Heroes Elevate Empathy - A Global Collaboration for Young People

Heroes Elevate Empathy is a conversation through art and essays among young people world wide about who inspires them and why. The project was the brainchild of Khen Rinpoche Lobzang Tsetan, founder of the Siddhartha School in Stok village, and George Kozaitis, age eleven.

Powered by young people and supported by an international community of schools, social organizations, and corporate partners who believe in the power of empathy to improve our world, the goal of ‘Heroes Elevate Empathy’ is to facilitate a vital, creative conversation that elevates, inspires, and connects young people across geographic, economic, and cultural distances.
We believe that all of us, no matter our circumstances, have something to give, and that our heroes, be they mythical or historical, everyday people or famous figures, musicians or sports people, can challenge us to give more to our communities. Childhood heroes reflect a deep-rooted desire in young people to change and improve their world.

All around us, young people are hungry for such inspiration and deserve to linger on the questions: “Who are my heroes? What qualities do they have that I admire? Why are these qualities important to me?”
Till date this project has been held at Minnequa Elementary School in Pueblo, Colorado, the Lower East Side Girls Club in New York City, New York and the Siddhartha High School in Stok, Ladakh. LAMO took part in this project in June 2016, reaching out to schools in the Leh area. Those that participated included students from the Mahabodhi School, Lamdon School, Central Institute of Buddhist Studies and individual participants.

This exhibition includes the portraits made at LAMO as well as a curated selection of those made at the other project venues.

The exhibition is supported by Laura Kozaitis and the Siddhartha Cultural and Welfare Society (SCWS).