To provide a vehicle for promoting Kadampa Buddhism throughout the world, in 1991 Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso founded the New Kadampa Tradition, the International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU).

It is an international association of study and meditation centers that follow the pure tradition of Mahayana Buddhism derived from the Buddhist meditators and scholars Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa and introduced into the West by the Buddhist Teacher Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

The purpose of the NKT-IKBU is to increase the Buddhist Faith throughout the world.

The New Kadampa Tradition is an entirely independent Buddhist tradition and the NKT-IKBU has no political affiliations

The NKT-IKBU is an international nonprofit organization registered in England as a charitable company.