Committee

Role of the Organizing Committee

The committee is dedicated to organizing the Long Life Offering (Tenshug) and a Youth Festival that serves as a platform to connect youth, preserve our culture, foster respect within our community and show our respect and appreciation for His Holiness and his work for Tibetans and the greater humanity.

The committee members will also lead sub-committees to manage and action tasks to ensure a successful event. Throughout all planning and activities, the organizing committee will adhere to the mission and core values of the Tenshug.

Organizational structure

To achieve the mission of the Youth Tenshug, the Organizing team will be structured as
follows:

• President: The President will lead the Tenshug Organising Team, serving as the primary owner and facilitator.
• Project Manager: The Project Manager will manage the Organising Team’s activities, ensuring smooth operation and coordination, along with managing the meetings.
• Committee Members: The Organising Team will include nine members who are diverse youth leaders and professionals from various regions around the world. Each committee member will chair/co-chair their respective committee.
• Sub-Committee Members: 2 members of the committee will lead their respective sub-committees in the work required to fulfil the needs of the events.

Meet the committee

Dawa Choezom (40), President
Chartered Accountant, KPMG – (Chennai, India)
Dawa is a Chartered Accountant with 12 years of experience in audits. She currently works as an Associate Director at BSR & Co. LLP, Chennai (KPMG). Previously, she worked for two years at KPMG Global Solutions Group – Audit (KGSG) in Berlin, Germany.

Chemi Lhamo (28)
Activist and Campaigns Director, Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) – (Canadian, based in
New York, United States)
Chemi is a Tibetan-Canadian human rights activist and a community organiser. Chemi’s advocacy and leadership led her to be awarded the 2020 Tibetan Youth Icon Award and in the Top 50 Power list of Canada 2022. Chemi continues to serve on boards, councils and committees, and is currently the Campaign Director at SFT.

Pema Doma (30)
Executive Director, Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) – (New York, United States)
Pema is a Tibetan-Nepali Human Rights and Climate Activist, currently serving as the Executive Director of SFT since 2022. Pema has represented Tibet on a global stage at COP26 and COP27, as well as speaking at side events within the United Nations Human Rights Council. Pema holds a degree in Economics and Certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies from American University, where she founded the SFT chapter in 2017.

Tenzin Sangmo
Journalist and Researcher, International Campaign for Tibet and AP news – (Dharamsala,
India)
Sangmo is an independent journalist and a research consultant for the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT). Sangmo is from the Tibetan settlement in Ladakh and attended TCV schools before pursuing higher education in journalism. Sangmo holds a bachelor’s degree in Media Technologies from St. Anthony’s College, Shillong and an M.Sc. in Journalism from Columbia University, NY as a recipient of the Tibetan Scholarship Program.

Arya Siddartha Amipa (30)
Co-president, Tibetan Youth Association in Europe (TYAE) – (Zurich, Switzerland)
Arya graduated from the University of Zurich with a master’s degree in law and is currently working as a legal consultant while also pursuing further education in the legal field. Arya is the co-president of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe (TYAE), which has been a major hub for Tibetan activists in Europe since 1970.

Sonam Choedon (41)
Assistant Director, Australian Government Department – (Canberra, Australia)
Choedon is a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) and works for an Australian Government department. She currently sits on the Board of both the Tibet Information Office and the Tibet Cultural Centre in Australia. She previously served as the President of the Canberra Tibetan Community, Australia.

Yangkyi Tenzin (36)
Assistant Director, Australian Capital Territory Government – (Canberra, Australia)
Yangkyi studied Industrial Design and is currently a digital professional leading digital engagement and project delivery within the ACT Government. She also served as a committee member of the Canberra Tibetan Community.

Palmo Tenzin (35)
Senior Researcher and Advocacy Officer, International Campaign for Tibet, Germany –
(Berlin, Germany)
Palmo Tenzin is an experienced researcher and policy officer specialising in Chinese politics and contemporary Tibet. At International Campaign for Tibet, she conducts in-depth research and advocates for Tibet at United Nations agencies. Palmo has also held positions in the Australian Government, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and the Canberra Tibetan Community Committee.

Urgyen Badheytsang (38)
Creative Director, Zeko Designs and Entrepreneur – (Toronto, Canada)
Urgyen Badheytsang is a Kathmandu-born Tibetan Creative Director based in Toronto, Canada, having graduated with a Bachelors in Visual Communications Design at OCAD University in Toronto. Urgyen is a brand and UX designer by trade, however, after college, Urgyen’s passion for social justice led him to a decade-long career in global campaigns and youth leadership facilitations through organizations such as SFT. Urgyen heads Zeko Designs in Canada, which sells handmade products such as rugs woven by persons with disabilities at ‘Karuna’, a Universally Accessible Weaving Centre he founded in Kathmandu in 2023.

Tenzin Shinyi (26)
General secretary Global Tibetan Peoples Movement (GTPM) for Middle Way Approach
(MWA) – (Dharamshala, India)
Tenzin Shinyi is a new arrival from Tibet in 2017, she is currently a second year student studying PrajnaParamita in the Institute for Buddhist Dialectics after she graduated from the Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah in 2023 with BA and honors in Tibetan literature. She is also working as the general secretary of the GTPM for MWA and the Objective Owner of Monlam AI Machine Translation section. Shinyi has also worked with many other NGOs and Workshops such as FoT(Future of Tibet), TCSC (Tibetan College Students’ Conference), RTYC Sarah and Tibetan Reading Retreat 2024.

Jamyang Phunstok (38)
Writer, Artist and Physicist – (Mumbai, India)
Jamyang Phuntsok is a Tibetan writer and filmmaker. He studied screenplay writing at Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. In 2018, he co-launched a Tibetan-language podcast Khyeltam which focuses on a variety of subjects related with arts, history and politics. He’s also a founder of Wasur, a circle for Tibetan language and literature appreciation, which organised a Tibetan reading retreat with TibetWrites in 2024.

Gonpo Dhundup
President of Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) – (Dharamsala, India)
Gonpo was born in Ladhak’s Tibetan settlement. Received his schooling from the Tibetan Children’s village. Graduated from Delhi university and Jindal Global University with a postgraduate degree in 2019. He is the youngest president elected to lead the Tibetan Youth Congress, a position he continues to hold after being re-elected for a second term in 2022.

Sangdong Kyab (33)
Journalist – (Dharamshala, India)
Sangdong Kyab was born in the northeastern part of Tibet in the Amdo region. He completed his primary school in Tibet and later came to India in 2005. Since then, he studied at TCV. He graduated from Hansraj College, Delhi University, where he studied English Literature, and later pursued post-graduate studies at MIT Pune. Since 2018, he has worked for four years as a reporter and translator at Voice of Tibet. Currently, he is working as a freelancer in translation and transcription.