Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

Origin

The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) is a worldwide Organisation of Tibetans united in our common struggle for the restoration of complete independence for the whole of Tibet, which includes the tradition three provinces of U-Tsang, Do-toe, and Do-med. An independent Organisation, with a written constitution and its own plans and programmes, TYC has emerged as the largest and most active non-governmental Organisation of Tibetans in exile. It has more than 30,000 members worldwide.

TYC does not subscribe to any particular political ideology nor to any particular religion or religious” sect. Being a national movement, activities of TYC is not restricted just to its members, but. also receive the active support of all Tibetans – young and old, men and women, monks and lay, Furthermore, TYC commands a targe following inside Tibet. TYC was founded on October 7, 1970 in Dharamsala with His Holiness the Dalai Lama delivering the inaugural address. The founding of TYC in 1970 came at a time when the first group of young Tibetans who had received a balanced modern and traditional education were graduating from schools and colleges. This strengthened the Tibetan people’s struggle for independence and ensured its continuity.

The founding members of TYC were: Tenzin Geyche Tethong, Lodi G. Gyari, Sonam Topgyal and Tenzin N. Tethong. Tenzin Geyche Tethong was the first President.

From its very inception TYC emerged as an active force with clear aims and objectives. It also served as a catalyst to bring out certain reforms and changes within the Tibetan community so as to enhance the development of truly democratic society. TYC therefore, sees itself as an instrument

Aims and Objectives

Members of TYC accept to perform the following tasks

ORGANIZATION

TYC also organises cultural exhibitions and festivals to create awareness among the people of the world of Tibet’s culture. Social & Educational: TYC engages in a wide variety of activities aimed at helping those in need and alleviating some of the most urgent social and educational problems. These range from organisms broom squads to building public toilets, conducting health education programmes to blood donation, holding adult education classes to starting schools and planting trees.

Regional Branches

TYC has 78 regional branches in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Norway, Canada, France, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, USA and the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe (Switzerland) is affiliated to TYC. Every regional branch has 5-10 Regional Working Committee members elected by the grass-root members, who supervise and lead the activities of the respective branches. The regional branches, besides initiating their own plan of activities, undertake the recruitment of the members and also implement the resolutions of the Annual Working Committee Meeting. All the presidents and general secretaries of the regional branches and the members of the Central Executive Committee attend the meeting. The Central Executive Committee supervises the activities of the regional branches.

Central Executive Committee

The Central Executive Committee (CENTREX) is the highest office of TYC. The General Body Meeting (GBM) elects the members of the Centrex for the term of three years. The GBM held every three years, is the highest policy making body of the Tibetan Youth Congress. It alone is empowered to amend the Constitution of the Tibetan Youth Congress. CENTREX supervises the entire functioning of TYC, provides guidance to the Regional Working Committee; represents TYC in all national and international forums.