ANGKOR and I
65/194

59 resource development and survey and research undertakings at the Angkor site, had assumed a new significance within me. My Reception of the Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award, which is referred to as the “Asian Nobel Prize” was conferred on me in 2017, and so on August 31st I attended the award ceremony held in the city of Manila in the Philippines. The award was established 59 years ago in commemoration of President Ramon Magsaysay of the Philippines, and awardees included Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Akira Kurosawa, and Mrs. Ogata Sadako. It is bestowed each year on individuals and groups for their superior achievements regarding social contributions within the Asian region, and in 2017, besides myself four individuals and one group received the award. The reason provided by the foundation for the granting of the award, was the following evaluation. Based on the conviction that “the conservation and restoration of the Angkor Wat archaeological site needed to be carried out by the Cambodians themselves,” efforts were made to educate Cambodian specialists in safeguarding the monuments, and that contribution provided the Cambodians with an occasion to regain pride in their nation’s unique cultural heritage. The fact that the international community has persisted in appealing to the world concerning the significance of preserving cultural heritage as represented by the ruins of Angkor Wat as a treasure for humankind, was also a reason. This award is an international evaluation of the Sophia University Angkor International Mission Team, promoted by Sophia University in Cambodia. Sophia University has adopted “Men and Women for Others, with Others” as the spirit of its educational policy, and in 1979 it launched the activities of the Sophia Mission in Asia, from the refugee relief activity of “Hands of Love for Indochina Refugees.” We entered Cambodia in the 1980s to realize our support for the conservation and

元のページ  ../index.html#65

このブックを見る