GOLDEN PEACOCK ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT AWARD 2012

Manipal University won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2012. The main theme of this meet was driving sustainable business through green economy.The award was given by Karan Singh on the Fourteenth World Congress Meet on Environment Management. The Ceremony was held in the Le Meridian Hotel, New Delhi. The meet was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit. The meet provides a way for the sustainable business in the areas like community-led advocacy and action programmes for environment protection, carbon neutrality, solar technologies and watershed management programmes. The Golden Peacock Award was introduced by the Institute of Directors in the year 1992. This award is considered as the Holy Grail of Corporate Excellence Worldwide. In 2012, The Golden Peacock Awards Secretariat received 1000 entries (approx) for various National and Global awards. In addition, Golden Peacock Environment Management Award (GPEMA) was introduced by the World Environment Foundation (WEF) in the year 1998. It aims to promote the best strategy and management of environmental issues. This award was presented to those organizations that attain the significant achievements in the field of Environment Management.

WORLD SAND SCULPTURE CHAMPIONSHIP 2012

Indian Sand Artist Sudarshan Pattnaik won People’s Choice Gold Medal Award in Moscow. It was the Second World Sand Sculpture Championship. The theme of World Sand Sculpture Championship 2012 was World Cinema. Artist from eleven countries took part in this championship. It includes following Countries: India, Spain, Ireland, Germany, the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Holland and Czech Republic. He sculpted the copy of the face of The Showman of the Millennium Raj Kapoor. His interpretation of Raj Kapoor was highly praised by the visitors. His sculpture symbolizes Indo- Russian Friendship. Sudarshan Pattnaik had also won Berlin World Championship 2008. His sand sculpture was based on the awareness about global warming. Pattnaik had participated in 50(approx) international Sand Sculpture Championships across the World. He had won his first Prize in Copenhagen Sand Sculpture Championship in Denmark. World Sand Sculpture Championship: In this Championship artists have to make sculptures with the help of sand and Water. Judges provide them the required amount of area and artist has to make their sculpture within those parameters only. There is no flexible time to work and artists have to assign the title sign before making any sculpture. He also won two gold medals and a trophy in Solo International Sand Sculpture contest 2012. Sudarshan Pattnaik belongs to the Odisha State.

Fundamental Physics Prize

9 physicists worldwide were given the Fundamental Physics Prize on 31 July 2012. The prizes were given to the physicists for their remarkable contribution to the field of fundamental physics. Fundamental Physics Prize has been established by Russian Businessman Yuri Milner and the most money-spinning academic  prize in the world. Winners of the award include , Ashoke Sen, N J Nima, Arkani-Hamed, Juan Maldacena, Nathan Seiberg, Edward Witten, Andrei Linde, Alexei Kitaev, Maxim Kontsevich,  Ashoke Sen The winners will receive 3 million dollar as the prize amount. The Nobel Prize currently comes with an award of 1.2 million dollar, which is generally divided between two or three people.

Ashoke Sen was honoured with Fundamental Physics Prize

Indian Scientist Ashoke Sen was honoured with Fundamental Physics Prize (FPP) 2012 on 31 July 2012. He is 56 years old. Ashoke will get the cash prize of three million dollar which is double the cash prize of Nobel Prize. He is the only Indian who was honored with this award. He was the Professor of Physics in Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad. In the year 1988, he had joined Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. This Prize was started by the billionaire of Russia Yuri Milner.The prize was given to the physicists for their remarkable contribution to the field of fundamental physics. The winners of Fundamental Physics Prize were selected by Yuri Milner. Yuri Milner was the researcher in Lebedev Physical Institute. Prof. Sen received Padma Shri award and the Indian National Science Academy in the year 2001 and 1995 respectively. He had received CSIR’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in the year 1994. He was also elected as the fellow of the Royal  Society of London in the year 1998. Sen studied at Presidency College of Kolkata and had successfully
completed his masters from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in the year 1976. He had completed his PhD from State University of New York, Stony Brook. He also worked with Fermilab and Stanford before coming back to the Country.

