9 October 2021
Is education the answer to our sustainability questions?
The UN has set 17 sustainable development goals (or SDGs). Every one of them is urgent and important: climate action, economic growth, reducing inequalities....
A unique group of achievers
Yidan Prize laureates
Here we include links to the work, and online resources of all Yidan Prize laureates.
We hope they inspire you as much as they inspire us.
The Yidan Prize Foundation extends heartfelt thanks to each laureate.
All prize types
All prize years
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG
Founder and Chair Emeritus, BRAC
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG
Founder and Chair Emeritus, BRAC
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG (April 1936 – December 2019) was the Founder of BRAC, one of the world’s largest NGOs. Viewing education as a catalyst for change, he passionately championed early childhood development and play-based learning. BRAC runs the largest secular private education system in the world, that has provided primary education to over 13 million children. His vision continues to inspire BRAC to alleviate poverty and create opportunities for people to realize their potential in 11 countries in Africa and Asia.
Background and achievements
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG
Professor Anant Agarwal
Founder and CEO, edX
Professor Anant Agarwal
Founder and CEO, edX
Professor Anant Agarwal is the Founder and CEO of edX, the online learning destination founded by Harvard and MIT. The platform aims to provide access to high quality education at scale, to learners around the world, regardless of geographic location, financial resources, prior academic qualifications, gender, race or other demographics.
Background and achievements
Professor Anant Agarwal
Dr Rukmini Banerji
CEO, Pratham Education Foundation
Dr Rukmini Banerji
CEO, Pratham Education Foundation
Dr Banerji’s work has been guided by Pratham’s mission of “every child in school and learning well”. Under her leadership, Pratham has focused on understanding and solving the problem of why children are in school, but not learning. Her team’s ‘Teaching at the Right Level’ (TaRL) program has been used by many India’s state governments to deal with the learning crisis. And the model is spreading to countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Background and achievements
Dr Rukmini Banerji
Ms Vicky Colbert
Founder and Director, Fundación Escuela Nueva (FEN)
Ms Vicky Colbert
Founder and Director, Fundación Escuela Nueva (FEN)
Ms Vicky Colbert is founder and director of Fundación Escuela Nueva. The education model she espouses has benefited students in more than 20,000 rural schools in Colombia, and has been adopted in 19 countries.
Background and achievements
Ms Vicky Colbert
Professor Carol S. Dweck
Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology, Stanford University
Professor Carol S. Dweck
Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology, Stanford University
One of the world’s leading researchers in the field of motivation, Professor Carol S. Dweck is recognized for her work on the importance of mindsets.
Background and achievements
Professor Carol S. Dweck
Professor Usha Goswami
Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience, University of Cambridge
Professor Usha Goswami
Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience, University of Cambridge
Professor Usha Goswami is a world-leading researcher in the fields of literacy, neuroscience, and education. Her research has identified the importance of children’s awareness of linguistic rhythm patterns for their reading acquisition, and has also revealed the brain basis of rhythm perception, showing how this neural process is impaired in developmental dyslexia.
Background and achievements
Professor Usha Goswami
Professor Eric A. Hanushek
Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution of Stanford University
Professor Eric A. Hanushek
Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution of Stanford University
A recognized leader in the economic analysis of education issues, Professor Eric Hanushek and his research have had broad influence on education policies in both developed and developing countries.
Background and achievements
Professor Eric A. Hanushek
Professor Larry Hedges
Chairman of the Department of Statistics, Northwestern University
Professor Larry Hedges
Chairman of the Department of Statistics, Northwestern University
Professor Larry Hedges is one of the most influential applied statisticians in the world. His work in educational policy allows policymakers, educators and the general public to see the evidence for “what works” in the field of education, and makes it possible to take a scientific approach to improving education for future generations.
Background and achievements
Professor Larry Hedges
Ms Lucy Lake
Chief Executive Officer, CAMFED
Ms Lucy Lake
Chief Executive Officer, CAMFED
Ms Lucy Lake is the Chief Executive Officer of CAMFED and has pioneered strategies to increase school retention and learning among marginalized girls, benefitting over six million young people.
Background and achievements
Ms Lucy Lake
Ms Angeline Murimirwa
Executive Director – Africa, CAMFED
Ms Angeline Murimirwa
Executive Director – Africa, CAMFED
Ms Angeline Murimirwa is CAMFED's Executive Director - Africa. She is uniquely positioned to bring the expertise of young women once excluded from education to inform policy and strategy at every level.
Background and achievements
Ms Angeline Murimirwa
Professor Carl Wieman
Professor of Physics & Graduate School of Education, Stanford University
Professor Carl Wieman
Professor of Physics & Graduate School of Education, Stanford University
Professor Carl Wieman is a pioneer of the use of new pedagogies in STEM education on college-level science teaching. His work has transformed the way STEM education is taught in major universities around the world.
Background and achievements
