Sunhak Peace Prize: Global Peacebuilders Honored

Sunhak Peace Prize celebrates visionaries of peace and progress at award ceremony in Seoul

The 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony

The Sunhak Peace Prize logo.

The Award Ceremony for the 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize was held Friday, 11^th April 2025, at the Crystal Ballroom of the Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, South Korea with 750 distinguished guests attending, including former and current heads of state, as well as prominent global leaders from approximately 100 countries.

Each of the three laureates received a medal, plaque, and a monetary award of USD 200,000. The winners of 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize were Wanjira Mathai, Hugh Evans, and Patrick Awuah Jr., in recognition of their impactful work in educational innovation, global citizenship, and environmental restoration.

Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute, headquartered in Washington DC, was honored for her exceptional leadership of the AFR100 initiative, which seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land across Africa by 2030. She has also made notable contributions to environmental conservation through her involvement in the Green Belt Movement, co-founded with her mother, Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, resulting in the planting of over 51 million trees.
Hugh Evans, co-founder of Global Citizen in Australia, was recognized for his efforts in raising $43 billion to fight global poverty, providing critical social services to around 1.3 billion people in need.
Patrick Awuah Jr., founder of Ashesi University in Ghana, was celebrated for transforming higher education by fostering ethical leadership and advancing STEM education. His commitment to gender equity has also led to a 50% enrollment rate for women at the university.

According to José Manuel Barroso, Chair of the Sunhak Peace Prize Selection Committee, “These laureates have demonstrated significant, ongoing commitments to addressing critical global challenges. Their dedicated efforts reflect a vision of sustainable peace and human advancement.”

The three laureates were given the prestigious prize by Dr. Thomas Walsh, President of HJ International Graduate School for Peace, and co-chair of the Sunhak Peace Prize Selection Committee. In his welcoming address, he said,

“As we know, peace does not become a reality automatically. It doesn’t emerge naturally like a sunrise. It comes into being like any great work on the foundation of the investment of time, energy, creativity, guided by a moral and spiritual vision and requiring courage, resolve, conviction. Such work for peace will be on display throughout today’s program.
The Sunhak Peace Prize was founded 10 years ago based on the remarkable vision and leadership of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, in appreciation for the great work of her late husband, Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
The principle that guides the Sunhak Peace Prize is that lasting peace can only be achieved when we transcend barriers that divide us and learn to respect each person’s God-given dignity and value as a son or daughter of God.”

In his congratulatory address, Dr. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations and recipient of the 2020 Sunhak Peace Prize Special Founders Award, said,

“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Sunhak Peace Prize, a significant milestone that highlights its enduring mission to recognize and share the inspiring stories of unsung heroes who tirelessly serve humanity’s peace and prosperity. The achievements of this year’s five laureates are truly profound. […]
As former Secretary General, I tirelessly emphasized the global citizenship. In that respect, I’d like to express my gratitude Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, whose vision and commitment over the past decade have brought these remarkable individuals to global attention and uniting them through international solidarity.
Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon established the Sunhak Peace Prize to realize the vision of one family, a world of peace. Her courageous founding of the prize in 2013, transcending nationalities, races, religions and cultures, reflects her lifelong dedication to lasting peace and human welfare. Her unwavering spirit of true love and role as the “Mother of Peace” continue to serve as an exemplary guide for this and future generations.”

A second congratulatory message was delivered by Macky Sall, President of Senegal 2012-2024. He expressed,

“I’m very delighted to take the floor at this Sunhak Peace Prize Award ceremony. It is an honor and a duty of gratitude as a laureate of the fourth edition of the prize. My obligations at the time did not allow me to attend the ceremony. I therefore felt it was a duty to be visual for this summit.
I pay tribute to the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the visionary behind the Universal Peace Federation. And I salute with respect the honorable Mother Han Moon, who continues to serve the ideal of peace and human fraternity with generosity and commitment.
In a world exhausted by war, violence and all its harms, climate crisis and persistent inequalities, working together, working towards the ideal of peace and human fraternity is an act of faith, goodwill, courage and patience. This is what the 2025 Sunhak Prize laureates have demonstrated. […]
In these challenging times, honoring those who strive for peace, development and human beings’ dignity is more than a symbolic act. It is a moral imperative. That is precisely why we stand together here today. This prize not only recognizes the achievement of the laureates but also serves as an encouragement for all of us to continue this work.”

In her acceptance speech, Wanjira Mathai stated,

“What a profound privilege it is for me to stand here today accepting this award and joining the remarkable family of Sunhak Peace Prize laureates.
This moment really fills me with deep gratitude and humility to be recognized as by a prize that is dedicated to resolving worldwide suffering, conflict, poverty and environmental threats, and that is guided by a mission rooted in sustainability, conflict resolution and ecological conservation. […]
To be recognized with the Sunhak Peace Prize during such turbulent times, particularly for my region in Africa and my country in Kenya, that faces such vulnerability is an incredible, incredible honor.
The vision set forth by Reverend and Dr. Moon of a peace built through collaboration and service and upliftment of the most vulnerable resonates very deeply for me.”

Hugh Evans said in his acceptance speech,

“I accept the Sunhak Peace Prize with enormous gratitude. And I accept it on behalf of our team at Global Citizen, our partners and the artists and advocacy communities who selflessly help make all of our work possible. […]
And while I’ve been passionate about ending extreme poverty all of my life, the founding principles of Global Citizen were inspired by the words of the late Nelson Mandela, who said in one of his final speeches in Trafalgar Square in 2005, he said that overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, but an act of justice.
He said, like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.”

The third laureate, Dr. Patrick Awuah, said in his speech,

“What Korea’s history, Ashesi’s experience, and the spirit of the Sunhak Peace Prize teach us is that investing in youth, education and leadership, we create a ripple effect benefiting not just one country or region, but our entire global community.
Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and all of you here today, thank you for your work to promote global peace and well-being. The work before us is enormous, and it will take patience, persistence and courage to succeed. Every step forward reminds us of how much further we still have to go, but also how achievable our goals are.
As Reverend Sun Myung Moon put it, the way for us to live is to rely on each other’s love. We must give until all our selfishness disappears. That is where peace comes from.
Thank you once again for this award. I will hold it, dear. And I accept it on behalf of the African youth whose potential shines a light for all of us.”

At the award ceremony in Seoul, there were two more laureates, recipients of the 2025 Special Founders’ Award – Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria 2010-2015, and Dr. Samuel Radebe, founder of The Revelation Spiritual Home in South Africa. More about that in part 2.

To be continued. Part 2 coming soon.

Text: Knut Holdhus, written based on live transmission from Seoul

Featured image above: Dr. Thomas Walsh and the three 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize laureates at the award ceremony in Seoul, South Korea 11th April 2025. Photo: Screenshot from live transmission by Peace TV.

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