Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has accepted an award from a gathering of Nobel Peace Prize laureates for his work in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Mr Penn received the 2012 Peace Summit Award in Chicago, where Peace Prize laureates gathered for a three-day summit. He said in an emotional speech that he was humbled by the honour.

Mr Penn has become a major player in efforts to rebuild Haiti since the January 2010 earthquake that flattened thousands of buildings, killed more than 300,000 and left at least 1.5 million homeless.

The actor spends at least half his time in Haiti. He is CEO of the J/P Haitian Relief Organisation and an ambassador-at-large for President Michel Martelly, the first non-Haitian to receive the designation.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.