.
Official - 2007 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees Announced:
The Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) today announced that this year seven individuals from China, India, Korea, Nepal, and the Philippines will receive Asia's premier prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award. The Awardees are:
Mr. Jovito R. Salonga, from the Philippines, for Government Service. He is being recognized for "the exemplary integrity and substance of his long public career in service to democracy and good government in the Philippines."
Rev. Kim Sun-tae, from Korea, for Public Service. He is being honored for "his inspiring ministry of hope and practical assistance to his fellow blind and visually impaired citizens in South Korea. "
Mr. Mahabir Pun, from Nepal, for Community Leadership. He is being recognized for "his innovative application of wireless computer technology in Nepal, bringing progress to remote mountain areas by connecting his village to the global village."
Mr. Tang Xiyang, from China, for Peace and International Understanding. He is being honored for "guiding China to meet its mounting environmental crisis by heeding the lessons of its global neighbors and the timeless wisdom of nature itself."
Mr. Palagummi Sainath, from India, for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts. He is being recognized for "his passionate commitment as a journalist to restore the rural poor to India's national consciousness."
Mr. Chen Guangcheng, from China, for Emergent Leadership. He is being honored for "his irrepressible passion for justice in leading ordinary Chinese citizens to assert their legitimate rights under the law."
Mr. Chung To, from China, for Emergent Leadership. He is being recognized for "his proactive and compassionate response to AIDS in China and to the needs of its most vulnerable victims."
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 2007," says RMAF President Carmencita T. Abella, "are truly moving Asia forward through their remarkable and selfless service to their respective societies. Working in different countries on diverse issues of poverty, prejudice, politics and the planet's future, these seven individuals nevertheless share an uncommon faith in the tremendous potential of people and social institutions. They share as well an indomitable will and persistence to tap into this potential and thus create greater, and lasting, good. Mobilizing many others to join their efforts, their accomplishments bring us reassuring news of progress, justice, generosity, reform, and hope. In a world grown increasingly fragmented and cynical, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation is uniquely privileged to be the bearer of such inspiring news from Asia. "
http://www.rmaf.org.ph/index.php
.
