Lhadon Tethong | |
|---|---|
 Lhadon Tethong in 2011, speaking at a SFTUK Environment conference | |
| Born | 1976 |
| Alma mater | University of King's College |
Lhadon Tethong (born 1976) is a Tibetan-Canadian political activist, co-founder and director of Tibet Action Institute, and former executive director of Students for a Free Tibet.[1]
Tethong was born in 1976 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to Judy Tethong, a Canadian aid worker, and Tsewang Choegyal Tethong, who ran a refugee camp in southern India and worked for the Central Tibetan Administration.[2][3] She is a graduate of the University of King's College, where she founded the first chapter of Students for a Free Tibet after being encouraged by the size of the crowd at the first Tibetan Freedom Concert.[3][4][5]
Tethong first became a public spokesperson on Tibetan independence when she gave a speech at the 1998 Tibetan Freedom Concert.[6] She started working for Students for a Free Tibet in 1999, moving to New York to do so, and became an executive director four years later in 2003.[2][7]
Tethong was detained in China in 2007 after protesting against Chinese rule of Tibet while in Beijing. She had kept a blog, posting writing, videos, and photos detailing the country's preparation for the 2008 Olympics, and garnered the attention of security officials, who arrested her after intense monitoring.[2][7] She was released and deported to Canada less than two days after her detainment.[4]
Tethong founded Tibet Action Institute in 2009, aiming to strengthen the Tibetan independence movement through the use of digital communication to bolster strategic nonviolent activism.[1] In 2011, she was awarded the first annual James Lawson Award for Nonviolent Achievement by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.[6][8]