Sunhak Peace Prize
Awarded forIndividuals and organizations
LocationSeoul, South Korea
Presented bySunhak Peace Prize Committee
First awardedAugust 28, 2015
WebsiteSunhak Peace Prize

The Sunhak Peace Prize (Korean: 선학평화상; Hanja: 鮮鶴平和賞) is an award. It was established to continue the legacy of Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, and is given biennially in Seoul, Korea, in recognition of individuals and organizations that have made enduring contributions to help resolve worldwide suffering, conflict, poverty, and threats to the environment.[1]

Laureates are selected by the Sunhak Peace Prize Selection Committee, chaired by the former President of the European Commission and the first chair of the GAVI Board, José Manuel Barroso.[2] The Prize is organized by the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation, chaired by Thomas G. Walsh.[3]

The Prize is awarded by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), founded by South Korean Unification Church leader Hak Ja Han.[4] Eligible laureates must be living at the time of the nomination in order to receive the award.[5]

Purpose

The Sunhak Peace Prize is awarded to those recognized and acknowledged as contributors to peace and human development.[6] It was founded at the behest of Hak Ja Han Moon, the widow of Sun Myung Moon, to honor his ideals and achievements,[3] as an alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize.[7] Its concept of peace is based on the vision of ensuring a peaceful world,[4] by advocating for sustainable human development, conflict resolution, and ecological conservation.[8]

Vision and mission

The Prize's "Tenets of Peace" lays out three main objectives it advocates for:

  • Respect for Human Development: Largely covering wider education and welfare, poverty relief, and disease eradication to respect human rights and human dignity.
  • Conflict Resolution: An aspect that engages in the resolution of conflicts between people of various and opposing religions and their denominations, ethnicities, and nationalities.
  • Ecological Conservation: Special emphasis can be found on the preservation of the natural environment's resources aimed at balancing the natural and human worlds sustainably.[9]

History

In 2013 the establishment of the Sunhak Peace Prize was proposed by Mrs. Moon, with the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee being inaugurated a year later.

The first award ceremony was held in 2015 and focused on climate change and the food crisis. It was awarded to Mr. Anote Tong, the former President of Kiribati, who led an international crusade against climate change, with particular focus on countries in the Pacific Region[10] and to Dr. Modadugu Gupta, an Indian fisheries scientist who pioneered the aquacultural revolution, enriching diets and lives of the world's most impoverished.[11]

The second award ceremony in 2017 highlighted the global refugee crisis and was awarded to two individuals: Dr. Gino Strada,[12] a heart surgeon who provided free high-quality medical care for refugees and war victims, and Dr. Sakena Yacoobi who spearheaded Afghan refugee education programs with a special focus on girls and women.

In 2019 the third award ceremony placed emphasis on the worsening issue of global inequality. The award recipients on that occasion were Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina and Ms. Waris Dirie. The ceremony recognised Dr. Adesina for greatly reducing poverty in Africa through the agricultural revolution in addition to leading Africa’s economic development through good governance. Ms. Dirie, as a human rights activist, raised Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as an international human rights issue and assisted in passing a worldwide resolution banning its practice greatly contributing to restoring the dignity of girls and women in Africa.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the fourth award ceremony (2020) includes a Founders’ Centenary Award and focused on the core principles of the founders’ peace vision, interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universal values, in selecting the laureates. Interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universal values are visions of peace based on principles of appropriate possession based on one’s conscience, the political model of an extended form of family centered on God, and universal ethics centered on true love. The Founders’ Centenary Award was awarded to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who has dedicated himself to leading the world toward sustainability. The 4th Sunhak Peace Prizes are being awarded to President Macky Sall of Senegal, a model of good governance in Africa, and former President of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Munib A. Younan of Palestine, a pioneer of religious harmony.

Awarded items

During the award ceremony, the laureate is awarded a medal and plaque and a monetary prize of 1 million US dollars.[13]

