NEW DELHI: Indian journalist Ravish Kumar has been awarded the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award for “harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless”. Ravish, who is NDTV India's senior executive editor, is among five individuals who were declared winners of the award.

The four other winners of the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award are Ko Swe Win from Myanmar, Angkhana Neelapaijit from Thailand, Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab from Philippines and Kim Jong-Ki from South Korea.

They have been awarded for the below-mentioned category:

  • Cayabyab, Raymundo Pujante - Nurturing the gift and unifying power of music. Philippines

  • Kim, Jong-ki Stemming the destructive tide of youth violence. South Korea

  • Kumar, Ravish Harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless. India

  • Neelapaijit, Angkhana Championing justice, case after painful case. Thailand

  • Ko Swe Win Building the quality and force of media's truth-telling.Myanmar


Other Indian winners from the journalistic background who received the award in the past include:

  • Amitabha Chowdhury (1961),

  • Boobli George Verghese (1975),

  • Gour Kishore Ghosh (1981),

  • Arun Shourie (1982) and

  • Palagummi Sainath (2007).


Icons like Satyajit Ray (1967), MS Subbulakshmi (1974) and RK Laxman (1984) were also honoured with the award.

Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia's highest honour. It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine president after whom the award is named, and is given every year to individuals or organisations in Asia who manifest the same selfless service and transformative influence that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.

This year's Magsaysay Award winners will each receive a certificate and a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay facing right in profile.

They will be formally conferred the Magsaysay Award during formal presentation ceremonies to be held on August 31, 2019.

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