Journalist Ravish Kumar Wins Ramon Magsaysay Award 2019

Indian journalist Ravish Kumar (NDTV) has been awarded the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award – the highest honour given to Asian individuals and organisations and often referred to as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize, for “harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless”.

He is among five individuals who were declared winners of the award. The other winners of the award include:

Myanmar’s Ko Swe Win, also a journalist;

Thailand’s Angkhana Neelapajit, human rights activist;

Philippines’ Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab, musician; and

South Korea’s Kim Jong-Ki, an activist working with violence and mental health issues in youth.

Kumar, 44, who is NDTV India’s senior executive editor is one of India’s most influential TV journalists, the award citation said. Kumar’s “Prime Time” programme “deals with real-life, under-reported problems of ordinary people”, it added.

The awards will be presented in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, on September 9.

Ramon Magsaysay Award

It is Asia’s highest honour and is often regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It was established in 1957 by trustees of the New York City based Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Philippine government in the memory of Philippines’ third President Ramon Magsaysay who had died in air disaster in March 1957.  It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations from Asia region for their altruistic and philanthropic service. It carries Medallion bearing the likeness of the late President Ramon Magsaysay, cash prize and a certificate.