"In electing Noman the board recognised his pioneering leadership in mainstreaming persons with disabilities in the development process of Bangladesh, and in working vigorously with all sectors to build a society that is truly inclusive and barrier-free," the Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation (RMAF) announced.
Noman, the tenth Bangladeshi to receive the award, is the executive director of Centre for Disability in Development, a non-governmental organisation. He is also secretary general of the National Forum of Organisations Working with the Disabled, Bangladesh's online newspaper bdnews24.com said Tuesday.
Since its establishment in 1996, the CDD has trained over 10,000 development workers from 350 organisations in Bangladesh, creating opportunities for persons with disabilities
Others winners chosen for the award, Asia's equivalent to the Nobel Prize, include Japanese anti-nuclear activist Tadatoshi Akiba, Philippine teachers Christopher Bernido and his wife Maria Victoria, Chinese photojournalist Huo Daishan and Chinese bureaucrats Pan Yue and Fu Qiping.
The winners will be honoured Aug 31 in a Manila ceremony.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1957 in honour of the memory and leadership example of the former Philippine president who died in a plane crash.