Early in the hours of Thursday 15th October, two students from Oasis Academy Coulsdon were given the honour of getting to ask questions of peace directly to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on a live global stream titled ‘Liveable Planet Earth : Working together for a Peaceful World’. The event was in honour of the 89th Birth Anniversary of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam who was the 11th President of India between 2002-2007, and the Dalai Lama served as guessed of honour for the auspicious occasion.
The two students, Aidan Clark in Year 8 and Year 9 student Sacha Dil Devincenzi, were selected from students across the borough for their prior work on Human Rights participation, and who despite the early morning wake up call of 3am were still very eager to take part.
Students from across the globe were on the call, however, Aidan and Sacha were the only two from the UK to be selected to put forward questions to His Holiness. Before getting to the Q&A session they both had to have interviews with the organisers of the event, WHD in Partnership with APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation. The pair had to have their diction, sequencing, volume and lighting checked prior to going live with the Dalai Lama, and the organisers were so impressed with the pair that they were both selected to speak with him, making the short list of just 16 students world wide.
Speaking of the experience, Aidan said “I was so honoured to be chosen to speak to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, it was a fantastic once in a life time opportunity and I am really lucky to have been given it. I was really nervous on the call this morning, but listening to him speak was amazing. He was so insightful and my nerves were soon replaced with excitement.”
Catrin Green, Principal, commented “I am so proud of Aidan and Sacha. They were amazing ambassadors for not just the Academy, but the whole of the Croydon as they represent students from across the borough. Having the chance to listen to His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak is exciting, but having the chance to address him directly is truly amazing. I am also so grateful to our amazing team of staff, especially Ms John, for the commitment to our students in enabling this to happen.”
To watch the question and answer session of Aidan and Sacha with the Dalai Lama, click on the link below.
OAC Students Question the Dalai Lama on Peace