On August 8, 2008, the eyes of the world will be on China when the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics take place. it also offers the Tibet movement one of the most powerful opportunities we have ever had to tell the truth about the situation in Tibet and to press for real change.

From now to August 2008, the Tibet movement can use the global interest in the Beijing Games to focus attention on the realities of occupied Tibet today and build pressure on the Chinese leadership. With this in mind, the 5th International Tibet Support Groups (TSG) Conference held in Brussels this May and attended by 315 representatives of Tibet groups, including Tibetan Associations, from 56 countries and six continents, determined that the Olympics would be the priority campaign for the global Tibet movement. The conference further resolved "to use the opportunity of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to launch a major campaign that puts Tibet firmly into mass global awareness' under the over-arching concept of 'Team Tibet'".

What is "Team Tibet"?

The goal of the Team Tibet campaign is to use the 2008 Games as a platform for the Tibet movement to create unprecedented pressure on the Chinese government to engage the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile to resolve the occupation of Tibet, fundamentally changing the political and human rights conditions in Tibet. The campaign will be implemented by Tibetan NGOs and Tibet Support Groups globally and co-ordinated by the International Tibet Support Network (ITSN).

Team Tibet is designed to serve as a gateway to reach out, in our efforts for Tibet, beyond our immediate circle of political supporters and activists to a wider global audience who may not necessarily be receptive to an overtly political campaign. This wider global audience will include former and current Olympic athletes, other sportspeople, celebrities, and the general public.

It is for this very important reason that we are not calling for a boycott of the Games. While many organisations opposed the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award the Games to Beijing in the first place, we believe that our greatest opportunity now is to use the global attention surrounding the Olympics to press China to resolve the occupation. With the eyes of the world focused on Beijing, the Chinese government is more sensitive than ever before. If there are any athletes that have doubts, on either ethical or political grounds, about whether they should participate in the Beijing Olympics, our advice to them is: Go to Beijing but voice your concerns for Tibet and those who advocate human rights and democracy in China.

The campaign does seek to engage people with a positive message and to use the spotlight of the Olympics as a catalyst for change. We want to see events and media reports about Tibet all over the world in relation to the Beijing Olympics.

How can you participate in this Campaign?

One element of Team Tibet is an actual team of Tibetan athletes who want to represent Tibet at the 2008 Games; they dream of flying the Tibetan flag alongside other nations as they walk into the Beijing Olympic stadium on August 8, 2008. We ask all Tibetans and Tibet Support Groups to recruit and enlist Tibetan athletes to join Team Tibet. These athletes should be seriously committed to their sport, and they will need to provide us with basic personal information, a photo, and to make a short statement about why they wish to join the team. The statements and photos will be published on www.SupportTeamTibet.org. You can see the Tibetan athletes that have already signed up as members by visiting the Team Tibet website.

Names of further Tibetan athletes that have agreed to become members of this team, including the members of the Tibetan National Football Team, will be added to the website soon. The Team Tibet campaign is supported and fully endorsed by the Tibetan National Sports Association based in Dharamsala, India.

In addition to the Tibetan athletes, Team Tibet is also made up of honorary members, individuals everywhere, including celebrities, who support the aims of the Team Tibet campaign. By joining Team Tibet as supporters, these people will help symbolically to "Bring Tibet to the 2008 Games". Team Tibet is, therefore, a movement of people, both Tibetans and supporters, from around the world calling on the Chinese government, in the spirit of the Olympic Games, to engage in meaningful efforts to resolve the issue of Tibet.

We urge you all to become involved in this campaign as either a member of Team Tibet, if you are a Tibetan athlete, or as honorary members of Team Tibet by visiting the 'Supporter' section of the website and adding your name alongside those that have already joined.

Keeping yourself updated about this campaign

A key upcoming date for this campaign is the one-year countdown to the start of the Beijing Games. A global "Day of Action" will be held on August 8, 2007 to mark this countdown by Tibet groups worldwide. You can participate by contacting the Tibet group nearest to you. As well, some groups are holding events on August 4th to build momentum and awareness for the 8th. Tibetans NGOs in India are planning a year-long campaign in support of Team Tibet in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There will be a mass "PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT" in Delhi on August 4th, 2007, organised by four organisations: Tibetan Women's Association, GuChuSum Movement, National Democratic Party of Tibet, and Students for a Free Tibet (India Chapter). Indian TSGs will also be approached to support this campaign. We anticipate mass participation from Tibetans and Indian supporters to make this a huge success.

Further information on the campaign will be made available on the Team Tibet website or, contact Freya Putt, ITSN Olympics Campaign Co-coordinator at olympics@tibetnetwork.org