Out of deep gratitude and respect for the sacrifice of those who have spent their lives in service to humanity and to the planet Earth, for those who have tirelessly lived each moment to promote a world in sustained balance, harmony, peace and happiness, to those who live the ideal, the Global Energy Parliament has decided to introduce the GEP Lifetime Achievement Award.
The first GEP Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to H.E. Sir James R. Mancham, the Founding President of Seychelles at the 7th international session of the Global Energy Parliament in Sri Lanka, on December 11, 2016. Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, presented the award to Mr. Mancham at the Temple Trees Banquet Hall, the residence of the Hon. Prime Minister.
Sir James R. Mancham was born in Seychelles in 1939 and educated as a lawyer in London. He was the Prime Minister for 10 years, and after Seychelles received British independence he became the first President.
Mr. Mancham has devoted his life to the causes of true and lasting global peace, reconciliation, inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony, non-proliferation, and statesmanship. He has always been a vocal critic of nuclear arms and warfare, but takes a gentle and diplomatic approach. Born in a small island nation, Mr. Mancham well understands the fragility and the interconnectedness of all life and nations on this planet. Since leaving office, he continues his struggle for global peace and tirelessly promotes the message to leaders and organizations worldwide.
He has recently founded the Centre for Peace Studies and Reconciliation in Seychelles, and has been given many distinguished awards and honors, most notably the URI-Africa Peace Award (2016), the Gusi Peace Prize (2011), the International Jurists Award for Peace (2010). He is a member of many organizations, including the Club de Madrid, the World Future Council, and the European Centre for Peace and Development, and author of many books, articles and his own magazine.
In his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations as the President of Seychelles in 1976, Mr. Mancham said, “I think the time has come when we must ask ourselves what will make the world a sane world. The answer is only sane people. What will make the world peaceful? The answer is only peaceful people. For too long the strange notion has persisted in human beings that a state of sanity and peace can somehow be produced by arms struggle and violence. That the end justifies the means is a lie which has been swallowed by almost everyone. It would be much more accurate to say that the end reveals the means.
“We do not have to look very far or very closely to see that there are simple and natural laws which work as surely in human affairs as they do in the rest of creation.”
These profound words should echo loudly for the members of the Global Energy Parliament, who holds the hope that every man, woman and child will deeply contemplate the law of action and reaction, the amazing reality that everything is energy, and through energy we are all connected. The creation and maintenance of peace is in the hands of humankind only, to harness this knowledge of energy and to learn how to keep our world in balance.
We celebrate the life of Sir James R. Mancham, a global ambassador of peace and statesmanship, and take great pleasure to award him with the first GEP Lifetime Achievement Award.
