Manny Pacquiao FILE PHOTO
NEW YORK—Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao will be joining the company of distinguished Asians who have been honored for “transforming ideas into action and improving lives.”
In recognizing Pacquiao as Asia’s Game Changer of 2015, Asia Society said the boxer would be following in the footsteps of Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, who took the honor in 2014.
“One individual rose to the top of our list,” said Asia Society president Josette Sheeran. “Manny Pacquiao achieved his remarkable success after a childhood of extreme hunger and poverty.”
Humanitarian force
Today, Sheeran added, “Manny is a major humanitarian force, directing his philanthropy toward numerous causes, including education and the fight against human trafficking. He is a remarkable inspiration and demonstrates the power of giving back to transform people’s lives.”
Sheeran said that this year’s honorees included a group of scientists, a comedian, a dancer and a fighter pilot.
“What they share in common is that they all fight for a better today and inspire the world to do things differently,” she explained.
Pacquiao and the other honorees will attend the Asia Game Changer awards dinner and celebration at the United Nations on Oct. 13.
Other honorees
Honorees are selected through a global survey of more than 1,000 thought leaders.
Apart from Pacquiao, the other awardees are: Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura (Japan), 2014 Nobel Laureates in Physics and inventors of a new energy-efficient light source; Chanda Kochhar (India), CEO of ICICI Bank and the first woman to head an Indian bank;
Lei Jun (China) founder and CEO of Xiaomi, China’s leading smartphone vendor; Li Cunxin (Australia/China) artistic director of the Queensland Ballet, known as “Mao’s Last Dancer;” Aasif Mandvi (United States/India), comedian, activist and spokesperson for Muslims and Asian-Americans;
Mariam al-Mansouri (United Arab Emirates), fighter pilot of the UAE Air Force and role model for women throughout the Arab world; and Kiran Bir Sethi (India), founder of Design for Change and The Riverside School, and champion of youth volunteerism.
Awards night
Asia Society trustees who will be presenting the awards are: Citi CEO, global consumer banking Stephen Bird; opera singer Renée Fleming; Pepsi Co. chair and CEO Indra K. Nooyi; veteran broadcaster Charlie Rose; former Australian prime minister and president of Asia Society Policy Institute Kevin Rudd; and Asia Society co-chairs Ronnie C. Chan and Henrietta H. Fore.
During the awards night, there will also be a special live performance by global music movement Playing For Change, recipient of the 2014 Asia Game Changer award.
Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States.
Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution with headquarters in New York, centers in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney and Washington, DC.
The trustees of Asia Society Philippines are: Washington SyCip, founding chair; Doris Magsaysay Ho, chair; Jorge L. Araneta, Joselito D. Campos Jr., Teresita Sy-Coson, Frederick Y. Dy, Jaime Enrique Y. Gonzalez, Oscar M. Lopez, lawyer Ricardo J. Romulo, Edward A. Tortorici, Luis J.L. Virata and Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
Manny Pacquiao FILE PHOTO