r0_149_1200_866_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
IN OTHER NEWS
Local Tibetan community leader Jinpa Gyatso said funding for the books had been made possible thanks to the State Library of NSW.
"Language is very important for everyone. If you learn a language, it is easier to learn the culture [that goes with that]," Mr Gyatso said.
On the flip side, he said the Chinese government had sought to stop Tibetan being the spoken language back home in Tibet.
![Wagga City Council library services manager Christine Bolton and Wagga Multicultural Council's Belinda Crain (centre) welcome the new Tibetan book collection from members of the Tibetan community, including Jinpa Gyatso (left), Kalsang Tsering, Tsering Tsomo, Karma Singey, Tenzin Doring and Gurbum Gyal. Picture by Madeline Begley Wagga City Council library services manager Christine Bolton and Wagga Multicultural Council's Belinda Crain (centre) welcome the new Tibetan book collection from members of the Tibetan community, including Jinpa Gyatso (left), Kalsang Tsering, Tsering Tsomo, Karma Singey, Tenzin Doring and Gurbum Gyal. Picture by Madeline Begley](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/172474527/f4a23afa-6b8a-4a0a-a866-94838f876b51.jpg/r0_85_1600_1066_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Chinese government has been accused of undermining the Tibetan language with its policy of "bilingual education" by groups such as Human Rights Watch.
HRW said in practice this policy was leading to the gradual replacement of Tibetan with Mandarin as the language of instruction in primary schools.
Mr Gyatso hoped the collection would also help to educate the next generation of children in the local Tibetan community as they grow up.
When he moved to Wagga with his family in 2019, Mr Gyatso said there were only about four Tibetan families in the city, but this has now grown to about 13.
![Members of Australia's Tibetan community gathered to hand over a collection of Tibetan books to the Wagga Library on Sunday morning. Picture by Madeline Begley Members of Australia's Tibetan community gathered to hand over a collection of Tibetan books to the Wagga Library on Sunday morning. Picture by Madeline Begley](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/172474527/540ad6ab-0839-460a-8177-21e208d81478.jpg/r0_0_1600_900_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Over the past four years, Mr Gyatso has found the regional city a "good place to live" and said his family has received a lot of support from the local community.
"We moved here because everything is close and easy to get to," he said.
"The Wagga council, Multicultural Council, library and the Red Cross have all been very kind to us with their ongoing support."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters