# Asia Game Changer Awards

The Asia Game Changer Awards is an annual award ceremony held in recognition of individuals and organizations within and connected to the Asian community that have made positive contributions to the development and improvement of Asia and society.
Inaugurated in 2014 by New York-based non-profit organization the Asia Society, in partnership with Citibank, the first ceremony was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. A total of thirteen honorees were awarded, including Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, who was honoured as the first ever Game Changer of the Year. Nominees are selected from individuals and institutions nominated from the Asia Society's global network, which then embarks on a three-month long process of feedback and voting that results in the final awardees. While recipients are usually from varying diverse backgrounds, the 2019 ceremony marked the first time that all awardees for the year were women only.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the 2020 and 2021 ceremonies were held online.

## Ceremonies

| Edition | Date | Venue | City |
| 1st | October 16, 2014 | United Nations | New York, New York |
| 2nd | October 13, 2015 | United Nations | New York, New York |
| 3rd | October 27, 2016 | United Nations | New York, New York |
| 4th | November 1, 2017 | The Great Hall | Lower Manhattan, New York |
| 5th | October 9, 2018 | The Great Hall | Lower Manhattan, New York |
| 6th | October 24, 2019 | The Great Hall | Lower Manhattan, New York |
| 7th | October 22, 2020 | Online broadcast | Online broadcast |
| 8th | October 28, 2021 | Online broadcast | Online broadcast |
| 9th | October 27, 2022 | The Great Hall | Lower Manhattan, New York |
| 10th | October 26, 2023 | The Great Hall | Lower Manhattan, New York |

## Honorees

| Year | Recipient | Occupation | Nationality |
| 2014 | Shigeru Ban | Architect | Japan |
| 2014 | Madhav Chavan | Social activist and entrepreneur philanthropist | India |
| 2014 | Illac Diaz | Social entrepreneur | Philippines |
| 2014 | Fashion Girls for Humanity | Non-profit charity organization | United States |
| 2014 | Kuntoro Mangkusubroto | Head government minister | Indonesia |
| 2014 | Saad Mohseni | Entrepreneur CEO | Afghanistan |
| 2014 | Jacqueline Novogratz | Businesswoman CEO | United States |
| 2014 | Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy | Journalist filmmaker activist | Pakistan |
| 2014 | Playing for Change | Non-profit global music project | United States |
| 2014 | Pawan Sinha | Scientist professor | United States |
| 2014 | Malala Yousafzai | Activist | Pakistan |
| 2015 | Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura | Physicist engineer inventor | Japan |
| 2015 | Li Cunxin | Artistic director philanthropist | China |
| 2015 | Lei Jun | Entrepreneur CEO philanthropist | China |
| 2015 | Chanda Kochhar | ICICI managing director and CEO | India |
| 2015 | Aasif Mandvi | Actor comedian writer | India |
| 2015 | Mariam al-Mansouri | UAEAF Fighter Pilot | United Arab Emirates |
| 2015 | Kiran Bir Sethi | Designer educator | India |
| 2016 | Joey Alexander | Pianist | Indonesia |
| 2016 | Muzoon Almellehan | Activist | Syria |
| 2016 | Marita Cheng | Entrepreneur CEO | Australia |
| 2016 | Soo-man Lee | Record producer and executive | South Korea |
| 2016 | Dr. Sanduk Ruit | Ophthalmologist eye surgeon | Nepal |
| 2016 | Ahmad Sarmast | Ethnomusicologist director | Afghanistan |
| 2016 | Durreen Shahnaz | Entrepreneur professor speaker | Bangladesh |
| 2016 | Karim Wasfi | Conductor cellist | Iraq |
| 2016 | Zhang Yimou | Film director and producer | China |
| 2017 | Sonita Alizadeh | Rapper activist | Afghanistan |
| 2017 | Jean Liu | Business executive | China |
| 2017 | Aisholpan Nurgaiv | Eagle hunter | Mongolia |
| 2017 | Leng Ouch | Environmental activist | Cambodia |
| 2017 | Dev Patel | Actor philanthropist | United Kingdom |
| 2017 | Sesame Workshop | Non-profit organization | United States |
| 2017 | Wu Tong | Businessman CEO | China |
| 2017 | Tadashi Yanai | Businessman CEO | Japan |
| 2018 | The Afghan Girls Robotics Team | Students | Afghanistan |
| 2018 | Dr. Munjed Al Muderis | Doctor orthopedic surgeon human rights activist and humanitarian professor and lecturer | Iraq |
| 2018 | The Founders of Koolulam | Social musical initiative | Israel |
| 2018 | The Heroes of Fukushima | Plant workers first responders volunteers | Japan |
| 2018 | Mira Rai | Sportswoman | Nepal |
| 2018 | Raed Saleh and the Syrian White Helmets | Volunteer and civil defence organization | Syria |
| 2018 | The Rescue Team at the Tham Luang Caves | | Thailand |
| 2018 | Wang Shi | Entrepreneur environmentalist | China |
| 2019 | Hoor Al Qasimi | SAF director curator artist | United Arab Emirates |
| 2019 | Yuriko Koike | Governor of Tokyo | Japan |
| 2019 | Kung Fu Nuns | Social activist humanitarian | Nepal |
| 2019 | Sana Mir | Sportswoman | Pakistan |
| 2019 | Faiza Saeed | Attorney | United States |
| 2019 | Chhaya Sharma | NHRC Deputy Inspector General former Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner of Police | India |
| 2019 | Jane Jie Sun | Businesswoman CEO | China |
| 2020 | BTS | Musician philanthropist | South Korea |
| 2020 | Vikas Khanna | Chef humanitarian | India |
| 2020 | Miky Lee | Film producer businesswoman | South Korea |
| 2020 | Yo-Yo Ma | Cellist humanitarian | France United States |
| 2020 | Naomi Osaka | Sportswoman | Japan |
| 2020 | Joseph Tsai and Clara Tsai | Businessman philanthropist | Taiwan |
| 2021 | Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl | Rabbi | United States |
| 2021 | Dr. Morris Chang | Businessman | Taiwan / United States |
| 2021 | Dr. David Ho | Doctor scientist medical researcher | Taiwan / United States |
| 2021 | Sal Khan | Educator | United States |
| 2021 | Sunisa Lee | Gymnast | United States |
| 2021 | Kim Ng | Baseball executive and general manager | United States |
| 2021 | Sundar Pichai | CEO | India / United States |
| 2022 | Michael Bloomberg | Entrepreneur philanthropist former Mayor of New York City | United States |
| 2022 | Arunabha Ghosh | Founder-CEO of Council On Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) | India |
| 2022 | Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner | Poet climate change activist | Marshall Islands |
| 2022 | Kristin Kagetsu | Co-founder-CEO of Saathi social entrepreneur | India |
| 2022 | Navina Khanna | Co-founder of the HEAL Food Alliance | United States |
| 2022 | Ma Jun | Environmentalist | China |
| 2022 | Nanette Medved-Po | Philanthropist businesswoman | Philippines |
| 2022 | Dr. Rajiv J. Shah | President of the Rockefeller Foundation | United States |
| 2022 | Alok Sharma | Politician President for COP26 | United Kingdom |
| 2022 | Janet Yang | Film producer President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | United States |
| 2023 | Shabana Basij-Rasikh | Educator co-founder of the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) | Afghanistan |
| 2023 | Yayoi Kusama | Contemporary artist | Japan |
| 2023 | Josie Natori | Fashion designer entrepreneur pianist | Philippines / United States |
| 2023 | The Philadelphia Orchestra | Diplomacy (U.S.-China relations) | United States |
| 2023 | Yao Chen | Actress producer philanthropist | China |
| 2023 | Dr. Stephen Riady | Philanthropist businessman | Singapore |
| 2023 | Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki | Co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo! Inc. Philanthropist patron of the arts | United States Costa Rica / Japan |

## Special awards

| Year | Award | Recipient | Occupation(s) | Nationality |
| 2014 | Asia Game Changer of the Year | Jack Ma | Businessman philanthropist | China |
| 2015 | Asia Game Changer of the Year | Manny Pacquiao | Senator | Philippines |
| 2018 | Asia Game Changer of the Year | Indra Nooyi | CEO | India |
| 2016 | Lifetime Achievement Award | I. M. Pei | Architect | China |
| 2017 | Lifetime Achievement Award | The Aga Khan | Imam philanthropist businessman | Switzerland |