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Peter Downie (Journalism) receives distinct honour 

By Wendy Smith

After years in a teacher's chair, former CBC broadcaster Peter Downie was back in the interviewer’s chair last month.

Downie, director of the Department of Journalism’s graduate diploma program for four years and a teacher for more than a decade, was the only North American journalist at the 2008 international Kyoto Prize ceremony in Japan.

In late September, Downie applied for a fellowship from the Inamori Foundation to spend a week in Japan attending the events along with an audience of 1 500 international dignitaries. While many Asian and European journalists were covering the event, Downie had the exclusive privilege to be the only journalist from our side of the Pacific.

While there, he interviewed this year’s laureates and was also the first North American journalist to interview Kazuo Inamori, the founder and president of Kyocera Corporation and the Inamori Foundation. Since 1985, the Inamori Foundation has awarded the prestigious $460 000 prize to individuals and groups who have made significant achievements in the scientific, cultural and spiritual development of humankind.

This year marked the first time two of the laureates hailed from Canada – philosopher and McGill professor Charles Taylor and Toronto-based molecular biologist Anthony Pawson. Downie, the former host of high profile national network television and radio shows like As It Happens, Tapestry, Man Alive and Morningside, was able to sit down with them and pick their brains in front of the camera.

“It was amazing. I had forgotten how much I missed it. I find it energizing to work on interviews. And I’ve come to understand what a privilege it is whenever one is surrounded by people interested in excellence. And that’s what this week was all about.”

Inamori’s interest in the social and spiritual aspects of human development struck a chord with Downie.

“As a child he was ill and had to depend on others, so he always had a sense of our own vulnerability and wanted to give back. He says that in the laureates, he’s looking for people who understand the fallibility of humankind. He was particularly eloquent when speaking about the imbalance between scientific and spiritual progress and the human suffering that results. That’s what the last years of my CBC career were about. It’s invigorating to be with people who are also concerned with that.”

Downie’s interviews will be used to promote the Kyoto prize in Japan and around the world.

Although the Kyoto Prize is Japan’s highest private award for lifetime achievement, it is not widely known outside the country. That’s part of the reason why a coalition of universities in San Diego host the Kyoto Laureate Symposium in March each year, which Downie hopes to attend.

He’s also fallen in love with Kyoto and is already making plans to return. “I’ve always been interested in Japan, but what really surprised me was the impact their grace had on me,” he said. “I’ve never felt calmer.”