Maldivian environmental advocate and ocean conservationist Shaahina Ali has been named a 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, the first individual from the Maldives to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award. Ali will be conferred with Asia’s premier prize and highest honor 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.”
Recognized for her pioneering leadership in tackling plastic pollution and safeguarding fragile marine ecosystems, Ali, as Executive Director of Parley Maldives, has driven community-based initiatives that unite schools, local communities, and the tourism sector in collective action to protect the oceans that sustain Maldivian life.
Ali’s academic training and her groundbreaking role as the first female professional diver in the Maldives shaped her deep commitment to safeguarding the country’s natural heritage. Her career began in the diving industry, where she helped set national standards for safety and professionalism while opening doors for Maldivians, especially women, to engage in marine conservation.
Through Parley Maldives, Ali has introduced the Parley AIR Strategy (Avoid, Intercept, Redesign plastics) across the islands, combining education, eco-innovation, and policy advocacy. Under her leadership, Parley has mobilized schools, local communities, and tourism operators to reduce single-use plastics, restore marine habitats, and adopt sustainable alternatives. Her initiatives have empowered young Maldivians to become advocates for their environment, building a culture of responsibility and stewardship.
Reflecting on our shared responsibility in protecting the environment, Ali shares, “My parents’ generation worked tirelessly—often with very little—to give us a better life. Our generation took that gift and built comfort and convenience for our children. Yet in doing so, we slowly drifted away from nature. And now, just a generation later, many have lost that deep connection to the earth. But it is not too late. We are still here. We still remember what it feels like to be close to nature. Now it is our turn—to guide the next generation back; to share with them what once shaped us; to reconnect them with the world that gave us life; and to help them carry that bond forward to their children. We may have strayed, but we can still find our way back—together.”
Completing the roster of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees are Foundation to Educate Girls Globally, widely known as Educate Girls from India and Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva from the Philippines. Educate Girls is being recognized for their groundbreaking work in addressing gender injustice in education in India’s most rural and remote areas. Fr. Villanueva will receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his work in restoring dignity to thousands of poor and homeless in Metropolitan Manila.
The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees will formally receive their medallions and certificates during the 67th Ramon Magsaysay Awards Presentation Ceremonies on 7 November 2025 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila, Philippines. The event will be livestreamed on the Foundation’s official Facebook page and YouTube channel.
For more information on the 67th Ramon Magsaysay Awards and the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees, visit www.rmaward.asia and the Ramon Magsaysay Award’s official social media accounts.
