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Fulbright Association
1100 G Street, N.W.
Suite 525
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 347-5543
Fax: (202) 347-6540 |
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Former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino
Receives 1996 J. William Fulbright Prize
For International Understanding |
| The Fulbright Association awarded the 1996 J. William Fulbright Prize for
International Understanding to Corazon C. Aquino, former president of the
Republic of the Philippines, on October 11, 1996. The Prize, which carries a
$50,000 cash award, is made possible through a grant from The Coca-Cola
Foundation. |
| "President Aquino has emboldened others in her region and around the world to
believe that honesty, determination and adherence to constitutionalism are the
means to achieve social and political tranquillity," said Dr. Stanley N. Katz,
president of the American Council of Learned Societies and chairman of the
international prize selection committee convened by the Fulbright Association. |
| The J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding was created by
the Fulbright Association in 1993 to recognize individuals who have made
extraordinary contributions toward bringing peoples, cultures, or nations to
greater understanding of others. Previous recipients of the prize are South
African President Nelson R. Mandela in 1993, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
in 1994, and Austrian Federal Chancellor Franz Vranitzky in 1995. |
| "President Aquino's tireless efforts to create a just and fair government in the
Philippines have earned her respect and international recognition as a leader of
vision and character," said Dr. Philip O. Geier, president of the Armand Hammer
United World College and president of the Fulbright Association's Board of
Directors. "Ten years after her election to the presidency, we honor Mrs.
Aquino's accomplishments in restoring the Philippines' place among the community
of democratic nations and, in her private life, in working through the Forum of
Democratic Leaders and in other ways to promote peace and understanding. We
also celebrate the first time Asia is represented among the recipients of this
award." |
| Dr. Katz noted that President Aquino, the first woman to receive the Fulbright
Prize, "is a living exemplar of the capacity of individuals to bear witness to
principle by means of unadorned personal courage and commitment. Her steadfast
adherence to the ideals of domestic peace and international understanding has
brought the Philippines far down the road of peaceful transition to democracy."
In 1986, Corazon Aquino rallied public support for democracy through a non
violent "People Power" revolution, ending14 years of martial rule in the
Philippines. She carried this momentum into her presidency and created a new
constitution, which was written and approved less than a year after she assumed
office. President Aquino's leadership also brought the restoration of
democratic institutions, including an independent judiciary and effective
legislative and executive branches of government. She successfully finished her
six-year term in spite of seven attempted coups d’état by military rebels.
For her political and social triumphs, President Aquino was named "Woman of the
Year" by Time Magazine in 1986 and was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Non-Violent Peace Prize in 1987, among other distinctions. |
| Serving on the committee that selected President Aquino for the 1996 Fulbright
Prize were Dr. Katz; Dr. Anton Amon, a Fulbright Association director and senior
vice president, The Coca-Cola Company; Mr. Pablo Antonio Cuadra, poet and
director of the Nicaraguan independent daily newspaper, La Prensa; Ms. Vasso
Papandreou, minister of development for the Hellenic Republic; and the Right
Reverend Sir Paul Reeves, former governor general of New Zealand (1985-1990). |
| President Aquino is co-president Forum of Democratic Leaders with Nobel laureate
and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, Sonja Gandhi of India, and Kim
Dae-Jung, a South Korean human rights and democracy leader. President Aquino
also serves as chairperson of the Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation, which
awards scholarships for education and develops linkages for non-government
organizations to improve the quality of life for Filipinos. |
| The Fulbright Association is a private, non-profit organization that supports
and promotes the Fulbright Program, the international educational and cultural
exchange program created 51 years ago through legislation sponsored by the late
Senator William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Association also runs
educational and cultural programs for foreign Fulbright scholars during their
U.S. stay, linking them with U.S. Fulbright alumni, and collaborates with 50
Fulbright alumni organizations abroad. |
| The Philippine Fulbright Scholars Association is the oldest Fulbright alumni
organization in the world and has been active in projects that benefit
Philippine society. Since Fulbright exchanges between the U.S. and the
Philippine society began, approximately 1,700 Filipinos and 600 U.S. citizens
have participated. Worldwide there are now more than 200,000 alumni of the
Fulbright Program. |
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