Laureates

Peace Prize Laureates

Year Laureates Country Reason for Selection
2015 Anote Tong[14]  Kiribati Improved global awareness of the severity of climate change and sought action by the international community for its solution.
Modadugu Vijay Gupta[15]  India Pioneered the blue revolution and made innovative contributions to aquaculture development as an alternative solution to the looming food crisis.
2017 Gino Strada[16]  Italy
  • Providing emergency medical relief in the Middle East and Africa and advocating for refugees’ right to be cured
  • Contributing to spreading a culture of peace through anti-war movement
Sakena Yacoobi[17][18]  Afghanistan Presenting a fundamental solution to refugee resettlement through education and contributing to the improvement of human rights and status of Muslim women
2019 Waris Dirie[19][20]  Somalia
  • A human rights activist who publicized the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to the world
  • Advocating human rights of girls and women and calling for a worldwide resolution to eradicate FGM
Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina[20][21]  Nigeria Spearheading Good Governance of Africa through Agricultural Innovation and Eradication of Poverty.
2020 Macky Sall[22]  Senegal
  • Promoting a model of good governance in Africa
  • Reducing the presidential term
  • Developing Senegal as a model democratic country through reformations such as the Plan Senegal Emergent
Munib Younan[22]  Israel
  • Pioneering religious harmony
  • Promoting harmony among Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the Middle East leading the reconciliation between the Catholic and Protestant Churches
2022
Dame Sarah Catherine Gilbert[2]
  United Kingdom Protecting lives in underdeveloped countries with vulnerable medical conditions by providing affordable Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines for easy storage and transportation during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance[2]
   Switzerland(HQ)
  • Improving the overall health of humanity by increasing access to vaccines for children in vulnerable countries
  • Leading the "Covax Facility," an international joint vaccine purchase and distribution project after the outbreak of COVID-19

Founders' Award Laureates

Year Laureates Country Reason for Selection
2020 Ban Ki-moon[1][23]  South Korea
2022
H.E. Samdech Hun Sen[24]
  Cambodia
  • Promoting international cooperation for peace by leading international peace forums and peace initiatives
  • Demonstrating outstanding leadership for the sustainable development in Southeast Asia

References

  1. 1 2 Sokha, Cheang (2019-10-07). "Three leaders chosen to receive Sunhak Peace Prize awards - Khmer Times". Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  2. 1 2 3 Committee, The Sunhak Peace Prize. "'2022 Sunhak Peace Prize Focuses on Vaccine Equity'". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  3. 1 2 Socheath, Sar (2022-01-31). "Sunhak Peace Prize Founder's award conferred on PM - Khmer Times". Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  4. 1 2 Sophanith, Phal (2022-02-09). "IBEC congratulates Cambodian PM on receiving 2022 Sunhak Peace Prize - Khmer Times". Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  5. ↑ "Laureate Selection Process - ABOUT - Sunhak Peace Prize". sunhakpeaceprize.org. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  6. ↑ "È morto Gino Strada, il fondatore di Emergency". Wired Italia (in Italian). 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  7. ↑ "Top Indian scientist awarded 1st Sunhak Peace Prize". Deccan Herald. 2015-08-28. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  8. ↑ "About Sunhak Peace Prize". sunhakpeaceprize.org. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  9. ↑ "Sunhak Peace Prize - ABOUT - Sunhak Peace Prize". www.sunhakpeaceprize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  10. ↑ "Anote Tong". The Conversation. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  11. ↑ globalreach.com, Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC-Ames, IA-. "2005: Gupta - The World Food Prize - Improving the Quality, Quantity and Availability of Food in the World". www.worldfoodprize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ "Three leaders chosen to receive Sunhak Peace Prize awards - Khmer Times". 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  13. ↑ globalreach.com, Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC - Ames, IA -. "$1M Sunhak Peace Prize names first two winners". www.worldfoodprize.org. Retrieved 2017-02-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Kiribati president Anote Tong garners Sunhak Peace Prize for climate work | Pacific Beat". Radio Australia. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  15. ↑ globalreach.com, Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC - Ames, IA -. "2005: Gupta - The World Food Prize - Improving the Quality, Quantity and Availability of Food in the World". www.worldfoodprize.org. Retrieved 2017-02-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "선학평화상". sunhakpeaceprize.org (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  17. ↑ "La maestra que desafió a los talibán: 'La educación da dignidad a las personas'". EL MUNDO (in Spanish). 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  18. ↑ "선학평화상". sunhakpeaceprize.org (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  19. ↑ "선학평화상". www.sunhakpeaceprize.org (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  20. 1 2 Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. "2019 Sunhak Peace Prize Awarded to Waris Dirie". PR Newswire. Cision. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  21. ↑ "선학평화상". www.sunhakpeaceprize.org (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  22. 1 2 "Senegal President Macky Sall and Former President of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Munib A. Younan Selected As the 2020 Sunhak Peace Prize Laureates". allAfrica. Feb 5, 2020. Retrieved Feb 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Co-chair Ban Ki-moon's acceptance speech for Sunhak Peace Prize". Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens. 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  24. ↑ Samean, Lay. "PM clinches Sunhak Peace Prize: foundation". Phnom Penh Post. Post Media Co Ltd. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
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