Rappler’s Thought Leader Nicole Curato 2013 TOYM awardee

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Rappler’s Thought Leader Nicole Curato is among this year’s The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees as announced Thursday night, December 5, by the Junior Chamber International (JCI).

For over 5 decades, The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awards has been an institution in the diverse field of civic work, recognizing excellence among Filipinos in their respective disciplines.

This year’s search commenced last June, with the theme “Heroes Create Heroes.” In its 54 years, the TOYM now has more than 400 honorees. They represent public service, education, science, and the arts, among other fields.

A sociologist, Curato has written extensively on social trends in governance and the Philippine elections for Rappler. This week, she wrote about compassionate citizenship. In “The President as spin doctor,” Curato wrote about why political spin is bound to fail.

She is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at the Center for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the Australian National University.

Curato, who showed outstanding leadership and excellence in the field of Sociology, joins 8 other awardees of the TOYM:

• Emerson Atanacio (Social Entrepreneurship)
• Custer Deocaris (Science Communications)
• Miguel Rene Dominguez (Government & Public Service)
• June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla (Community Service)
• Alonzo Gabriel (Food Science & Technology)
• Karl Michael Reyes (Medicine)
• Paolo Antonio S. Silva (Medicine)
• Christopher John Alandy Tiu (Youth Leadership Development)

The awarding ceremonies, originally scheduled on Tuesday, December 10, have been reset to Thursday, December 19, at the Rizal Hall of Malacañang Palace. President Benigno Aquino III will present the Abueva Trophies to this year’s winners. – Rappler.com