Perhaps the most challenging task that I have fulfilled at the University of Helsinki was hosting a seminar in August 2011 in connection with the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama. At the time I was the chairman of the Finnish Tibetan Cultural Society, and in that capacity partly responsible for organising the visit. Many public appearances were connected to the visit, but I also wanted the Dalai Lama to appear in an academic environment, as he often does in other countries. It was decided that the topic of the seminar would be conflict resolution, and in addition to the Dalai Lama, a group of international conflict resolution specialists was invited. The event was open only to a select group of around 100 academic guests.

According to the Chinese government, the Dalai Lama represents a dangerous brand of nationalism, separatism and religious backwardness. The original purpose of our seminar was to promote dialogue between Tibet and the Chinese government, but China refused to cooperate, so we were only able to hear the Tibetan perspective on the conflict between the two countries. China also reacted on a practical level by attempting through its local embassy to prevent the seminar from taking pace, but luckily the administration at the University of Helsinki, after a slight initial shock, found its courage and allowed the event to proceed. Public protests were avoided, and after the seminar China honoured me by imposing a ban on my entering the country.