Sonam Wangchuk, Bharat Vatwani named for Magsaysay Award

Two Indian nationals Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk are among the six personalities who are named for this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award. The Ramon Magsaysay award, widely known as Asia's premier prize, is now in its 60th year of "honouring greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in selfless service to the peoples of Asia." The other recipients of the annual honour include Cambodia's Youk Chhang, who has been honoured for "preserving historical memory for healing and justice"; Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz from East Timor for "building a caring society brick by brick"; Howard Dee of the Philippines for "Championing the human face of peace, justice and economic growth"; Vietnam's Vo Thi Hoang Yen for "claiming opportunities for the differently abled". Wangchuk, the inspiration behind the hugely popular bollywood movie "Three Idiots", has been recognised for "his uniquely systematic, collaborative and community-driven reform of learning systems in remote northern India, thus improving the life opportunities of Ladakhi youth, and his constructive engagement of all sectors in local society to harness science and culture creatively for economic progress, thus setting an example for minority peoples in the world".