Dr Gyal Lo Receives 2026 Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Medal of Courage
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 23 Sept: Tibetan educational sociologist and Tibet specialist Dr Gyal Lo has been awarded the 2026 Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Medal of Courage in recognition of his research and advocacy on China’s boarding-school system for Tibetan children, according to the International Tibet Network.
The award was presented at an event in Stockholm on Wednesday, organised by the Swedish Tibet Committee, at which members of the Tibetan community, Tibet supporters and Swedish parliamentarians recognised Dr Lo’s work documenting the impact of China’s residential schooling policies on Tibetan children, according to the International Tibet Network.
For several years, Dr Gyal Lo has researched and documented colonial boarding schools and preschools in occupied Tibet. His fieldwork included visits to more than 50 boarding preschools between 2017 and 2020, according to the Tibet Action Institute, where he serves as a Tibet specialist.
Dr Gyal Lo’s research has focused particularly on the effects of residential schooling on the Tibetan language, culture, family relationships and identity. In testimony before the Canadian Parliament’s Subcommittee on International Human Rights in June this year, he described his research and personal experience involving two grandnieces who were sent to a boarding preschool in 2016. He told the committee that after three months, the children had become distant from family members and communicated with each other in Mandarin rather than Tibetan.
The issue has also drawn international attention. A 2026 Human Rights Watch report documented the expansion of residential kindergartens in Tibetan areas and cited Dr Lo’s research on boarding preschools in Kanlho and Ngaba. The report said that credible estimates suggest that between 800,000 and 900,000 Tibetan children are living in primary- and secondary-level boarding schools, while noting that the precise number of children in residential kindergartens remains unknown.
The Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Medal of Courage was established by the International Tibet Network in 2016 in memory of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, the Tibetan religious leader and community figure who died in Chinese custody in July 2015 after spending more than 13 years in prison. The annual award recognises Tibetan human rights defenders for their work in advancing Tibetan rights and resisting restrictions imposed by Chinese authorities.
Previous recipients have included Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk, filmmakers Dhondup Wangchen and Golog Jigme, environmental activist A-Nya Sengdra, and the people of Dege who protested against the Kamtok hydropower project. The 2025 medal was awarded posthumously to Tulku Hungkar Dorjee.
The award comes amid growing international scrutiny of China’s residential schooling system in Tibetan areas, particularly concerns surrounding the separation of children from their families and the preservation of the Tibetan language and culture. China maintains that its education policies are aimed at improving educational access and development in Tibetan areas, while Tibetan organisations and rights groups have raised concerns about their effects on cultural and linguistic identity.
