In the greatness of spirit, a celebration of Magsaysay Awards and India-Philippines ties

To commemorate the 66th anniversary of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards, fondly known as “Asia’s Nobel Prize”, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, hosted the Delhi edition of “Celebrating Greatness of Spirit”. The event was held on September 2 at the Indian Habitat Centre.

The ceremony was part of the “Greatness of Spirit Dialogue and Book Tour,” a series focusing on knowledge exchange across Asia. The event was attended by eight Ramon Magsaysay Awardees, hailing from both India and the Philippines. Interestingly, Delhi and Manila are also celebrating the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year.

The event started with the ribbon-cutting ceremony which was followed by the opening remarks from the Philippine Ambassador to India Josel F. Ignacio. During his address to the gathering, Ambassador Ignacio recalled the legacy of the seventh President of the Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay, after whom the award is named. “Even today, 67 years later, any mention of his name to the man on the street, even those born after his time, will be met with reverence and yearning: ‘man of the masses’, ‘reform’, ‘upliftment of the less privileged,’ ‘simplicity’, ‘integrity in service’, the Filipino barong both as solidarity with the common man and as Filipino identity in the most formal of state occasions,” the envoy recalled.

Emphasising that the meaning of “Magsaysay” in the Filipino language is to “give value,” Ignacio said that the honourable award pays tribute to the “same cherished values and highest standards of service to the people.” During his speech, Ignacio also hailed the strong ties between India and the Phillippines. “Filipinos and Indians are in fact, the highest in the hierarchy of values when it comes to serving the people,” he said. “This cannot be more evident than in the fact that the Magsaysay Award’s very first roster of honorees in 1958 included the esteemed peace advocate, Acharya Vinayak Narahari Bhave, also known as Vinoba Bhave,” the ambassador furthered. It is pertinent to note that over the years, 58 Indians have been conferred with the award.

The panel of great minds

One of the key highlights of the Monday event was the thought-provoking panel discussion which was moderated by Ramon R. Del Risario Jr, Trustee of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. The panel comprised of Indian Magsaysay Awardees: Shanta Sinha (2003), Nileema Mishra (2011), Anshu Gupta (2015) and Ravi Kannan R. (2023). The group spoke about varied topics including how the award helped in their work and the need for collaboration between the social actors and the government.

During the discussion, Indian child rights activist Shanta Sinha recalled how the recognition expanded her foundation Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya’s work not only in India but in the continent of Africa as well. She emphasised how the award encouraged more youth volunteers to take part in the endeavour and how her group managed to work in countries like Uganda, Kenya, Morocco and Zimbabwe.

Anshu Gupta, who is the Founder and Director of the Goonj project, recalled that when he won the award in 2015, sweets were distributed in villages. He noted that the award was the “recognition of issues and efforts of rural India”. When the topic of the need for collaboration was being discussed, the Director of the Cachar Cancer Hospital Dr Ravi Kannan R. called for the creation of a global forum where such conversation can be sustained. He also noted that he used the award money for the creation of a leadership school and other leadership programs, insisting that “cancer care need not be this expensive”. Nileema Mishra, who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2011, also stressed the fact that if the discussion continues people will be able to understand “more about the work they do”.

‘It’s good of the Magsaysay Award to be in lockstep with changes in society’: Ambassador Ignacio

During a one-on-one conversation with Firstpost, Ambassador Ignacio emphasised how awards should recognise the challenges of society and how people are responding to these challenges. He also lauded the Magsaysay Awards for being evolving with the society. While discussing the evolution of the awards, the Filipino envoy also spoke about this year’s Magsaysay Award winner famous Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.

“I think any award for that matter should be in step with the times and should recognise the challenges of the times and what responses there are to those challenges. I think it’s very good of the Magsaysay Award to be in lockstep with changes in society, including technology,” Ignacio told Firstpost after the ceremony.

“This year, we are recognising Mr. Miyazaki-san of Ghibli Studios and the way he used art and animation to touch people and transform lives beyond Japanese culture, touching lives not just in Asia but around the world with his art,” he added. However, Ambassador Ignacio also cautioned about the risks of technology as well. “I think that in this present world where a lot of the things we do are based on high technology already, social media, we encounter a lot of risks that come with that. They are transformative in a good way, but there’s always a downside, cyber security, cyber crimes, misuse of social media,” the ambassador explained.

“So I think with awards focussing on things like this, it sort of helps direct, the hope, is it will help redirect social media and technology to the proper use in the service of mankind and in the service of our social development aspirations, which is as it should be,” he added. While lauding the 75-year-long ties between India and the Philippines, the Filipino envoy also praised the presence of Indians in the list of honourees over the years.

