It was a great honour to be awarded the Fukuoka Prize, the most prestigeous Asian prize. While I had had the good fortune of receiving some high national honours, but winning the Fukuoka added much more weight to the work that I am engaged in. In addition to the work that I was doing for the communities, my recognition as a woman who had contributed to arts and culture brought great pride for me personally but also for my country Pakistan. I believe it is because of the recognition that Fukuoka Prize bestowed on me that I was given the international Jane Drew prize in 2020.

The Fukuoka Prize being so selective, the laureates are people who have achieved results for good of society and particularly in the arts sector. It would be so good if each year there could be a virtual assembly of all of them as well as the Prize Committee and Judges to learn what they are doing and how they are making a difference in their country. Learning from experiences of the laureates will provide further motivation to others to do more. If such assemblies could coincide with the award ceremony, which we could all participate in through digital media, it would be a great getting together which will create a bond between the awardees and the Prize committee including the judges over the years. With COVID-19 we all need to know much more about each other and how each one is surviving and how to find ways to overcome the damage caused in so many countries.

For the citizens of Fukuoka, I cannot express fully my gratitude for the warm welcome and love that my husband Suhail Zaheer Lari and I received when we were invited. I cannot forget the bright faces in the school where I gave a lecture, the interest among audience in other lectures, and special arrangements made for my visit to Kumamoto Castle after the earthquake. My only regret is that I have not been able to promote wonderful aspects of Japanese culture in schools in Pakistan. If we could jointly work on some of the aspects I witnessed in the school it would be one way for me to return the wonderful sentiments I experienced in Fukuoka.