The Asia Game Changer Awards is an annual award ceremony held in recognition of individuals and organizations within and connected to the Asian community that have made positive contributions to the development and improvement of Asia and society.
Inaugurated in 2014 by New York-based non-profit organization the Asia Society, in partnership with Citibank, the first ceremony was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. A total of thirteen honorees were awarded, including Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, who was honoured as the first ever Game Changer of the Year. Nominees are selected from individuals and institutions nominated from the Asia Society's global network, which then embarks on a three-month long process of feedback and voting that results in the final awardees. While recipients are usually from varying diverse backgrounds, the 2019 ceremony marked the first time that all awardees for the year were women only.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the 2020 and 2021 ceremonies were held online.
Ceremonies Edition Date Venue City Ref. 1st October 16, 2014 United Nations New York, New York 2nd October 13, 2015 3rd October 27, 2016 4th November 1, 2017 The Great Hall Lower Manhattan, New York 5th October 9, 2018 6th October 24, 2019 7th October 22, 2020 Online broadcast 8th October 28, 2021 9th October 27, 2022 The Great Hall Lower Manhattan, New York 10th October 26, 2023
Honorees
Year Recipient Occupation Nationality Ref. 2014 Shigeru Ban Architect Japan Madhav Chavan Social activist and entrepreneurphilanthropist India Illac Diaz Social entrepreneur Philippines Fashion Girls for Humanity Non-profit charity organization United States Kuntoro Mangkusubroto Head government minister Indonesia Saad Mohseni EntrepreneurCEO Afghanistan Jacqueline Novogratz BusinesswomanCEO United States Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Journalistfilmmakeractivist Pakistan Playing for Change Non-profit global music project United States Pawan Sinha Scientistprofessor Malala Yousafzai Activist Pakistan 2015 Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura Physicistengineerinventor Japan Li Cunxin Artistic directorphilanthropist China Lei Jun EntrepreneurCEOphilanthropist Chanda Kochhar ICICI managing director and CEO India Aasif Mandvi Actorcomedianwriter Mariam al-Mansouri UAEAF Fighter Pilot United Arab Emirates Kiran Bir Sethi Designereducator India 2016 Joey Alexander Pianist Indonesia Muzoon Almellehan Activist Syria Marita Cheng EntrepreneurCEO Australia Soo-man Lee Record producer and executive South Korea Dr. Sanduk Ruit Ophthalmologisteye surgeon Nepal Ahmad Sarmast Ethnomusicologistdirector Afghanistan Durreen Shahnaz Entrepreneurprofessorspeaker Bangladesh Karim Wasfi Conductorcellist Iraq Zhang Yimou Film director and producer China 2017 Sonita Alizadeh Rapperactivist Afghanistan Jean Liu Business executive China Aisholpan Nurgaiv Eagle hunter Mongolia Leng Ouch Environmental activist Cambodia Dev Patel Actorphilanthropist United Kingdom Sesame Workshop Non-profit organization United States Wu Tong BusinessmanCEO China Tadashi Yanai BusinessmanCEO Japan 2018 The Afghan Girls Robotics Team Students Afghanistan Dr. Munjed Al Muderis Doctororthopedic surgeonhuman rights activist and humanitarianprofessor and lecturer Iraq The Founders of Koolulam Social musical initiative Israel The Heroes of Fukushima Plant workersfirst respondersvolunteers Japan Mira Rai Sportswoman Nepal Raed Saleh and the Syrian White Helmets Volunteer and civil defence organization Syria The Rescue Team at the Tham Luang Caves Thailand Wang Shi Entrepreneurenvironmentalist China 2019 Hoor Al Qasimi SAF directorcuratorartist United Arab Emirates Yuriko Koike Governor of Tokyo Japan Kung Fu Nuns Social activisthumanitarian Nepal Sana Mir Sportswoman Pakistan Faiza Saeed Attorney United States Chhaya Sharma NHRC Deputy Inspector Generalformer Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner of Police India Jane Jie Sun BusinesswomanCEO China 2020 BTS Musicianphilanthropist South Korea Vikas Khanna Chefhumanitarian India Miky Lee Film producerbusinesswoman South Korea Yo-Yo Ma Cellisthumanitarian FranceUnited States Naomi Osaka Sportswoman Japan Joseph Tsai and Clara Tsai Businessmanphilanthropist Taiwan 2021 Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl Rabbi United States Dr. Morris Chang Businessman Taiwan / United States Dr. David Ho Doctorscientistmedical researcher Sal Khan Educator United States Sunisa Lee Gymnast Kim Ng Baseball executive and general manager Sundar Pichai CEO India / United States 2022 Michael Bloomberg Entrepreneurphilanthropistformer Mayor of New York City United States Arunabha Ghosh Founder-CEO of Council On Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) India Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner Poetclimate change activist Marshall Islands Kristin Kagetsu Co-founder-CEO of Saathisocial entrepreneur India Navina Khanna Co-founder of the HEAL Food Alliance United States Ma Jun Environmentalist China Nanette Medved-Po Philanthropistbusinesswoman Philippines Dr. Rajiv J. Shah President of the Rockefeller Foundation United States Alok Sharma PoliticianPresident for COP26 United Kingdom Janet Yang Film producerPresident of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences United States 2023 Shabana Basij-Rasikh Educatorco-founder of the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) Afghanistan Yayoi Kusama Contemporary artist Japan Josie Natori Fashion designerentrepreneurpianist Philippines / United States The Philadelphia Orchestra Diplomacy (U.S.-China relations) United States Yao Chen Actressproducerphilanthropist China Dr. Stephen Riady Philanthropistbusinessman Singapore Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo! Inc.Philanthropistpatron of the arts United StatesCosta Rica / Japan
Special awards
Year Award Recipient Occupation(s) Nationality Ref. 2014 Asia Game Changer of the Year Jack Ma Businessmanphilanthropist China 2015 Manny Pacquiao Senator Philippines 2018 Indra Nooyi CEO India 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award I. M. Pei Architect China 2017 The Aga Khan Imamphilanthropistbusinessman Switzerland
References