NEW DELHI – A poignant and meaningful celebration of “greatness of spirit” as expressed through leadership and selfless service to the people took place in the Indian capital, as the Philippine Embassy and the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) paid tribute to the legacy of India’s Magsaysay Award laureates.
Dubbed “Celebrating Greatness of Spirit in Delhi”, the special program took place at the India Habitat Centre on 02 September, and was attended by several Indian awardees and descendants of those who have since passed on.
In attendance were Ambassadors and other diplomats, key players in India’s development sector, New Delhi-based Filipinos, and representatives of media and civil society organizations.
Flying in for the occasion was a huge delegation of RMAF Trustees and officials, led by RMAF President Susan B. Afan and RMAF Chair Cecilia (Che-Che) Lazaro.
The program was preceded by the inauguration of the eponymous photo exhibit on the values espoused by the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the work of India’s total 58 laureates. Doing the ribbon-cutting honors were Philippine Ambassador to India Josel F. Ignacio, RMAF Chair Lazaro and RMAF President Afan.
The program proper followed, with keynote remarks from the same three officials. The highlight was an illuminating “fireside chat” discussion with four Indian laureates moderated by RMAF Trustee Mr. Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr. His exchanges with child rights activist Shantha Sinha, surgical oncologist Ravi Kannan R., social worker Neelima Mishra, and Goonj founder Anshu Gupta threw light on the kind of ideas and transformative work pursued by India’s laureates, and how winning the Magsaysay Award opened further doors for their respective advocacies.
The four laureates and a few others, being the most recent additions to the Magsaysay pantheon, were presented their commissioned official portraits by the Foundation.
The event also served as the platform for the launch in India of the RMAF’s seven-volume book series “Greatness of Spirit: Stories of Love, Courage, and Service”. The book features the stories of 300-plus Ramon Magsaysay Awardees since 1958.
A reception concluded the evening’s proceedings.
The India-leg of the Greatness of Spirit Tour was undertaken by the RMAF in conjunction with the 66th anniversary of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, as well as the 75th year of Philippines-India Diplomatic Relations this year.
Also extending valuable support for the event were the Philippine Consulates General in Chennai and Kolkata, represented at the event by Honorary Consul Bhimsingh Narendran and Honorary Consul General Deepak Khemka, respectively.
The Greatness of Spirit photo exhibit has since been moved to the Philippine Embassy premises, where it shall be accessible to the public throughout September. On the heels of the 02 September program, the Embassy and the Foundation also held a Youth Dialogue on 05 September, in partnership with the Ram Lal Anand College of Delhi University. Indian laureates Ms. Mileema Mishra and Harish Hande engaged students in illuminating, interactive exchanges of views on youth empowerment, academic excellence and leveraging new technologies to promote social inclusion, interconnectedness, understanding, and pluralism. “Celebrating the legacy of President Ramon Magsaysay in Delhi and the work of Magsaysay laureates in India drives home the universality of the values of integrity and selfless service”, said Ambassador Ignacio. “It gratifies us that these shared values have committed champions in both our countries, a testament to the strong common fabric on which we build larger Philippine-India relations”. END
