Manila, Aug 31 (V7N) — Runa Khan, founder and executive director of the Bangladeshi non-governmental organization Friendship, has won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award 2026, widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize of Asia.”
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced the names of this year’s recipients in the Philippine capital Manila on Monday (August 31).
Alongside Runa Khan, Singaporean diplomat and academic Tommy Koh and Myanmar’s Bo Chih were also named as recipients of the 2026 award.
The announcement was made during the 68th edition of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, held to commemorate the 119th birth anniversary of Ramon Magsaysay, the seventh president of the Philippines.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony at Manila’s Metropolitan Theater on November 15.
According to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, Runa Khan was recognized for demonstrating enduring values of leadership through her service to communities, creation of opportunities for marginalized people and efforts to empower disadvantaged communities to shape their own futures.
Runa Khan founded Friendship, an organization that works with vulnerable communities in Bangladesh, particularly people living in remote and climate-vulnerable areas.
History of the award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1957 following the death of Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay in a plane crash on March 17 that year. The award has been presented annually since 1958 in his memory.
The award recipients are traditionally announced on August 31, Magsaysay’s birthday.
From 1958 to 2008, the award was presented in six categories: Government Service, Public Service, Social Leadership, Journalism-Literature-Creative Communication, Peace and International Understanding, and Emerging Leadership.
The Emerging Leadership category was introduced in 2000 with support from the Ford Foundation. Since 2009, the award has moved away from fixed categories, with the exception of Emerging Leadership.
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