Making the World Better for Future Generations
(L) Hon. Jose Manuel Barroso and (R) Dame Prof. Sarah Gilbert
The 5th Sunhak Peace Prize ceremony, held during World Summit 2022 on Feb. 11, honored laureates for significant achievements in promoting peace and development, as well as Covid-19 pandemic response. Dame Prof. Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, were recognized as the 2022 laureates alongside summit co-chair and Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, who received the Founder’s Award.
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“The values that resulted in this vaccine being made available align with those of the Universal Peace Federation,” said Dr. Sarah Gilbert, a vaccinologist and one of the creators of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. “This vaccine was made for all of us,” she said. “It is a very great honor to receive the Sunhak Peace Prize and to follow the prestigious laureates who have received the award in previous years.”
Prof. Gilbert shared how she had spent years in vaccinology fighting known diseases but also preparing for a future “Disease X.” On Jan. 1, 2020, when she read an article about a terrible new respiratory sickness in China, she rushed to organize a response. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19 was ready for its trials within a few weeks — and today, 2.5 billion doses have been produced for use in 170 countries. Low-income countries pay little to nothing for the vaccines, she said, per an agreement that this vaccine must be available to all people. With additional vaccines now widely available, she said, “we can look forward to our lives going back to normal.”
Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, explained how his organization coordinated the COVAX facility to ensure that developing countries could get vaccines as easily as wealthy ones. The goal was “an equal chance for a healthy future,” said Dr. Berkley, adding that COVAX has delivered a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses to 144 countries.
“It is a great honor and privilege to receive this [Sunhak Peace] prize on behalf of Gavi,” said Dr. Berkley in his video acceptance speech. He later shared his appreciation of the prize in a tweet with his 80,000 Twitter followers. Dr. Berkeley, who specializes in infectious disease epidemiology and global health, said, “a healthier society is a wealthier society, and from this prosperity comes stability and peace.”
(L) Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and (R) Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen
Cambodia Prime Minister Sen has actively engaged with various international peace forums and peace initiatives, including UPF, leading efforts to promote global collaboration toward peace. He received the Founder’s Award from Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, summit host and co-founder of UPF, for his great leadership in sustainable development in Southeast Asia.
“I’m profoundly moved and touched to have been selected as a laureate,” said Prime Minister Sen. “Thank you for recognizing my work in ending the long civil war and building long-lasting peace in Cambodia... our leaders played a crucial collective role to build and promote peace.”
“But most importantly,” he continued,” as the Sunhak Peace Prize slogan expresses, let’s make the world better for future generations.
Hon. Jose Manuel Barroso, former president of the European Commission and chair of the Sunhak Peace Prize Selection Committee, shared congratulatory remarks to the laureates alongside former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The biennial Sunhak Peace Prize was established in 2013 by Dr. Moon to honor the legacy of her late husband, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon. “Peace is concrete action, not a vague dream,” she said during its inauguration. “We must think of all the world’s problems as our own and have a pioneering spirit to solve them.” Laureates are chosen for their extraordinary service to global peace in one of three areas: sustainable human development, conflict resolution, or ecological conservation. They receive a medal, plaque, and a cash prize.
You can learn more about the Sunhak Peace Prize here.