MEDIA ALERT: Dr Tenzin Desal to address the Australian Institute of International Affairs, ACT Branch

Hear from visiting Senior Research Fellow and Research Coordinator of the India-based Tibet Policy Institute, Dr Tenzin Desal, on the geopolitical and environmental significance of Tibet during his Australian visit from 14-18 September 2026.

Despite the emergence of China as a global power, it continues to view the Tibet issue as non-negotiable. It presents the Tibet-China conflict as one of its core concerns, thereby tying it to national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and even the survival of the communist regime’s grip on power. Since the 19th Party Congress, China’s unrelenting measures to tighten its grip over Tibet have been visible in both public pronouncements and policy decisions. It has since rolled out measures that seek to assert Party rule over every sphere of the social and cultural life of the Tibetan people.

In the last decade, China has systematically enrolled two-thirds of Tibetan children in state-run boarding schools, which operate on a model strikingly similar to colonial schools in settler-colonial history. The region is also on the frontline of global climate change. IPCC reports have forewarned of the accelerated impact of global climate change on Tibet and adjacent Himalayan regions. In the wake of these entangled issues, Tibet presents a unique ecological, geopolitical, and—more pertinently—a defining moral challenge to the international community.

EVENT INFORMATION

Roof of the World: The Geopolitical and Environmental Significance of Tibet

📅 Wednesday 16 September
Australian Institute of International Affairs, Canberra
ACT Branch (Hybrid event)
Hosted by Dr Claude Rakisits, President AIIA ACT
⏰ 7:00-8:00pm AEST

Register at: https://tinyurl.com/2sbvkpad

During his visit, Dr Tenzin Desal will also speak at the United States Studies Centre on the topic:
Tibet at the Epicentre: Geopolitics, Religion and Climate Security on Monday 14 September (Registration essential) here.

Visit organised by Office of Tibet, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

Bio Dr. Tenzin Desal
Dr Tenzin Desal is a Senior Research Fellow and Research Coordinator at the Tibet Policy Institute, Dharamsala, and editor of the Tibet Policy Journal. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Mysore. His research focuses on development in Tibet and China’s ethnic policy, with broader interests in ethnic relations, cartography, and Tibetan history. His writings examine China’s policies in Tibet, religious freedom, ethnic unity, infrastructure development, and the environmental and geopolitical implications of these policies.

About Tibet Policy Institute
The Tibet Policy Institute is a research center of the Central Tibetan Administration, located in the pristine hill of Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India. It was formally inaugurated by Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of Tibetan people on 15 February 2012. The TPI strives to serve as an intellectual hub for Tibetan scholars across the globe and to become an internationally acclaimed platform for Tibetan scholars to articulate their argument on the issues concerning Tibet that will shape the perception of the international community and the policies of the various governments regarding Tibet and the Tibetan people. The TPI also serves as a think tank to help the Kashag of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to identify potential prospects and problems for Tibet and the Tibetan people and offer possible solutions for the Kashag to make optimum use of the potential prospects or to effectively meet the potential challenges.

For more information about the visit of Dr Tenzin Desal contact

Representative Karma Singey
Office of Tibet, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia
ACT, Canberra
0426 642 175
rep.au@tibet.net

📷 Featured: Free Tibet (Larung Gar)/Tibet Policy Institute