Accra, Mar 10, GNA – The Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, is set to receive the 2025 Gold Mercury Award for advancing a culture of peace, compassion and sustainability.
Gold Mercury International (GMI), organisers of the award, said in a press statement that the award would be presented to the 14th Dalai Lama at his Dharamsala home in the Indian Himalayan region, to honour him at a time of rising global tensions, conflict and environmental challenges, as well as celebrate his life and legacy.
The statement, signed by Mr. Nicolas De Santis Cuadra, President of GMI, said the Dalai Lama’s commitment to non-violence, compassion and environmental stewardship among others, and had “profoundly shaped global consciousness.”
“This honour comes in a historic year as His Holiness marks his 90th birthday, celebrating a lifetime of unwavering commitment to peace, reconciliation, interfaith dialogue, a culture of wisdom and the protection of our planet.”
“As the source of Asia’s major rivers, it holds the largest store of fresh water outside the Arctic and Antarctic, underscoring the urgent need for its protection to ensure the stability of the region and the planet,” the statement said.
“This is why it is so relevant today,” it added.
Founded in 1961, Gold Mercury International is a global governance think tank dedicated to advancing peace and international cooperation.
Past recipients of the Gold Mercury Award include U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford for their diplomatic efforts on nuclear disarmament, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prof. Robert Gallo for discovering the HIV virus as the cause of AIDS.
Other past recipients include humanitarian organisations like UNICEF and the Red Cross.
GNA