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The Netherlands is home to approximately 1,100 Tibetans, a small but well-organised community concentrated mainly around Amsterdam and The Hague. Tibetans began settling here from the 1980s onward, and today the Tibetan Community Netherland serves as the main diaspora body — guided by the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration, and dedicated to promoting unity, preserving Tibetan culture, and organising community and cultural events.
Amsterdam holds a special place in the global Tibet movement as the European headquarters of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT). Founded as a registered Dutch NGO in 1999, ICT Europe coordinates advocacy, campaigns and outreach across the continent and counts more than 50,000 supporters in the Netherlands alone. The community gathers each year for Losar, Saka Dawa, and the March 10 Tibetan National Uprising Day commemorations held in The Hague and Amsterdam.
The Maitreya Instituut is the heart of Tibetan Buddhist practice in the Netherlands. Founded in 1979, it makes Mahayana Buddhism in the Tibetan Gelug tradition accessible through teachings, meditation and retreats, with two centres — an urban centre in Amsterdam and a residential retreat centre in Loenen. Its resident Tibetan teacher, Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen, originally from Ganden Monastery in Tibet, has taught there for over 25 years. The institute is affiliated with the FPMT, the worldwide network founded by Lama Thubten Yeshe under the guidance of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
The Netherlands hosts a steady calendar of Tibetan events — from Losar and Saka Dawa observances and teachings by visiting lamas at the Maitreya Instituut, to Tibet advocacy gatherings led by ICT Europe in Amsterdam and the annual March 10 Uprising Day commemoration in The Hague.