Humanitarian receives Rotary International Peace Prize

* Humanitarian Subash Chellaiah receives the Rotary International Peace Award on the Pavilion stage.  

Lincoln-based humanitarian Subash Chellaiah has been internationally recognised at the eisteddfod for helping to establish peace between different faiths.

He was awarded the Rotary International Peace Award, which is sponsored by Westminster Stone, at the festival yesterday.

The award recognises Chellaiah’s two decades of humanitarian and interfaith relations community work which includes tsunami rehabilitation, community restoration in North East India, and the establishment of schools in rural India. 

His efforts have, in recent years, extended to Lincoln where he has developed the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy at the city's university.

The presentation of the prestigious award celebrates the fourth year of the partnership between the eisteddfod and Rotary International, one of the largest humanitarian organisations in the world. 

The award recognises individuals responsible for the furtherance of peace through their work.

Subash Chellaiah said of his award: “I feel honoured and extremely happy that what I stand for and want to achieve in the world has been recognised. I admire my parents for their sacrifice to offer me a good education, which has enabled me to pursue a PhD in Peace and Reconciliation.

“I feel the recognition of this award will help me in my ambition to impart my dream and aspirations for the world for unity, sustainable peace and stability.”

As peace initiatives take many different forms the judging panel took into consideration the public benefit of the project, the profile and longevity of the individual and the impact of their work. Chellaiah stood out from a strong line-up of worthy candidates.

Dr Waheed Arian, who won the inspirational Rotary Prize last year, joined the judges on the adjudicating panel which also included Richard Hazlehurst of Bradford Peace Centre and Rotary Peace Project founder Jean Best who was recognised as a peace honoree at the United Nations in 2018.

https://westminsterstone.com/llangollen-eisteddfod-2019/

Eisteddfod chairman Dr Rhys Davies said: “Following on from the inspiring work and astounding success of the last three year’s celebrations we’re delighted to recognise Subash Chellaiah’s hard work promoting peace here in the UK and across the world.

“The initial idea of creating the Rotary International Peace Prize was born at the Llangollen Eisteddfod five years ago and with the festival’s initiative of spreading peace, friendship and goodwill across all nations is more important than ever. It’s with great pride that we’re able to highlight peace advocates in this international celebration."

https://westminsterstone.com/llangollen-eisteddfod-2019/