Past Awardees

2021

Central Synagogue Senior Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl

For connecting communities beyond religion, race, or nationality.
TSMC Founder Dr. Morris Chang

Dr. Morris Chang

For connecting billions across the world — one microchip at a time.
Acclaimed virologist Dr. David Ho

Dr. David Ho

For pioneering work on deadly viruses — across two generations.
Khan Academy founder Sal Khan

Sal Khan

For proving that a good education can be provided to anyone, anywhere.
Olympic champion Sunisa Lee

Sunisa Lee

For competing with grace under pressure and making Olympic history.
Official portrait of Miami Marlins General Manager Kim Ng

Kim Ng

For shattering the glass ceiling in America’s national pastime.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai

Sundar Pichai

For harnessing the power of technology to change people’s lives.

2020

BTS - Asia Game Changer Awards

BTS

For raising their voices and inspiring their huge global audience to stand against any form of discrimination
Vikas Khanna

Vikas Khanna

For dropping everything to feed millions in India at a time of great need and suffering
Miky Lee

Miky Lee

For shining a light on inequality and blazing a trail for Korea on the global stage
Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma

For a lifetime of achievement, and providing 'songs of comfort' to millions when the world needed it the most
Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka

For using her large global platform to call for racial justice and social change
Joe and Clara Tsai

Joe and Clara Tsai

For philanthropy that built bridges between Asia and the U.S. — and saved lives — during a pandemic

2019

Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi

Hoor Al Qasimi

For transforming the arts across the Middle East and beyond
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike

Yuriko Koike

For breaking through Japan’s glass ceiling and empowering other women leaders
Sana Mir

Sana Mir

For excelling at one of the world’s most popular sports and inspiring millions of girls — on and off the field
Faiza Saeed Game Changers 2019

Faiza Saeed

For reaching the pinnacle of corporate law and blazing a path for others to follow
Chhaya Sharma Game Changers 2019

Chhaya Sharma

For solving India’s biggest crimes and building a better society
Jane Jie Sun

Jane Jie Sun

For showing that business success and gender equality can go hand-in-hand in China
Kung Fu Nuns

Kung Fu Nuns

For empowering young girls and dismantling gender stereotypes — one kick at a time

2018

Indra Nooyi

Indra Nooyi

ASIA GAME CHANGER OF THE YEAR: Champion for women, champion for sustainability, champion for wellness, and transformative leader of an iconic global company
The Afghan Girls' Robotics Team

The Afghan Girls Robotics Team

For overcoming obstacles and heartbreak — and emerging as champions for girls all over the world
Dr. Munjed al-Muderis

Dr. Munjed Al Muderis

For courage that led to his freedom — and then groundbreaking work to give patients new hope
Koolulam

The Founders of Koolulam

For spreading unity through song in one of the world’s most divided cities
The heroes of Fukushima

The Heroes of Fukushima

For risking their lives to contain a nuclear disaster
Mira Rai - 2018 Asia Game Changer Awards

Mira Rai

For defying steep odds, shattering records, and inspiring — and helping — millions of girls
Thai Cave Rescuers

The Rescue Team at the Tham Luang Caves

For showing that faith, teamwork, and indomitable courage can work miracles
Raed Saleh

Raed Saleh and the Syrian White Helmets

For game-changing, life-saving heroism — in the world’s most unforgiving and desperate places
Wang Shi

Wang Shi

For championing the environment — from the cities of China to the farthest reaches of the planet

2017

His Highness the Aga Khan

His Highness the Aga Khan

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: For improving the lives of millions in Asia and around the world
Sonita Alizadeh

Sonita Alizadeh

For using rap music to empower the girls of Afghanistan

Jean Liu

For revolutionizing transportation in China
Aisholpan Nurgaiv - The Eagle Huntress

Aisholpan Nurgaiv

For breaking gender barriers at a remarkably young age

Leng Ouch

For risking his life to expose an environmental calamity
Cyrill Matter

Dev Patel

For using celebrity to place a spotlight on India’s poor

Sesame Workshop

For proving that learning can be fun — and have a profound impact — anywhere in the world

Wu Tong

For showing that musical virtuosity knows no bounds

Tadashi Yanai

For building a global retail empire that gives back to local communities

2016

Carol Friedman

Joey Alexander

Special musical performance by the Indonesian jazz piano prodigy

Muzoon Almellehan

For bringing education and hope to young girls, amid the trauma of war

Marita Cheng

For engineering a better world, and ensuring that more of its engineers are women

Soo-Man Lee

For turning one nation's pop culture into a global phenomenon

I.M. Pei

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: For changing the world, one building at a time

Dr. Sanduk Ruit

For bringing the gift of sight, and productive life, to those most in need
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Ahmad Sarmast

For restoring music — and empowering children — in a war-ravaged nation

Durreen Shahnaz

For "social-impact" investing that has changed the game for millions
Sabah Arar/AFP/Getty Images

Karim Wasfi

For using music to heal, in the aftermath of terror
Capture Imaging

Zhang Yimou

For changing the landscape of film in China

2015

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Manny Pacquiao

ASIA GAME CHANGER OF THE YEAR: For using his sport, and his star power, as forces for good
Nobel physics laureates 2014 (L-R) Shuji Nakamura, Isamu Akasaki, and Hiroshi Amano. (Janerik Henriksson/AFP/Getty Images)

Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura

For lighting our world in a groundbreaking and sustainable way

Chanda Kochhar

For breaking the glass ceiling, transforming an industry, and reaching the masses

Lei Jun

For changing the game of communication in China
Georges Antoni

Li Cunxin

For his art, his courage, and his cultural diplomacy
Adam Cantor

Aasif Mandvi

For using comedy to challenge perceptions, and work for good
Emirates News Agency, WAM

Mariam al-Mansouri

For battling stereotypes, and terror, from the air

Kiran Bir Sethi

For empowering children to change the world

2014

Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

Shigeru Ban

For finding beauty, and hope, in the landscapes of disaster

Madhav Chavan

For bringing the gift of literacy to millions of Indians
TEDxChristUniversity/Flickr

Illac Diaz

For bringing light, literally, to so many lives

Fashion Girls For Humanity

For demonstrating that 'looking good' and 'doing good' can be one and the same
Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

Jack Ma

ASIA GAME CHANGER OF THE YEAR: For history-making business and philanthropy in China

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto

For providing a brilliant blueprint for responding to disaster
Elena Olivo/Asia Society

Saad Mohseni

For bringing news, information and entertainment to a barren landscape
Joyce Ravid

Jacqueline Novogratz

For changing the way the world tackles poverty
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

For eye-opening films that give voice to the voiceless

Playing For Change

For using the power of music to spread a global message of hope
Andy Ryan/Arts at MIT/Flickr

Pawan Sinha

For a truly visionary approach to treating India’s blind
Yui Mok/AFP/Getty Images

Malala Yousafzai

For continuing to dream, and fight for girls the world over, after living a nightmare
Whitney Legge/Asia Society

Zhang Minxuan

For leveling the playing field by providing quality education to millions in China