Former Prime Minister Helen Clark
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark was selected as successor to Sir Edmund Hillary for her remarkable achievements and contributions to society.

Dr. Cass Sunstein
Dr. Cass Sunstein, a vegetarian Harvard law professor and animal rights advocate, has been appointed by President Obama as the next US head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Metropolitan Kirill
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was elected the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand
Mohammad Sadegh Kaboudvand, an Iranian reporter and human rights activist, received the Hellman/Hammett grant by the Human Rights Watch.

Dr. Kantilal Patel and Mrs. Ranjna Patel
Dr. Kantilal Patel of New Zealand received the Queen’s Service Medalfor his dedication to providing affordable and accessible health care, while his wife, Mrs. Ranjna, also received the Queen’s Service Medal for her commitment to the Indian community in Auckland.

Elizabeth Busch
British Elizabeth Busch has been crowned queen by tribal chiefs in Ghana for her work in establishing centers to benefit local children.

Zhu Zheqin
Chinese singer Zhu Zheqin, also known as Dadawa, is honored as a goodwill ambassador by the United Nations Development Program to help preserve the cultural integrity of Chinese ethnic minorities.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) airs a Farsi television service in Iran, Afghanistan, and central Asia.

“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Waltz with Bashir,” “Wall-E,”  Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslet, Sally Hawkins, Heath Ledger
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Mickey Rourke, “Waltz with Bashir,” “Wall-E,” Kate Winslet, Sally Hawkins, and Heath Ledger were recognized for their exceptional works in entertainment at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Hollywood, California, USA.

Tina Volpe and Voice America Health & Wellness
Ms. Tina Volpe, author and vegetarian, hosts the new “Wake Up America” radio show that is being aired on Voice America Health & Wellness internet radio network which focuses on food choices and their impact on the environment.

Microsoft’s “Fable 2” video game
Microsoft’s “Fable 2” video game wins People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) Most Animal-Friendly Video Game award for its message about the benefits of being vegetarian. 

Giles Cardozo and team of engineers
Briton Giles Cardozo and a team of engineers designed the Skycar – a self-propelled, street legal, flying mobile – that is making a journey from London to West Africa’s Timbuktu, Mali.

Alex Miller
Australian author Alex Miller won the Annual Foreign Novels 21st Century Award, a prestigious book prize from China that recognizes excellence in contemporary foreign literature works, for his book “Landscape of Farewell.”

Scottish folk singer Donovan, Philippe Jaroussky, Dương Tường, Nguyễn Vĩnh Bảo, Diệp Thị Mỹ Hạnh
Scottish folk singer, Donovan, has been honored by France as Officer of the Order of Arts and Literature; French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky was honored as Knight; Aulacese (Vietnamese) citizen Dương Tường was honored as Officer for his translations of 20 famous French literary works; Professor Nguyễn Vĩnh Bảo was awarded with the Order of Arts; and Dr. Diệp Thị Mỹ Hạnh was recognized with the Order of the Academic Palm. 

Gambia
Gambia’s President’s International Award solar cooking project has successfully trained more than 1,000 Gambian women to use this sustainable technology, thereby circumventing the need to travel long distance to find wood for fuel.

Gorham, Maine
The city of Gorham’s engineers in Maine, USA, have designed a 3.4-mile stretch of bypass road that accommodates both small and larger animals to cross safely to the other side using vegetation and a fence as guides.

Alberto Cairo
Alberto Cairo, a physiotherapist from Piedmont, Italy, opened the largest orthopedic rehabilitation clinic in the world in Afghanistan, and for over twenty years, has been helping residents with disabilities regain mobility and normalcy.

Dr. Beverly Glover
Dr. Beverly Glover, lead researcher at Cambridge University’s Department of Plant Sciences in the United Kingdom, reported that animals and plants do communicate with each other.

Professor Steve Garlick and Dr. Rosemary Garlick
Professor Steve Garlick and Dr Rosemary Garlick protect and rehabilitate Australia’s kangaroos by campaigning to end culling and promoting the importance
of kangaroo protection. 

Dr. Will Tuttle
Dr. Will Tuttle, author of “A Case for the World Peace Diet,” travels the US to bring awareness of the inhumane treatment of animals and encourage embrace of a vegan diet
to enable global peace. 

AWARDS & SPECIAL THANKS

Mr. Sushil Kumar
Vegetarian and 2008 Olympic bronze medal winner, Mr. Sushil Kumar partners with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to promote a compassionate vegetarian diet. 

Leilani Munter
American professional race car driver Leilani Munter, a devoted vegetarian and environmentalist, is promoting greener lifestyles amongst her fans with plans to set up eco-education centers and an Eco-Dream racing team.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell
A Cornell University professor and an outspoken vegan himself, Dr. T. Colin Campbell actively promotes the vegan diet.  He authored “The China Study,” a comprehensive research project showing the connection of the meat diet to disease and obesity.

Raymund Wee
Mr. Raymund Wee dedicates his life’s savings of US$1 million to start Noah’s Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary to build a comfortable home for rescued animals in Singapore. 

US Agency for International Development
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) donates US$10 million to support regional governance in Sri Lanka, including awarding 18 students journalism scholarships. 

Jungto Society
Jungto Society in South Korea ships food aid to provide sustenance for about 2500 mothers and 6,300 infants and children in Hoeryong, North Korea.

Dr. Terry Mason
Dr. Terry Mason,Health Commissioner in Chicago, USA announces he would be eliminating all meat from his diet for the month of January, and he encouraged others to do the same to improve their health.

Formosa (Taiwan)
Formosa (Taiwan) has doubled the tax imposed on cigarettes as a means of discouraging smoking.

Surf Coast Shire Council
Australia’s Surf Coast Shire Council in the state of Queensland has passed a law banning smoking and glass containers from its beaches.

Ontario, Canada
A new law in the province of Ontario, Canada prohibits adults from smoking in a vehicle with a minor present under the age of 16.

Bob Barker
Bob Barker, vegetarian television host, donates US$1 million for the creation of an animal law program at the University of Virginia law school in the US. 

Chile, Algeria and Morocco
Chile has dispatched 3.5 tons of medical supplies to Gaza, while Algeria provided 14 doctors and Morocco sent 30 medical specialists.

Stanislav Markelov and Anastasiya Baburova Lawyer
Stanislav Markelov and 25-year-old trainee reporter Anastasiya Baburova from Moscow, Russia, are remembered for their work in defense of human rights.