The Global Peace Foundation conferred Global Peace Awards in the fields of Interfaith Leadership, Leadership in Strengthening the Family, Outstanding Service, Advancing a Culture of Peace, and Innovative Scholarship for Peace at a Gala Celebration on November 21, 2014 in Asuncion, Paraguay.
The awards were presented at the conclusion of 2014 Global Peace Convention, Roadmap for National Transformation: Liberty Prosperity and Integrity through Moral and Innovative Leadership.
Dr. KH. Said Aqiel Siradj, Executive Council Chairman of Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama, or ‘Awakening of Scholars,’ the largest Muslim organization in the world, was honored with the Interfaith Leadership Award. Dr. Siradj previously served on Indonesia’s National Commission for Human Rights and was the founder of the Said Aqil Centre in Egypt, a study center that focuses on developing Islamic discourse, particularly in the Arab world. Dr. Marsudi Syuhud, General Secretary of Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama and his wife recieved the award on behalf of Dr. Said.
The Outstanding Service Award was conferred on Hon. Marlene Ocampos, the current Governor of Alto Paraguay State in Paraguay. A native of Puerto Casado, Gov. Ocampos worked for nearly 20 years delivering health care and other emergency assistance to remote communities in the Chaco region during a succession of often unstable state administrations. In recent years she has led model service and community development initiatives for GPF in Puerto Casado. The only woman elected to a governorship in Paraguay, Gov. Ocampos continues to serve the inhabitants of Alto Paraguay by marshalling resources to deliver aid in areas affected by catastrophic flooding, as well as by providing other emergency assistance.
The Innovative Scholarship for Peace Award was conferred on Dr. Mwangi S. Kimenyi, a Senior Fellow and Director of the Africa Growth Initiative in the Global Economy and Development program of The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He is the Founding Executive Director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), ranked the top policy institution in Africa and recognized as an international center of excellence. Dr. Kimenyi and his wife, Irene, collaborated with GPF Kenya’s Rift Valley Peace Initiative in conducting extensive research interviews with youths involved in transformation of identity-based conflict in the Molo-Kurosoi area following intensive post-election violence.
Dr. Isabelita M. Borres, Regional Director of the Department of Education, Division of Bataan, in the Republic of the Philippines, was honored with the Leadership in Strengthening Families Award. Dr. Borres has been a pioneer in character education, equipping teachers and students with high ethical and family standards throughout schools in collaboration with GPF Philippines. Dr. Borres has won numerous awards as an educator and civic leader, which includes service as President of the Catholic Women’s League. She is also the author of two novels My Heart Desire (2002) and A Woman’s Heart (2000).
In congratulatory remarks, GPF Chairman Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon called peace “a work of the heart,” calling for a tremendous amount of ownership and investment. “The purpose of these awards is to recognize those champions that are the spark is those desperate areas of the world, where through the spark of hope and of peace can arise.”
The Global Peace Awards honor government, civil society and faith leaders whose exemplary efforts have substantially improved the lives of others. Global Peace Awards underscore the importance of moral and innovative leadership, an ethic of public service, and a willingness to transcend boundaries of religion, ethnicity, culture and nationality in advancing the ideal of One Family under God.