Renowned animator Miyazaki among Magsaysay awardees

Hayao Miyazaki reviewing a script —Photo courtesy of ARAI

MANILA, Philippines — World-renowned Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, regarded by many to be the world’s greatest living animator, joins this year’s honorees of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards.

Miyazaki is one of the next five recipients of what is considered the Asian version of the Nobel Prize. The other winners announced on Saturday are Bhutanese thought leader Karma Phuntsho, Indonesian activist Farwiza Farhan, Thai organization Rural Doctors Movement and Vietnamese doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) said the Japanese animator, a cofounder of Studio Ghibli and still prolific at 83, was chosen 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.”

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The awards honors individuals and organizations in Asia who embody the “same selfless service and transformative leadership” of Ramon Magsaysay, the country’s seventh President, whose 117th birth anniversary was marked also on Saturday.

Humanism, fantasy

Citing his body of work, the RMAF recognized Miyazaki for tackling “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.”

“Some of these subjects can be sensitive and controversial in the context of traditional Japanese society, but Miyazaki handles them as a good teacher would—connecting with the young, opening their minds, raising fundamental questions and inviting them to map the way forward,” the foundation said.

Miyazaki’s most famous work, “Spirited Away” (2001), about a young girl trapped in a magical spirit realm in search of her missing parents, earned him his first Oscar for best animated feature in 2003—the first non-Western animated film to win in the category.

His second Oscar came two decades later with “The Boy and the Heron,” which follows a boy who moves to the countryside after his mother’s death, discovers an abandoned tower near his new home and enters a fantastical world with a talking gray heron.

Karma Phuntsho (center) —RMAF

Education, health care

Phuntsho is recognized for his role in promoting Bhutan’s cultural heritage through his Loden Foundation, an organization “committed to promoting education, nurturing social entrepreneurship and documenting Bhutan’s cultural heritage and traditions,” RMAF said.

A former Buddhist monk and Oxford-educated scholar, Phuntsho is regarded as one of Bhutan’s leading public intellectuals, having written several books, including a comprehensive history of his country.

The Rural Doctors Movement, the sole organization among this year’s awardees, is recognized for its decadeslong mission to making health care more available among Thailand’s rural poor.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong —RMAF

Wounds of ‘Agent Orange’

Another physician honored by the RMAF for her humanitarian work is Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, who has helped seek justice for victims of “Agent Orange” which US forces used during its application of chemical warfare in the Vietnam War.

Farhan of Indonesia was selected for the Magsaysay Award in the Emergent Leadership category for her work with forest communities, where she raises awareness on Asia’s endangered natural resources.