Ela Ramesh Bhatt of India to Receive 27th Niwano Peace Prize

TOKYO, February 24, 2010 - The Niwano Peace Foundation will award the 27th Niwano Peace Prize to Ms.
Ela Ramesh Bhatt of India in recognition of her contribution for more than 30
years to improving the lives of her country's poorest and most oppressed
women workers.

An award-giving ceremony will take place in Tokyo on May 13. In addition
to an award certificate, Ms. Bhatt will receive a medal and 20 million yen.

Born in 1933, Ms. Bhatt, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi's teachings, is
widely recognized as one of the world's most remarkable pioneers and
entrepreneurial forces in grassroots development. Known as a "gentle
revolutionary," she founded in 1972 the Self-Employed Women's Association
(SEWA), a trade union now with more than 1.2 million members. In 1974, she
founded the SEWA Cooperative Bank which now has an outreach of three million
women. A former Indian upper house member, she founded and served as chair
for Women's World Banking.

For a decade, she also served as a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation.
She has received many awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award of the
Philippines and France's Legion d'honneur.

In selecting Ms. Bhatt as an awardee for 2010, the Peace Prize Committee
said she is "an inspiration to all of us with her commitment to uplifting the
downtrodden by literally giving them the tools to be the authors of their own
destiny."

Niwano Peace Prize

The Niwano Peace Prize was established in 1983 to honor and encourage
individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to
inter-religious understanding and cooperation, thereby furthering the cause
of world peace. To avoid undue emphasis on any particular religion or region,
nominations are solicited from some 700 people and organizations,
representing 125 countries. The prize is named in honor of the founder and
first president of the lay Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei-kai, Nikkyo
Niwano.

Niwano Peace Foundation

The Niwano Peace Foundation was chartered in 1978 to contribute to the
realization of world peace and the enhancement of a culture of peace. The
foundation promotes research and other activities based on a religious
spirit, and serves the cause of peace in such fields as education, science,
religion and philosophy.

    Contact:
    Mr. Tadashi Takatani
    Niwano Peace Foundation
    Tel: +81-3-3226-4371
    Fax: +81-3-3226-1835
    E-mail: peaceprize@npf.or.jp
    URL: www.npf.or.jp

Mr. Tadashi Takatani of Niwano Peace Foundation, +81-3-3226-4371, Fax, +81-3-3226-1835, peaceprize at npf.or.jp