WORLD FOOD PRIZE 2012

Daniel Hillel won World Food Prize 2012. He is a scientist from Israel. The work and motivation of Daniel Hillel built the bridge between the divisions and to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East by advancing a breakthrough achievement. His work is relevant for agriculture dominated economies. He applied the method of micro-irrigation, which maximizes the efficiency of water usage in agriculture. World Food Prize is an international award. This award recognizes the importance of water  for agricultural purposes. Dr. Hillel will be formally presented with the cash prize of 250000 dollar award in October 2012 at United States. This award was recognized by Norman Borlaug in 1987. This award indicates to that person who  is pioneer in radical innovative way of bringing water to crops in arid and dry-land regions. Norman Borlaug is a Nobal Prize winner and champion in Green Revolution. The World Food Prize award is chaired by M.S. Swaminathan. He is Indian agricultural scientist Professor and the first World Food Prize laureate. Norman Ernest Borlaug was an American agronomist, humanitarian and also known as the the father of the Green Revolution. He won Padma Vibhushan which is the India’s second highest civilian honour.

MAGSAYSAY AWARDS 2012

Indian social activist Kulandei Francis, age sixty six will be felicitated with the Magsaysay Award. In the year 1979, Francis begun with his organisation, Integrated Village Development Project (IVDP) in Krishnagiri, wherein he initially started with small projects, amongst his achievements, he has conducted night schools in the light of gas  lamps, set up first aid centres. Then, with the help of development organizations, he undertook a
micro-watershed programme that, over twenty-two years, built three  thirty one mostly small check dams benefitting cultivators and their families in sixty villages. His organisation, the Integrated Village Development Project also provides training to rural students a in enhancing their skills namely  training in rural sanitation, accountancy, management, giving educational assistance for students in high schools, scholarships and also computer skills. The visionary Mr. Francis was also successful in pursuing the holistic economic  empowerment of thousands of women and their families. The Board of Trustees of the  Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced the recipients of this year, 2012 Asia’s premier prize, the Ramon  Magsaysay Award on 25 July 2012. The six individuals chosen from around the globe are from countries, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The other people chosen for the prizes, announced by the Ramon Magsaysay Award  Foundation (RMAF) in Manila, are Ms Chen Shu-Chu from Taiwan, Mr Romulo Davide from the Phillipines, Ms Syeda Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh, Mr Yang Saing Koma of Cambodia and Mr Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto from  Indonesia. Kulandai Francis who has been awarded with the Magsaysay says, working with the objective of eradicating poverty and empowering more than one lakh rural women for thirty five long years has got him the award. Magsaysay Award winners receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late President, and a cash prize. They will be formally felicitated with the Magsaysay Award during the Presentation Ceremonies which is to be held on 31 August 2012 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila. In the past, many Indians have won the Magsaysay award. In the year 1958, awardee was  Vinoba Bhave, in the year 1959 C.D Deshmukh, again in the year 1994, it was awarded to Kiran Bedi, in 1996, T.N seshan , in the year 2003, James Michael Lyngdoh,in the year 1965 Jayaprakash Narayan,In 1974 M.S. Subbulakshmi was awarded, in 1982 Manibhai Desaiwas awarded. Ramón del Fierro Magsaysay was the seventh President of the Republic of the Philippines, he served from 30 December 1953 until his death in a 1957 aircraft disaster. The Ramon Magsaysay Award known as Asia’s Nobel Prize was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers.

FUKUOKA PRIZE 2012

The Government of Japan decided to honour Indian Environmental philosopher Vandana Shiva with Fukuoka Prize 2012. The award ceremony will be held by the Government of Japan in Fukuoka city in September 2012. Vandana Shiva is the seventh Indian who received this prestigious award. She enlightens people about the ideas for the love of nature. She is the director of The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology. She had completed the Doctorate from Canada. Dr. Vandana Shiva was born in Dehradun in the year 1952. She had successfully completed her Masters in Philosophy of Science from the University of Guelph,
Canada. Dr. Shiva is the founder of Navdanya. It is an NGO which was established in the year 1991. She commenced her work in the  field of conservation of traditionally used seeds, organic farming and fair trade. In 1993, she had received Right Livelihood Award which is known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. In the year 2001, she set up  an international college for sustainable living. Dr. Shiva had written numerous books based on the issues of environment. Some of the books wrote by her are:-Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability and Peace, The Violence of the Green Revolution, Monocultures of  the Mind: Perspectives on Biodiversity and Biotechnology, and Staying Alive: Women,  Ecology and Survival in India. Many of her books were translated into the Japanese language. Her basic philosophy behind her work is Earth democracy. Fukuoka Prize is the
prestigious award and given to those people who contribute to the academy, arts and culture in Asia. Earlier, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Padma Subrahmanyam, Romila  Thapar and Ashis Nandy were the famous personalities who were honoured by this award.