The Honorable Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, esteemed Yidan Prize Laureates, distinguished guests and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, 

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2023 Yidan Prize Awards Ceremony. Thank you very much for being here and for supporting the Yidan Prize’s mission to create a better world through education. Tonight, we have come together because we believe in the power of education to improve lives. 

Over the last 50 years, we have seen how widespread investment in education has lifted people out of poverty, and spurred advances in science and technology that transformed almost every aspect of our lives—from healthcare, to communication, transportation, agriculture, and the civic and social spaces we live in. 

But there are new challenges. Many people call them existential challenges—climate change, peace and security, jobs and technology, inequality, and the disruptive changes brought by artificial intelligence. So despite so much progress, young people feel like their world is fragmenting along social, environmental, and economic fault lines. 

Our education systems need to rise to the challenges of the 21st century as they did to the challenges of the 20th century. At the Yidan Prize, I am very pleased to be associated with educators whose ideas and practices are shaping education systems for the better around the world. 

The 2023 Yidan Prize laureates we honor this evening address two critical questions: how students learn, and who has the opportunity to learn. 

I’d like to offer my personal congratulations and gratitude to Professor Michelene Chi. You have organized profoundly different approaches to active learning into a simple and widely applicable ICAP framework, which clearly defines how learners can create knowledge for themselves in the most active and effective way, making a long-lasting impact on the lives of countless young people. These active, cooperative learning models help students develop the skills they need for success in the 21st century—curiosity, teamwork, communication, and empathy. 

I’d like to extend my personal commendation and appreciation to Shai Reshef. Realizing all young people need an opportunity to learn, you founded University of the People, leveraging technology and educator and volunteer networks to change many lives. Under the limitations of circumstances, such as economic deprivation, pandemics, armed conflicts, and a host of other setbacks, I know the difference this opening can make in any young person’s life. You and your team’s efforts to reach refugees and other marginalized young people are a poignant reminder of our common destiny. 

Let me conclude by asking everyone to strive for a world where the best ideas for improving education are put into place on a large scale—where young people are motivated to learn, collaborate, and apply their learning to solve real world problems—where everyone, everywhere can develop their talents to the fullest. This is the world young people deserve, and the world we all need.   

Thank you! 

Charles CHEN Yidan 
Founder, Yidan Prize  
3 Dec 2023