The Awardees are: Krisana Kraisintu from Thailand, Deep Joshi from India, Yu Xiaogang, from China, Antonio Oposa, Jr., from the Philippines, Ma Jun, from China and Ka Hsaw Wa, from Burma.

Deep Joshi, 62 is an Indian social worker and NGO activist
He was recognized for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2009, considered as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize for his vision and leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India. He has done pioneering work for “development of rural communities,” by effectively combining ‘head’ and ‘heart’ in the transformative development of rural communities.”

He co-founded a non-profit organisation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) of which he is the Executive Director.
In 2006, Deep received the Harmony Silver Award for his contributions to society.

Mr Joshi said, “I am delighted to get this honour. But the award is not for an individual, it is for an idea, for the development of rural population. We need the educated people to go to rural areas and work for their welfare.”

A masters in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Masters in Management from the Sloan School, MIT, Joshi worked with the Systems Research Institute, the Ford Foundation and has nearly 30 years of experience in the field of rural development and livelihood promotion. He also advises the government on poverty alleviation strategies.

Others prominent personalities who received the honor are:
Krisana Kraisintu, 57, from Thailand is being acknowledged for “her placing pharmaceutical rigor at the service of patients, through her determined and fearless devotion to producing much-needed generic drugs in Thailand and elsewhere in the developing world.”

Yu Xiaogang, 52 from China is being honored for “his fusing the knowledge and tools of social science with a deep sense of social justice, in supporting dam-affected communities in China to shape the development projects that impact their natural environment and their lives.

Antonio Oposa Junior, 54, from the Philippines was hailed for “his path-breaking and passionate crusade to engage Filipinos in acts of enlightened citizenship that maximise the power of law to protect and nurture the environment”.

Chinese Ma Jun, 41, was recognised for “harnessing the technology and power of information to address China’s water crisis and mobilising pragmatic, multi-sectoral and collaborative efforts to ensure sustainable benefits for China’s environment and society”.

Ka Hsaw Wa, from Burma is being recognized for “his dauntlessly pursuing non violent yet effective channels of redress, exposure, and education for the defense of human rights, the environment, and democracy in Burma.”

RMAF President Carmencita T. Abella said, “The Magsaysay awardees of 2009 are true Asian heroes, putting their advanced knowledge and skills at the service of critical needs of their people.

“They are, each one, addressing major issues affecting the growth and preservation of their respective societies – health care, mass poverty, community displacement, environmental degradation, human rights.

They are each using calibrated strategies to craft lasting
solutions to problems besetting their people,” she said.

“Nevertheless, these six awardees share a greatness of spirit which infuses their leadership for change. They all build collaboration and seek consensus wherever possible. They all refuse to give up, despite adversity and opposition,” Abella said in the Foundation’s official media statement.

The six 2009 Magsaysay awardees join 271 other laureates who have received Asia’s highest honor to date. This year’s Magsaysay Award winners will each receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late President, and a cash prize.

They will be formally conferred the Magsaysay Award during the Presentation Ceremonies to be held on Aug. 31, 2009 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, to which the public is cordially invited.

The prize was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) based in New York City with the concurrence of the Philippine government. The prize was created to commemorate Ramon Magsaysay, the late president of the Philippines.

Following are the categories for which, the award is given :