The Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) today announced that this year seven individuals from Bangladesh, China, Japan, and the Philippines will receive Asia’s premier prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award. The Awardees are:
Tadatoshi Akiba, from Japan. He is being recognized for “his principled and determined leadership in a sustained global campaign to mobilize citizens, pressure governments, and build the political will to create a world free from the perils of nuclear war.”
Christopher Bernido and Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido, from the Philippines. They are being recognized for “their purposeful commitment to both science and nation, ensuring innovative, low-cost, and effective basic education even under Philippine conditions of great scarcity and daunting poverty.”
Huo Daishan, from China. He is being recognized for “his selfless and unrelenting efforts, despite formidable odds, to save China’s great river Huai and the numerous communities who draw life from it.”
A.H.M. Noman Khan, from Bangladesh. He is being recognized for “his pioneering leadership in mainstreaming persons with disabilities in the development process of Bangladesh, and in working vigorously with all sectors to build a society that is truly inclusive and barrier-free.”
Pan Yue and Fu Qiping, from China. They are being recognized for “their exemplary vision and zeal, as public servants at two levels of the state bureaucracy, in advocating the inseparability of development and the environment in uplifting the lives of the Chinese people.” Specifically, Pan Yue is being cited for “his bold pursuit of a national environmental program, insisting on state and private accountability, encouraging state-citizen dialogue, and raising the environment as an issue of urgent national concern.” Fu Qiping is being cited in particular for “his enterprising leadership and undeniable success in demonstrating how village-level economic development can be achieved without damage to the environment.”
Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honor and is widely regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine President, and is given every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same sense of selfless service that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.
“The Magsaysay awardees of 2010,” says RMAF President Carmencita T. Abella, “are seven remarkable individuals deeply engaged in reinventing the future for a better Asia, tapping into and strengthening the power of community. Working on critical issues that impact not only their respective countries, but indeed, all of Asia, they are showing how commitment, competence, and collaborative leadership can truly transform individual lives and galvanize community action.”
“Their concerns are clearly quite diverse – nuclear disarmament, basic education, river pollution, disability in development, environmental protection, village prosperity. But there is one thing this year’s Magsaysay laureates share: a greatness of spirit which infuses their leadership for change. They all build collaboration and seek consensus wherever possible. They all refuse to give up, despite adversity and opposition.”
“Three of the awardees share a passionate concern for the environment, which the Foundation continues to give special attention to at this time.”
The seven 2010 Magsaysay awardees join 277 other laureates who have received Asia’s highest honor to date. This year’s Magsaysay Award winners will each receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late President, and a cash prize. They will be formally conferred the Magsaysay Award during the Presentation Ceremonies to be held on 31 August 2010 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, to which the public is cordially invited.
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