In the history of Tibetans in exile, Lodi Gyari holds a special place. As the late President and Executive Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, Mr. Gyari helped build lasting support for Tibet from governments around the world. And as the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he was assigned to be the lead interlocutor in the dialogue process with the Chinese leadership to find a resolution to the Tibet-China conflict through the Middle Way Approach. Accordingly, between 2002 and 2010, he led 10 rounds of talks with Chinese representatives, including presenting the Chinese side with a written memorandum outlining the issues to be addressed concerning the Tibetan people.

Although Mr. Gyari passed away in 2018, his legacy goes on, and his book, “The Dalai Lama's Special Envoy: Memoirs of a Lifetime in Pursuit of a Reunited Tibet,” was just released by Columbia University Press. In this Tibet Talk, ICT will discuss the book with two people who knew Lodi Gyari from different perspectives: Greg Craig, the first US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, and Tenzin Tethong, the first President of ICT and a former Chairman of the Cabinet of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala.