The Niwano Peace Foundation announces its 43rd Niwano Peace Prize is awarded to Mr. Benki Piyãko, an Indigenous spiritual leader of the Ashaninka People in Brazil’s Amazon, internationally recognized for his leadership in defending Indigenous land and culture and for pioneering reforestation and environmental protection over the past fifteen years.
Vatican News
The 43rd Niwano Peace Prize has been awarded to Mr. Benki Piyãko, an Indigenous spiritual leader of the Ashaninka People in Brazil’s Amazon. The Niwano Peace Foundation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, awarded the prize in recognition for his “sustained leadership in defending Indigenous land and culture and for pioneering reforestation and environmental protection over the past fifteen years.”
Ecology and community
Benki Piyãko founded the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute and the Indigenous Ayahuasca Conference to advance education, community-based ecological restoration, and the transmission of traditional knowledge, mobilizing youth and communities for large-scale reforestation and biodiversity conservation.
In the press release announcing the prize, the Niwano Peace Foundation noted how he had become an influential voice for environmental stewardship in Brazil and internationally, “guided by Indigenous spirituality and committed to intercultural dialogue.”
The recognition of Benki Piyãko’s work highlighted his efforts to preserve the Amazon rainforest, protect Indigenous culture and spirituality, and educate younger generations about living in harmony with the Earth.
The prize also noted his work to show the importance of traditional wisdom, ecological responsibility, and global cooperation in addressing the climate and environmental crisis.
The award presentation ceremony will take place in Tokyo on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, where he will be given the peace prize certificate, a trophy as well as and twenty million yen.
The Niwano Peace Prize
The Niwano Peace Foundation conducts an annual international search for prize candidates “to honor and encourage individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to inter-religious cooperation, thereby furthering the cause of world peace, and to make their achievements known as widely as possible.”
The purpose is to “both to enhance inter-religious understanding and cooperation and to encourage the emergence of still more persons devoted to working for world peace.”
