| Luigi Colani, 72, from Germany, industrial designer
Colani has received many awards since he embarked on a career in designing in Paris in the early 1950s.
He came to China in the 1990s to teach at Shanghai's Tongji University.
In 2008, Colani designed the unique fan cabin of the first 2.5-megawatt wind turbine in Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. These turbines provide abundant clean energy to Beihai, making a significant contribution to the protection of the region's fragile ecology.
"This wonderful country is one of the oldest cultures we have, and even as a child, I was very much in love with Chinese art," Colani says.
Josef Margraf, biologist from Germany, and Minguo Li-Margraf
Margraf came to China to research an endangered variety of orchids and help with biodiversity conservation in western China.
Margraf met and married Li Minguo in Xishuangbanna while in charge of a Sino-German project on rainforest protection.
The couple founded the Tian Zi Biodiversity Research and Development Center.
Margraf died on Jan 26, 2010.
"The planet's biodiversity remains precarious I hope everyone here will do what we can, no matter how small, to protect our living space," Minguo Li-Margraf said, while accepting the award.
Laurence J. Brahm, 49, from the United States, a global activist, international mediator, political economist and author
Brahm is a Beijing-based political economist and lawyer who has spent his entire career involved with China. Advice provided by him was regularly sought by State-owned and multinational enterprises in China.
He has also written some 20 books, interpreting China to the world.
An attack of femoral head necrosis led him to a spiritual world in the Tibet autonomous region and Yunnan. He has been calling for priority to environmental protection, ethnic diversity, and cultural sustainability in economic development.
"Through business, we make money, and can give our children a lot of money to spend, but what is the point (of that) if we cannot provide them water to drink? And that is the problem we will face in the future," he says.
Josef Eugster, 70, from Switzerland, a priest and expert in foot massage
Father Josef has been living in Taiwan for the past 30 years. Besides performing his duties as a priest he also helps people tortured by disease, through foot massage.
After successfully healing himself through foot massage, he could not but help explore the secrets of this method. Combining traditional Chinese medical theory and Western reflexology, he has developed his own method of foot massage.
"God has put a doctor in our feet; making friends with him will keep us healthy. I hope everyone can benefit from foot massage," he says.
Aoki Yoko, 49, from Japan, founder of the first Japanese-language training school for the visually impaired
A disease at 6 condemned Yoko to a life of darkness, but she lives with sunshine in her heart by helping others.
In 1994, Yoko, then 33, established the Tianjin Japanese-language training school for the visually impaired, the first of its kind in China. Since then, she has helped 401 students, some of whom have traveled to Japan with her.
"I will keep on helping those who cannot see to realize their dreams, and lead them into a bright world," she says.
Guillaume and Delphine Gauvain, from France, founders of the Jici Home for visually impaired orphans
Mr and Mrs Gauvain used to head a project to help juvenile offenders and drug addicts in the United States.
In November 2002, they decided to focus on helping a vulnerable group - visually impaired orphans - after working in Beijing with organizations for orphans, and realizing the absence of a specialized service for these children.
Jici Home in Langfang, Hebei province, was born in 2003 and has 80 children in seven houses, besides a school for the visually impaired.
"We are honored to receive the award. It's not only for us but also for the hundreds of people backing us. All the nannies and teachers, thank you!," they said while receiving the award. |
