Tsai Lecture Series

 

The Tsai Lecture Series, established in 2000 with a generous endowment from Felix Tsai, allows the Asia Center to bring to Harvard notable leaders in academia, government, and business, as well as other professions.  The annual lecture is open to the public, and it offers perspectives from a range of disciplines and from different regions in Asia. Past speakers have included the late Surin Pitsuwan, former Secretary-General of ASEAN; Pritzker Prize-winning architect and humanitarian, Shigeru Ban; internationally renowned human rights lawyer and advocate, Asma Jahangir and the Honorable Caroline Kennedy. The Honorable Kathleen Stephens delivered the 15th Tsai Lecture in November 2019.

 

PAST LECTURES

16th Tsai Lecture

   16th Tsai Lecture
The Future of the Philippines in a Post-Duterte Era
The Maria Ressa
CEO of Rappler, Journalist, Author, Freedom Advocate, and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
15th Tsai Lecture  

15th Tsai Lecture
The U.S. and Korea: Unfinished Story 
The Honorable Kathleen Stephens
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, 2008-2011; President and CEO, Korea Economics Institute of America (KEI)  

 

 

14th Tsai Lecture: The Honorable Caroline Kennedy

   14th Tsai Lecture
Reflections on My Time as Ambassador
The Honorable Caroline Kennedy
Attorney, Author/Editor; Former United States Ambassador to Japan (2013-2017); Former Vice Chairwoman, Fund for Public Schools
13th Tsai Lecture – Kevin Rudd
 		          

13th Tsai Lecture
China's Worldview Under Xi Jinping
The Honorable Kevin Rudd
President, Asia Society Policy Institute; former Prime Minister of Australia (2007-2010, 2013) and former Foreign Minister (2010-2012)

 

 

 

 
     

12th Tsai Lecture – Surin Pitsuwan

  

12th Tsai Lecture
ASEAN@50: Past Accomplishments and Future Opportunities
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan
Former Secretary-General, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations); Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand

 

 

 
     
11th Tsai Lecture – Shigeru Ban  

11th Tsai Lecture
Works and Humanitarian Activities
Shigeru Ban
Shigeru Ban Architects, Tokyo, Japan; 2014 Winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize

 

 

 

 
     
10th Tsai Lecture – Asma Jahangir  

10th Tsai Lecture
Pakistan: From Crisis to Crisis
Asma Jahangir
Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan; Partner, AGHS Law Associates; former President, Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan; former Chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

 

 

 
     
9th Tsai Lecture – Prasenjit Duara  

9th Tsai Lecture
Network Asia: Globalization and Regional Studies
Professor Prasenjit Duara
Raffles Professor of Humanities and Director, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

 

 

 

 
     
8th Tsai Lecture – Dr. Jim Yong Kim  

8th Tsai Lecture
The World Bank Group in Asia
Dr. Jim Yong Kim
President, The World Bank Group; former President, Dartmouth College

 

 

 

 
     
7th Tsai Lecture – George Yeo  

7th Tsai Lecture
Changing Tides: Re-Emergence of China and India on the Global Stage
George Yeo
Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore; Vice-Chairman, Kerry Group, Hong Kong; Visiting Scholar, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

 

 

 
     
6th Tsai Lecture – Montek Singh Ahluwalia  

6th Tsai Lecture
India's Growth Prospects: The Challenge of Realizing Potential
Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India; Previously first Director, Independent Evaluation Office, International Monetary Fund

 

 

 
     
5th Tsai Lecture – Dr. Sadako Ogata  

5th Tsai Lecture
Between Conflict Prevention and Building Peace: Evaluating International Responses
Dr. Sadako Ogata
President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

 

 

 
     
4th Tsai Lecture – Amitav Ghosh  

4th Tsai Lecture
Sea of Poppies: The Literary and Archival Lineages of a Historical Novel
Amitav Ghosh
Author of Sea of Poppies, The Hungry Tide, The Glass Palace, The Shadow Lines, and In An Antique Land, among others

 

 

 
     
3rd Tsai Lecture – J. Stapleton Roy  

3rd Tsai Lecture
Asian Priorities for a New U.S. Administration
J. Stapleton Roy
Former Ambassador to Singapore, the People's Republic of China, and Indonesia, and Managing Director of Kissinger Associates, Inc.

 

 

 
     
2nd Tsai Lecture – Dr. Hafid Abbas  

2nd Tsai Lecture
Reflections on the Acehnese Peace Process
Dr. Hafid Abbas
Director for Research, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Republic of Indonesia, and Former Director General for Human Rights Protection, Republic of Indonesia

 

 

 
     
1st Tsai Lecture – Wang Gungwu  

1st Tsai Lecture
Tianxia & Empire: External Chinese Perspectives
Wang Gungwu
Director of the East Asian Institute and Faculty Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore; Chairman of the Boards of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore; Emeritus Professor, the Australian National University, Canberra

 

 

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