Sicily: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the champion of world peace has received many awards and accolades in recognition of his contribution in promoting world peace and his message of “oneness of humanity”.
On Tuesday this week, His Holiness was awarded the honorary citizenship by the Mayors of Isola Delle Femmine and Ventimiglia di Sicilia—both of them towns in Palermo, Sicily in Italy.
He received the award with a cheerful smile, spreading the message of love and compassion to sentient beings.
Honorary Citizenship is a status bestowed by a country or a city on a foreign individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. His Holiness has been awarded the Honorary Citizenship of many countries and cities.
On September 9, 2006, he was awarded the Honorary Citizenship of Canada, making him one of only six people to be recognized with the award. In February 2009, he was awarded the Honorary Citizenship by the city of Rome and Venice, Italy. Later that year in June, he was recognized with the award by the city of Paris, France and also by the city of Warsaw, Poland in July. On 18 September 2010, he was again honored with the award by the city of Budapest, Hungary and on 24 May 2012 by the City of Huy, Belgium.
His Holiness has throughout his life aspired to spread the message of peace, love, and harmony among all sentient beings. His Holiness’ appeal is ascribed to his benign personality, the teaching of Buddhist values and one that is beyond religion and promotion of Universalist values.