The Ramon Magsaysay Award and Laureates

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Key takeaways

The 68th batch of the Ramon Magsaysay Award honors Tommy Koh, Runa Khan, and Bo Kyi for their extraordinary social leadership in Asia.
Established in 1957 by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Philippine government, this honor is widely known as Asia's Nobel Prize.
Since 2009, the foundation follows a category-free selection framework to flexibly recognize social and environmental champions.
Over six decades, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation has recognized more than 350 transformative leaders and organizations across Asia.

On the 119th birth anniversary of Ramon Magsaysay, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced the 68th batch of laureates including Tommy Koh, Runa Khan, and Bo Kyi.

Widely known as Asia's Nobel Prize, this award represents the highest honor and premier distinction in the region.
It honors exceptional leaders and organizations in Asia who show immense courage and integrity to improve society regardless of race, gender, or religion.

The trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York created this award in 1957 with agreement from the Philippine government.
The honor commemorates Ramon Magsaysay, the 7th President of the Philippines, who died in an airplane accident in March 1957.
The prize aims to preserve President Magsaysay's legacy of selfless service while promoting creative solutions to difficult human development challenges.

From 1958 to 2008, the foundation presented awards across six fixed fields including Government Service, Public Service, and Peace.
Starting in 2009, the organizers removed fixed categories except for Emergent Leadership to evaluate candidates more flexibly across all areas of social change.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation board selects recipients through a completely private and independent nomination process.
Winners receive a medallion showing the profile of President Magsaysay, a formal calligraphy certificate, and an institutional cash grant.
Over more than six decades, this tradition has recognized over 350 leaders and institutions across the Asian continent.

Tommy Koh from Singapore earned recognition for six decades of work in international law, leading key negotiations for UNCLOS and global environmental cooperation.
Runa Khan from Bangladesh received the honor for offering floating medical care, schooling, and relief to vulnerable populations through her NGO Friendship.
Bo Kyi from Myanmar won the award for protecting political prisoners and documenting human rights violations through the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.