Japanese animator, doctors among Magsaysay awardees

One group and four individuals, including award-winning Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, were proclaimed as recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards this year.

- Ghio Ong

Aside from Miyazaki of Japan, environmental activist Farwiza Farhan of Indonesia, reproductive health advocate Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuoc of Vietnam, scholar Karma Phuntsho of Bhutan and the Rural Doctors Movement from Thailand will receive the award, dubbed as “Asia’s highest prize and highest honor,” now on its 66th year.

Miyazaki, known for Oscarwinning animated films “Spirited Away” and “The Boy and the Heron” that he both wrote and directed, was recognized for “his lifelong commitment to the use of art, specifically animation, to illuminate the human condition, especially lauding his devotion to children as the torchbearers of the imagination, to whom he has passed the light and spark of his own,” according to a statement from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF).

It added the Japanese animator and filmmaker “tackles complicated issues, using his art to make them comprehensible to children, whether it be about protecting the environment, advocating for peace or championing the rights and roles of women in society.”