Important Facts For Prelims
Ramon Magsaysay Award 2019
- 03 Aug 2019
- 2 min read
Indian journalist Ravish Kumar has been awarded the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award for “harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless”.
- The other winners of the award are:
- Myanmar’s Ko Swe Win- Journalist;
- Thailand’s Angkhana Neelapajit- Human Rights Activist;
- Philippines’ Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab- Musician; and
- South Korea’s Kim Jong-Ki- Activist working with violence and mental health issues in youth.
- Last year (2018), Sonam Wangchuk (an educational reformer from Ladakh) and Bharat Vatwani (a psychiatrist who works for mentally ill street persons in Mumbai) were among the winners of the award.
Ramon Magsaysay Award
- The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1957 and is considered as Asia’s premier prize and highest honour.
- It is named after Ramon Magsaysay, the third president of the Republic of the Philippines.
- Till 2009 awards have traditionally been given in five categories: government service; public service; community leadership; journalism, literature, and creative communication arts; and peace and international understanding.
- However, post 2009, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation annually selects the awardees for the field of Emergent Leadership. Awardees are presented with a certificate, a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay and cash prize.
- The award is internationally-recognized as the Nobel Prize counterpart of Asia and is the highest award given to Asian individuals and organizations.
