Philippines: 'Asia's Nobel Prize' awardees announced

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Five individuals from South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, India and Myanmar have won 2019 Asia’s premier award, known as "Asia's Nobel Prize", announced the award foundation on Friday.

This year'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 created in 1957 and named after Ramon Magsaysay, the late president of the Philippines, with the cooperation of the Manila government and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, based in New York City.

The awardees achieved their work in areas such as "rural and urban development, poverty alleviation, public health, the environment, governance, education, business, human rights, culture, and the arts," said the foundation.

Jong-ki Kim, a businessman from South Korea, was awarded for "stemming the destructive tide of youth violence", while Filipino music writer Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab received the award for "nurturing the gift and unifying power of music".

Thai human rights defender Angkhana Neelapaijit won the award for "championing justice, case after painful case", and popular Indian TV journalist Ravish Kumar's work on "harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless" got him the prestigious award.

Journalist Ko Swe Win from Myanmar is getting the award for "building the quality and force of media's truth-telling".

The award has been given to over 330 individuals and organizations to date in six different categories including outstanding contributions in government service, public service, community leadership, journalism, literature and creative communication arts, peace and international understanding and emergent leadership.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is "internationally recognized as Asia's nobel prize counterpart and is the highest award given to Asian individuals" for achieving excellence in "addressing issues of human development in Asia with courage and creativity," says the award foundation website.