The Ramon Magsaysay Awards’ is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay’s example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.
The prize was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York City with the concurrence of the Philippine government.
The award has been critically-acclaimed as the most pretigious continental award in Asia, in par with the West’s Nobel Prize.
List of 2017 Awardees:
1. De Lima, Lilia (PHILIPPINES): For harnessing sustained, non-stop and credible public service.
2. Ishizawa, Yoshiaki (JAPAN): For restoring Cambodia’s treasured gift to world culture.
3. Nababan, Abdon (INDONESIA): For giving compelling face and voice to Adat communities and their rights.
4. Philippine Educational Theater Association (PHILIPPINES): For empowering communities for development action through theater arts.
5. Shanmugam, Gethsie (SRI LANKA): For rebuilding lives from the psychosocial wounds of war and violence.
6. Tay, Tony (SINGAPORE): For mobilizing collective goodwill to address hidden hunger.