Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Paduka Dr. Lim Kok Wing was bestowed the Commonwealth Champions Award at Limkokwing University Hall of Fame on 4 November 2017.
Limkokwing Vice President of Brand Creativity and Talent Development, Dato’ Tiffanee Marie Lim, received the award on his behalf during a gala dinner held in conjunction with the University hosting the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Summit at the Cyberjaya campus.
The Commonwealth Champions Award recognises individuals who have contributed to the Commonwealth, with the values and charter in mind, also individuals who have helped young people, the underprivileged and communities within developing states.
Tan Sri Dr. Lim is only the eighth recipient of the prestigious award in its history.
In his acceptance speech, delivered by Dato’ Tiffanee, Tan Sri Dr. Lim sent out a strong message advocating unity, for a peaceful and better planet.
“The Commonwealth has a voice in every major global organisation. We have 2 billion people in the Commonwealth, 1.2 billion below 30. We have the biggest trade block collectively, we have enormous goodwill in the global arena, we can use our collective power to balance the imbalances.”
“Let’s make the words ‘common sense’ and ‘commonwealth’ more meaningful, let’s use our common sense to build commonwealth. Let’s create a new planet, a planet where peace is possible, let’s all be champions of peace and equality,” she read out.
Commonwealth Youth Council Chairman, Mr Kishva Ambigapathy, said it is more than befitting for Tan Sri Dr. Lim to receive the award for his outstanding work over the last 45 years in designing and implementing nation-building campaigns, both locally and internationally.
“The University which Tan Sri Dr. Lim has set up across Asia, Africa and Europe is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact, bringing together the most advanced disciplines to the 21st century in tertiary education. Empowering a new generation of innovation thinkers across all industries and countries, the University has empowered people with the knowledge, skills and attitude, which is essential in driving transformation of communities of developing countries worldwide,” said Mr Kishva.
Dr. Josephine Ojiambo, Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, expressed her appreciation and paid glowing tribute to Tan Sri Dr. Lim for playing a key role in driving innovation.
“I am very proud to say Limkokwing University has a strong connection with the Commonwealth. It is a member of The Association of Commonwealth Universities and accredited Commonwealth organisation. Many of its students are from Commonwealth countries and it has campuses in a number of Commonwealth countries including Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Sierra Leone.”
She also acknowledged that the Commonwealth is pleased that Limkokwing University has been actively driving innovation and developing knowledge-based economies in a number of Commonwealth countries.
Towards the end of the gala dinner, Mr Kishva accredited Limkokwing University as the Commonwealth Youth Leadership University.
“Being the first summit, this will not be the only summit. It is the beginning of more summits to come and I’m glad to have Limkokwing University as a sole partner in delivering future summits and to create more young leaders,” he concluded.