“The award seeks to propagate values by recognising the service of other people in Asia. Services that demonstrate the highest level of integrity, selfless service, and transformative leadership in their respective communities. I am very proud to say as Ambassador to India, that in these 65-66 years of the award, there have been 58 Indian laureates. And that goes to show the kind of value shared by the Philippines and India,” he added.

‘We want youth to get inspired and do great things’: Susan B. Afan

In a brief conversation with Firstpost, Susan B. Afan, President of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, touched upon the evolution of the prestigious award over the years. “Well, we’re so proud that we’ve been able to continue the legacy of what the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation stands for and that’s about honouring ordinary people who do extraordinary things. These are people that have really devoted their lives to certain advocacies, where they have come up with solutions for their communities,” she said.

Afan stated that through the seven-volume book series titled “Greatness of Spirit: Stories of Love, Courage and Service,” the foundation aims to encourage youth to get “inspired to do great things for their community”. Afan also explained the process of selecting the winners of the grand award. She noted that the foundation has a very “rigorous vetting process” to ensure that the integrity of the award is sustained. “We have researchers all year long that find all these special people and organisations. We also have in-country researchers that help us find them,” she told Firstpost. “We have a very rigorous vetting process. We have to fact-check. And make sure that these are the people that epitomise what Ramon Magsaysay stands for. Which is all about integrity, love for the common man, compassion, and inclusivity,” she furthered.

The foundation president also touched upon the potential India holds. “There’s just so many things that are happening in this country. Which I think is so exciting. India has become or is becoming a superpower,” she explained. Afan lauded how Indians are excelling in various areas. “I think that it is so exciting. I just hope that whatever it is, whatever new product, new technology, or new process that’s developed here in India is used for the greater good and is not used not just for individual promotion. But it’s really used to promote more kindness, compassion, and inclusivity in our world,” she concluded.

India and Magsaysay Award

India and the Philippines have shared close ties with each other for time immemorial but India also has a special place in the history of the Magsaysay Awards. As mentioned before, in the last 65 years, 58 Indians have won the prestigious award, the country has the second-highest number of awardees after the Philippines which is home to 65 laureates. While speaking to Firstpost, the Honorary Consul General for the Philippines in Kolkata, Deepak Kumar Khemka, said that he learned a lot from today’s event.

“Well, I have been a Consul General for the Philippines for the last 10 years. I knew about the awards, but today the event was an eye-opener. It was a wonderful occasion and I think I learnt a lot today. I would be supporting the award in many more ways,” he averred. Khemka also lauded the long-standing ties between India and the Philippines, “Philippines was one of the first countries to recognise free India in 1947. To honour that, the government of India gave their embassy, two acres of land in Chanakyapuri at one rupees per annum. That was like appreciation of what they have done,” the consul general recalled.

“In recent years, the two nations are much closer and I think in the future, we will have much closer relations than what we have had,” he told Firstpost. Khemka also assured that in the future he would love to strengthen collaboration between the social workers and the government. “In future, we will work closer together to see how we can develop these relationships and the awards and the people who are doing such fantastic work,” he emphasised.

What this year has in store?

On August 31, the foundation announced the winners of the 2024 Magsaysay Awards. The winners included Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, who is critically acclaimed for directing films such as “Spirited Away”. Miyazaki is known for backing anime films based on difficult themes such as environmental protection and peace and is lauded around the world for making these films comprehensive to children.

Among the other winners selected this year 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” which was used by US forces during the Vietnam War. Former Buddhist monk Karma Phuntsho – the founder of an educational charity in Bhutan, will also be recognised for his contribution towards “harmonising the richness of his country’s past with the diverse predicaments and prospects of its present.”

Indonesia’s Farwiza Farhan will be receiving the Magsaysay Emergent Leadership Award this year. Farhan helped lead a group to protect the Leuser Ecosystem, a 2.6-million-hectare forest in Sumatra in Aceh province. Rural Doctors’ Movement of Thailand will also be awarded for its dedication and struggle to secure adequate healthcare for Thailand’s rural poor.

The seven-part series of the book “Greatness of Spirit” which was launched on Monday, will feature stories of over 300-plus Ramon Magsaysay Awardees from 1958 to 2003. The series is part of a fundraising campaign and the proceeds will aim to transform the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Manila, Philippines. The foundation is also planning to develop a “comprehensive and engaging” experiential Magsaysay Laureate Library and Museum.