Ramon Magsaysay Award
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In April 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award was established by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) based in New York City. With the concurrence of the Philippine government, the prize was created to commemorate the late president of the Philippines and to perpetuate his example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.
In May 1957, seven prominent Filipinos were named the founding board of trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF), the non-profit corporation tasked with implementing the awards program.
The RMAF recognizes and honors individuals and organizations in Asia regardless of race, creed, sex, or nationality, who have achieved distinction in their respective fields and have helped others generously without anticipating public recognition. The awards are given in five categories: government service; public service; community leadership; journalism, literature, and creative communication arts; peace and international understanding.
In the 2000 Magsaysay Awards Presentation Ceremonies, the Foundation announced the creation of a sixth Award category, Emergent Leadership. This new Award category was established with the support of a grant from the Ford Foundation. The Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership honors “individuals, forty years of age and below, doing outstanding work on issues of social change in their communities, but whose leadership is not yet broadly recognized outside of these communities.” An Award in this category was given for the first time in 2001.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered as Asia's Nobel Peace Prize.
The 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees
- Haydee Yorac (Philippines) for Government Service. (Restoring Faith in Public Governance)
- Dr. Jiang Yanyong (China) for Public Service. (Confronting the Truth to Save Lives)
- Prayong Ronnarong (Thailand) for Community Leadership. (Modeling the Way to Rural Prosperity)
- Abdullah Abu Sayeed (Bangladesh) for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. (Nurturing Enlightened Citizens)
- Laxminarayan Ramdas (India) & Ibn Abdur Rehman (Pakistan) for Peace and International Understanding. (Dismantling the Structures of Prejudice)
- Benjamin Abadiano (Philippines) for Emergent Leadership (Advancing the Cause of Indigenous Peoples)
The 2003 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees
- James Michael Lyngdoh (India) for Government Service. (strengthening the foundations of Democracy)
- Dr. Gao Yajolie (China) for Public Service. (addressing human face of HIV/AIDS)
- Shantha Sinha (India) for Community Leadership. (ending the scourge of child labour)
- Sheila Coronel (Philippines) for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. (Building an informed citizenry)
- Dr. Tetsu Nakamura (Japan) for Peace and International Understanding. (easing the pain of war and disease)
- Seiei Toyoma (Japan) for Peace and International Understanding. (for greening the deserts)
- Aniceto Guterres Lopes (East Timor) for Emergent Leadership. (standing for freedom and the rule of law)
External link
- The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation: http://www.rmaf.org.ph/