The 2017 Global Peace Awards, highlight of the Global Peace Convention, honored seven out- standing citizens of the world who “demonstrate lives of integrity and a sustained commitment to realizing a world of peace,” held at the Grand Ballroom of Marriott Convention Center, Pasay City.

Educator and women’s advocate Nona Ricafort was the country’s recipient for Leadership in Strengthening Families Award handed to her by Eva Latham, president of Human Rights Teaching International, the Netherlands.

Award is given to an individual for “sustained efforts to advance the welfare of the family as the primary unit of civil society and for supporting responsible parenting, strong marriages and a healthy and nurturing environment of children.”

Ricafort is former commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education. Also honored were individuals whose “exemplary efforts have substantially improved the lives of others and has advanced the ideal of ‘One Family under God.’”

Cited were Marco Roncarati of the United Nations Economic and Social Communication (Outstanding Service); Edwin Feulner of the Asian Studies Center and a Chung Ju-Yung fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC (Innovative Scholarship for Peace), and Dianne Melly of the IBM-Global Citizenship Initiatives (Philanthropy and Corporate Citizenship).

Former Panama President Nicolas Ardito Barletta was the recipient of “Good Governance Award.”

Other awardees were Keiko Kobayashi, chair of the NPO Jun AI World Peace Foundation (Promoting a Culture of Peace); Rev. John Joseph Hayab and Sheikh Khidir Maraya, known as the “twins of Kaduna” from Nigeria and a well-loved Christian and Muslim clergies (Interfaith Leadership). —CONTRIBUTED