President of Kiribati (62, left), and Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta, Indian fisheries scientist (75, right) have been selected as the first dual laureates to receive the Sunhak Peace Prize.

“We are honored to announce that the first Sunhak Peace Prize will be presented to these two deserving individuals,” said Dr. Il-Sik Hong, former president of Korea University and chairman of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee. “President Tong and Dr. Gupta are worthy Laureates because they have made the world a better and more peaceful place. Hunger, poverty, and climate change lead to global conflict and human suffering, and both men have devoted their lives to furthering peace by finding sustainable solutions to these pressing problems.”

President Anote Tong emphasized that his nation could be uninhabitable by the 2050s because of the rising sea levels caused by climate change, and urged the international communities to embark upon immediate and concrete action. The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee said, “Furthermore, Pres. Tong is devoting a significant amount of his energy to defending the rights of his citizens through the ‘migration with dignity’ program, which is a vocational training initiative for local residents who are forced to leave their homes due to climate change so that they will not be treated as ‘refugees’ but as valuable members of the work-force. The other laureate Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta successfully bred improved species of fishes such as ‘tilapia’ and ‘silver barb carp’ which he correctly identified would thrive in the Asian rural environment, and revolutionized the aquaculture industry with an explosive increase in production.”

‘Sunhak’ is the first letter of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. The Sunhak Peace Prize was established to search for individuals and organizations that have contributed to the peace and welfare of future generations, in order to inspire a new civilization of peace, annually awarding up to US$1 million. The award ceremony will be held this coming 28 August 2015 (Friday) in Seoul, Korea.

[Source - http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201506092121025&code=100100]