Five people from South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, India and Myanmar have won Asia’s top prize for 2019, referred to as the “Asian Nobel Prize,” the prize foundation announced on Friday.
This yr’s Ramon Magsaysay Award winners include Jong-ki Kim, Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab, Angkhana Neelapaijit, Ravish Kumar and Ko Swe Win.
The Philippines-based foundation was established in 1957 and named in honor of Ramon Magsaysay, the late president of the Philippines, with the cooperation of the Government of Manila and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, based in New York.
The winners achieved success in areas including “rural and concrete development, poverty reduction, public health, environment, governance, education, business, human rights, culture and the humanities,” the inspiration said.
South Korean businessman Jong-ki Kim was awarded for “halting the devastating tide of youth violence,” and Filipino music author Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab received the award for “cultivating the gift and unifying power of music.”
Thai human rights defender Angkhana Neelapaijit won the award for “defending justice, case after case after painful case”, while the celebrated award was won by popular Indian television journalist Ravish Kumar’s work on “using journalism to provide a voice to the voiceless”.
Congratulations to all of the winners of Ramon Magsaysay 2019!
This yr’s winners are Filipino musician Ryan Cayabyab, Myanmar editor Ko Swe Win, Indian journalist Ravish Kumar, Angkhana Neelapaijit from Thailand and Kim Jong-ki from South Korea.
READ MORE: pic.twitter.com/NBYmty3jly
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) August 2, 2019
Journalist Ko Swe Win from Myanmar receives the award for “constructing the standard and power of truth-telling within the media.”
To date, the award has been given to greater than 330 individuals and organizations in six different categories, including outstanding contributions to government service, public service, community leadership, journalism, literature and artistic communication arts, international peace and understanding, and emerging leadership.
The Ramon Magsaysay Prize is “internationally recognized as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize and is the best award given to an Asian citizen” for achieving excellence in “addressing social development issues in Asia with courage and creativity,” based on the prize foundation’s website.
Source : Anadolu Agency | Times of the Strait
