The Sunhak Peace Prize () is an

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

. It was established to continue the legacy of

Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Moon Yong-myeong; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the ...

, founder of the

Unification Church The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...

, and is given biennially in

Seoul, Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, in recognition of individuals and organizations that have made contributions to help resolve worldwide suffering, poverty, and threats to the environment.

Laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or Military awards and decorations, military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Pri ...

s are selected by the Sunhak Peace Prize Selection Committee, chaired by the former

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

and the first chair of the

GAVI GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (previously the GAVI Alliance, and before that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a Public–private partnership, public–private global health partnership with the goal of incr ...

Board,

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

. The Prize is organized by the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation, chaired by Thomas G. Walsh. The Prize is awarded by the

Universal Peace Federation The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...

(UPF), founded by South Korean

leader

Hak Ja Han Hak Ja Han Moon (; born February 10, 1943 January 6, 1943, lunar calendar) is a Korean religious leader. Her late husband Sun Myung Moon was the founder of the Unification Church (UC). Han and Moon were married in April 1960 and have 10 living ...

. Eligible laureates must be living at the time of the nomination in order to receive the award.

Purpose

The Sunhak Peace Prize is awarded to those acknowledged as contributors to peace and human development. It was founded at the behest of Hak Ja Han Moon, the widow of

, to honor his ideals and achievements as an alternative to the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. It advocates for sustainable human development,

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of Conflict (process), conflict and Revenge, retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively co ...

, and ecological conservation.

History

In 2013, the establishment of the Sunhak Peace Prize was proposed by Mrs. Moon, with the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee being inaugurated a year later. The first award ceremony was held in 2015 and focused on climate change and the food crisis. It was awarded to

Anote Tong Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952) is an I-Kiribati environmental activist and former politician for the Pillars of Truth party with half Chinese heritage, who served as the fourth president of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the election in ...

, the former President of Kiribati, who led a crusade against climate change, with particular focus on countries in the Pacific Region and to Modadugu Gupta, an Indian fisheries scientist who pioneered the aquacultural revolution. The second award ceremony in 2017 highlighted the global refugee crisis and was awarded to two individuals:

Gino Strada Gino Strada (21 April 1948 – 13 August 2021) was an Italian war surgeon, human rights activist, peace activist, and founder of Emergency, a recognized international non-governmental organization. Early life and education Gino Strada was b ...

, a heart surgeon who provided free medical care for refugees and war victims, and

Sakena Yacoobi Sakena Yacoobi () is an Afghan activist known for her work for promoting access to education for women and children. She is the founder and executive director of the women-led NGO Afghan Institute of Learning. For her work, Yacoobi has received ...

, who spearheaded Afghan refugee education programs with a special focus for females. In 2019, the third award ceremony placed emphasis on the worsening issue of global inequality. The award recipients on that occasion were Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina and

Waris Dirie Waris Dirie (; born 21 October 1965) is a Somali model, author, actress and human rights activist in the fight against female genital mutilation ( FGM). From 1997 to 2003, she was a UN special ambassador against FGM. In 2002 she founded her own ...

. The ceremony recognised Adesina for reducing poverty in Africa through the agricultural revolution. Dirie, a

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

, tried to raise the humanitarian concern of the practice of

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

(FGM), and she assisted in passing a worldwide resolution to try to ban its practice. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the fourth award ceremony (2020) includes a Founders’ Centenary Award. Interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universal values are the "visions of peace". The Founders' Centenary Award was awarded to former UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

. The 4th Sunhak Peace Prizes are being awarded to President

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, , ; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who served as the fourth president of Senegal from 2012 to 2024. He previously served as the eighth Prime Minister of Senegal, prime minister from 2004 to 2007, under President ...

of Senegal, and former President of the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; ) is a global Communion (religion), communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of L ...

, Bishop Munib A. Younan of Palestine.

Awarded items

During the award ceremony, the laureate is awarded a

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

Purpose

History

Awarded items

Laureates

Peace Prize Laureates

Founders' Award Laureates

References

External links