Losang Rabgey | The Explorers Club 50

Losang with students Author: Tashi Rabgey

Anthropologist

Tibetan Trailblazers: Sisters Shaping a Global Future

meet losang

Born in a Tibetan refugee settlement in India and raised in Canada, Dr. Rabgey holds a Ph.D. from the University of London as the first Tibetan with a graduate degree in feminist anthropology. With her sister Dr. Tashi Rabgey, she co-founded Machik, a nonprofit group with a mission to grow a global community of care for a stronger future for Tibet. In the last 20+ years, Machik has supported education for thousands of rural students and youth in Tibet and in the diaspora. Gender equity has always been a key focus of Machik.

Nominated by: Rebecca Martin FN'02

Class of 2021 Location Washington DC, USA

Follow losang's work:

Losang with pica in Tadmo, Tibet Author: Jigme Duntak

My work with Machik pushes the boundaries of exploration. Traditionally, and for a long time, the notion of explorers did not include groups such as Tibetan women. My sister, Dr. Tashi Rabgey, was born in a refugee settlement. We grew up among the working class in a small town in Canada. Tashi became the first Tibetan Rhodes Scholar, and I became the first Tibetan to be awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship. We are focused on exploring how to build understanding and empathy into human interactions in an increasingly interrelated and complex world.

Losang at Tso Ngonpo, Amdo Author: Khashem Gyal

“In Tibet, we have had the privilege of meeting incredible change makers who demonstrate what is possible. These conservationists, feminists, educators, and public health specialists inspire us to work for change and long-term social justice.”

- Losang Rabgey

Losang with Dzachuka hat in Dartsedo, Tibet

Our work has created many new encounters among disparate communities that grow deeper understanding and trust. The journey began when our parents dedicated my father’s retirement savings to build the first Tibetan-language primary school in his native village in Tibet. We have now grown this work to support education for over 4000 young people inside and outside of Tibet. In Tibet, we have had the privilege of meeting incredible change makers who demonstrate what is possible. These conservationists, feminists, educators, and public health specialists inspire us to work for change and long-term social justice. It is truly meaningful to create programs that convene people from very different cultural, linguistic, geographic, and perspectival backgrounds to listen deeply and to engage with empathy in order to transform our communities and the world we all share.

I believe that now, more than ever, we need to strengthen our collective capacities to encourage this kind of empathy.

Get the EC50 print publication