Globi visits Tibet – book launch “Globi and the Yaks” at the Rietberg Museum Zurich

Representative Thinlay Chukki praises the book's publishers and authors during the launch event.

08. March 2023:

The popular Swiss cartoon character Globi visits Tibet in the latest edition of the book entitled Globi and the Yaks, which was officially launched on March 8, 2023 at the Museum Rietberg in Zurich.

The representative Thinlay Chukki from the Geneva Tibet Bureau, Thomas Büchli, President of the Swiss-Tibetan Friendship Society GSTF, Gisela Klinkenberg from Globi Verlag, and the authors Dani Frick and Boni Koller were present at the launch.

Globi, a character popular in German-speaking Switzerland, was created by Swiss cartoonist Robert Lips for an advertisement in 1932 and was published in 1935 in the form of a picture book entitled "Globi ́s Weltreise". Since then Globi has made various adventurous journeys around the world and met several celebrities including Roger Federer in the previous editions. The Globi, which has sold more than 9 million books to date, belongs to Orell Füssli Verlag.

In the latest issue, Globi embarks on an arduous journey through the Himalayas and Tibet in search of a medicinal herb for a sick baby yak named "Tashi" whom he met in the Swiss Alps.

With his new Tibetan girlfriend Tenzin and the Lhasa apso Tibi, Globi embarks on this adventurous journey and encounters snow lions, garudas and yetis along the way. Finally, at Tenzin's request, Globi even visits Dharamshala and meets His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The book has beautiful illustrations of snowy mountains in Tibet, nomads, monks and monasteries, mandalas and prayer flags.

At the book launch, Thomas Büchli thanked the Globi publishers, the authors and the members of the Swiss-Tibetan Friendship Society for making his dream of bringing Globi to Tibet a reality. He hopes the book will be translated into Tibetan by the Education Department of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Referring to the combined efforts and dedication of Thomas Büchli and his team of GSTF members for over two years, Representative Thinlay Chukki thanked the editors and authors of the book. She quoted His Holiness the Dalai Lama that in this world many resources are devoted to developing the mind while it is more important to open the heart.

"Globi among the yaks ́ represents the importance of compassion, kindness, peace, love and friendship in these difficult times. We hope that the Swiss children will learn about Tibetan culture, values ​​and way of life through this book. This book will hopefully pave the way to fostering the wonderful friendship between Swiss and Tibetans that dates back to the 1960s when Switzerland welcomed Tibetan refugees with open arms into their homes and hearts.”

The representative expressed her full support for the proposal to translate the Globi book into Tibetan, noting: "If Swiss children learn about Tibetan culture and traditions, Tibetan children will also be able to learn about Switzerland and Globi."

- Report of the Tibet Bureau Geneva

You can find the original English article here.