RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARDS

Sept. 1, 2018

Two Indians, Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk, received the Ramon Magsaysay award, popularly known as Asia’s Nobel Prize.

About:

It is given to individuals and organizations in Asia regardless of race, creed, sex, or nationality, who have achieved distinction in their respective fields. (There are some instances where the winners came from Non-Asian countries, but accomplished something in Asia).
It is named after Ramon Magsaysay, the third president (1953-57) of Philippines.
Background: It was established in 1957 by New York based Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), with the consent of Philippine government. The first Awards were given in 1958. Vinoba Bhave of India was one of the recipients.
Award ceremony: The Award is presented in Manila, Philippines on August 31^st (the birth anniversary of Ramon Magsaysay). Awardees are presented with a certificate and a medal.

Winners of 2018:

	Awardees	Nationality
1	Sonam Wangchuk Founded the Students’ Education and Cultural Movement of Ladakh to coach Ladakhi students; Character of Phunsukh Wangdu in Bollywood movie ‘3 Idiots’ is inspired by his life.	India
2	Bharat Vatwani A psychiatrist who works for mentally ill street people in Mumbai.	India
3	Youk Chhang	Cambodia
4	Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz	East Timor
5	Howard Dee	Philippines
6	Vo Thi Hoang Yen	Vietnam