Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki among winners of Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s ‘Nobel Prize’
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Mr Hayao Miyazaki has been chosen as one of the five winners for the 2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
PHOTO: STUDIO GHIBLI/ ENCORE FILMS
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Mr Hayao Miyazaki – director of acclaimed films such as Spirited Away – has been chosen as one of the five winners for the 2024 Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
The co-founder of Studio Ghibli produced a lot of anime films on difficult themes such as environmental protection and peace, and made them comprehensible to children, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said.
The 83-year-old is also known for his works such as Princess Mononoke and The Boy And The Heron.
The Philippines-based foundation said on its website that these works display a deep understanding of the human condition, engage their viewers to reflect on their own situation and exercise their humanity.
Three other individuals and one group were also selected as the 2024 recipients. The list of winners was announced on Aug 31.
Among them is a Vietnamese doctor, Dr Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, who has helped seek justice for victims of the powerful defoliant dioxin, known as Agent Orange, used by US forces during the Vietnam War.
Former Buddhist monk Karma Phuntsho – the founder of an educational charity in Bhutan – is recognised for his contributions towards harmonising the richness of his country’s past with the diverse predicaments and prospects of its present, the foundation said.
Another winner is Indonesian Farwiza Farhan who helped lead a group to protect the Leuser Ecosystem, a 2.6-million-hectare forest in Sumatra in Aceh province, which is home to highly endangered species and faces severe threats from deforestation, infrastructure and weak law enforcement.
The Rural Doctors’ Movement of Thailand, a group of Thai doctors, is also awarded for its dedication and struggle to secure adequate healthcare for Thailand’s rural poor.
The award ceremony will be held in Manila in November.
The Ramon Magsaysay award is named after the seventh Filipino president, a former automobile mechanic who was venerated for his servant leadership that earned him the moniker Champion of the Masses.
Past winners included Singapore’s former deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee and Malaysia’s former chief justice Suffian Hashim.
