The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees Announced

In a global announcement event held 31 August 2025, the Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced this year’s recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s premier prize and highest honor. The announcement also marks the beginning of the 67th Ramon Magsaysay Awards Festival Season, a continuing celebration of transformative leadership and greatness of spirit that shape Asia and inspire the world.

The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees are:

FOUNDATION TO EDUCATE GIRLS GLOBALLY, from India. Widely known as “Educate Girls,” the organization is being recognized for “its commitment to addressing cultural stereotyping through the education of girls and young women, liberating them from the bondage of illiteracy and infusing them with skills, courage, and agency to achieve their full human potential.”

SHAAHINA ALI, from the Maldives. She is being recognized for “her unwavering commitment to protecting the marine ecosystem of the Maldives with passion, vision, and inclusivity, ensuring that her work will be carried on by another generation of Maldivians in search of effective local solutions to global problems.”

FLAVIANO ANTONIO L. VILLANUEVA, from the Philippines. He is being recognized for “his lifelong mission to uphold the dignity of the poor and the oppressed, daily proving with unwavering faith that by serving the least of their brethren, all are restored.”

First given in 1958, the Ramon Magsaysay Award celebrates the greatness of spirit embodied by the late Philippine President, Ramon Magsaysay. Each year, it honors women, men, and organizations across Asia whose selfless service has uplifted lives, strengthened communities, and advanced dignity and justice.

In a statement, RMAF Chairperson Edgar O. Chua said, “For sixty-seven years, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has celebrated transformative leaders who have become enduring beacons for Asia and the world. Each generation of Ramon Magsaysay Awardees has shown us that integrity, courage, and compassion can shape societies for the better. This year’s recipients stand firmly by that proud tradition. Their stories affirm that the leadership values embodied by President Ramon Magsaysay remain as urgent and as vital today, guiding us in a world where the need for principled action and moral clarity has never been greater.”

As the world faces uncertainty and complex challenges, the Ramon Magsaysay Award continues to shine a light on those who inspire hope and action. This year’s theme, “Illuminating Our Future,” reflects how the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees’ journeys and contributions cast beams of possibility—guiding societies toward resilience, justice, and shared progress.

RMAF President Susanna B. Afan remarked, “‘Illuminating Our Future’ is a theme that speaks powerfully through the lives and works of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. In their unwavering dedication, we see not only solutions to pressing issues today but also light sparks of hope for generations to come. Their greatness of spirit reminds us that even in uncertain times, there are always those who can help chart the way forward. The journeys of Foundation to Educate Girls Globally or Educate Girls from India, Shaahina Ali from the Maldives and Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva from the Philippines remind us that the call to serve, selflessly, transcends borders, generations, and circumstances.”

The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees will each receive a medallion bearing the likeness of President Ramon Magsaysay, a certificate inscribed with their citation, and a cash prize. The 67^th Ramon Magsaysay Award Presentation Ceremonies will be held on 7 November 2025, Friday, at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila, Philippines.

For more information on the 67^th Ramon Magsaysay Awards and the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees, visit www.rmaward.asia and the Ramon Magsaysay Award’s official social media accounts.