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Written by Sun-Ae Patterson
THE SUNHAK PEACE PRIZE
Proposed by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon in 2013, the Sunhak Peace Prize awards distinguished individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to peace and human development, and to restore balance to the relationship between humanity and the natural environment. The Sunhak Peace Prize is committed to the ideal of realizing “One Family Under God,” a global community based on the principles of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values.
The Sunhak Peace Prize was established in order to help resolve worldwide suffering, conflict, poverty, and threats to the environment, by promoting a comprehensive, future-oriented vision of peace. Sustainable peace in the 21st century can only be accomplished by resolving the tensions and conflicts we find throughout the world and by developing a global culture of mutual respect and cooperation.
BACKGROUNDER AND PURPOSE OF THE SUNHAK PEACE PRIZE
Mission
The Sunhak Peace Prize advocates the following objectives:
- Sustainable Human Development: Solving the problems of poverty, disease and ignorance, and respecting the rights and dignity of every human being.
- Conflict Resolution: Peacefully resolving conflict between people of different religions, races, and nationalities.
- Ecological Conservation: Engendering responsibility for the environment and energy conservation in order to create a sustainable balance between the natural and human worlds.
History
February 20, 2013: Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon proposes the establishment of the Sunhak Peace Prize.
August 11, 2014: The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee is inaugurated.
June 8, 2015: The Committee announces the laureates of the 2015 Sunhak Peace Prize.
August 28, 2015: The first Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony is held in Seoul.
November 23-25, 2015: Sunhak Peace Prize events are held in India and Nepal, giving local leaders the opportunity to discuss solutions to climate change and world hunger.
November 29, 2016: The 2017 laureates are announced at a press conference.
February 3, 2017: The 2017 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony is held in Seoul.
November 22, 2018: The 2019 laureates are announced at a press conference.
February 9, 2019: The 2019 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony was held in Seoul.
October 5, 2019: The 2020 laureates are announced at a press conference.
February 5, 2020: The 2020 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony was held in Seoul.
Laureates
The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee presents the Prize biennially.
2015 – Award Theme – “The Ocean is essential to the future peace of humanity”
- H.E. Anote Tong: Having served as president of Kiribati (2003-2016), H.E. Tong has earned global notoriety for his environmental and climate change advocacy. Kiribati, a small, low-lying island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is particularly threatened by the prospect of rising sea levels.
- Dr. M. Vijay Gupta: Dr. Gupta is a biologist and fisheries scientist from India who has been recognized for his development and dissemination of low-cost techniques for freshwater fish farming. His aquaculture systems have increased food security for the rural poor of Asia, Africa and the Pacific.
2017 – Award Theme - “Peaceful solution to the refugee crisis”
- Dr. Gino Strada: Dr. Strada is the founder of the international medical organization Emergency, which operates 60 medical facilities in 17 nations. He has provided medical and surgical care to refugees and other victims of war and poverty around the world.
- Dr. Sakena Yacoobi: Dr. Yacoobi has developed educational programs related to refugee resettlement, working especially in Afghan refugee camps. She founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) in 1985, which has provided education and health services to over 13 million refugees. She operates more than 80 underground schools, teaching young women in parts of the Islamic world where they are otherwise shut out of education.
2019 – Award Theme – “Human rights and human development of Africa”
- Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina: Dr. Adesina is a Nigerian agricultural economist and president of the African Development Bank, a multilateral development finance institution. Dr. Adesina has spearheaded innovations in Africa’s agricultural sector, improving food security for millions.
- Ms. Waris Dirie: Dirie is a model, actor, author and social activist from Somalia who has used her platform to bring attention to the global problem of female genital mutilation (FGM). She founded the Desert Flower Foundation, which increases awareness of FGM, and the Desert Dawn Foundation, which raises money for schools and clinics in Somalia.
2020 – Award Theme – “2020 Special Award of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon”
- Bishop Munib A. Younan: Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan is a pioneer who has devoted his entire life to religious harmony, believing that dialogue and reconciliation between religions are the basis for human peace. Born in Jerusalem in 1950 as a Palestinian refugee, Bishop Younan has been on the path of religious harmony for more than four decades since he was appointed a Lutheran priest in 1976. In particular, he led religious harmony for world peace by serving as chairman of the Lutheran World Federation from 2010 to 2017, building a wide network of religious leaders from different faiths.
- H.E. Macky Sall: Senegalese President Macky Sall is the leader who displays a virtuous model of good governance in Africa. Since his election as Senegalese president in 2012, he has been leading the stabilization of democracy in West Africa, raising Senegal to be the one of the most stable countries on the African continent, achieving the rule of law and human rights, poverty eradication and economic development.
- H.E. Ban Ki-moon: Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon became the first South Korean to become the UN Secretary-General in 2006, successfully serving two terms and contributing greatly to peace. During his 10-year tenure, Ban led the United Nations to fight and overcome the unprecedented global challenges and crises, including the global economic crisis, climate change, terrorism, and refugee issues. As a leader of world peace, he prepared global measures against climate change, adopted an agenda for sustainable development, presented a new vision to the world, and contributed greatly to the promotion of human rights, including gender equality.
For more information go to http://sunhakpeaceprize.org/en/
THE SUNHAK PEACE PRIZE Introductory Video
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