Venerable Professor Samdhong Rinpoche or Samdhong Lobsang Tenzin was born as Samdhong Lobsang Tenzin in 1939, in the Tibetan province of Kham. At age five, he was recognized and enthroned as the reincarnation of the fourth Samdhong Rinpoche. He began his monastic studies at age 12 and eventually obtained a Doctorate in Buddhist sciences at the University of Drepung in Tibet in 1970. There, he was commissioned by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to serve as a teacher to monks in exile. He was appointed director of the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi in 1988 and remained there until 2001.

He is an eminent and distinguished scholar, teacher and philosopher, and a life-long campaigner for Gandhian principles especially that of non-violence or peaceful resistance.

Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari was born in Nyarong, Eastern Tibet, in 1949, where he received a traditional monastic education. Mr. Gyari and his family fled from Tibet to India in 1959. Realizing that Tibetans need to publicize their struggle to the world he became an editor for the Tibetan Freedom Press and founded the Tibetan Review, the first English language journal published by Tibetans in-exile.

Mr. Gyari was one of the founding members of the Tibetan Youth Congress, an organization of over 10,000 members. He served as President of the Congress in 1975. Mr. Gyari was elected to the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies, the Tibetan Parliament in exile, and subsequently became its Chairman. He then served as Deputy Cabinet Minister with responsibilities for the Council for Religious Affairs and the Department of Health. In 1988 he became Senior Cabinet Minister for the Department of Information and International Relations (Foreign Ministry.)

Currently he is the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Mr. Gyari is the lead person designated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to represent the Tibetan people. Mr. Gyari is also the Executive Chairman of the Board of the International Campaign for Tibet, an independent Washington based human rights advocacy group.