The Yidan Prize Foundation announces a global call for nominations for the 2026 Yidan Prize, the world’s highest education accolade. The Yidan Prize recognizes changemakers whose work is future-oriented, innovative, transformative, and sustainable. It comprises two categories: Education Research and Education Development, championing exemplary models and spotlighting possibilities that shape the future of education.

Ahead of Yidan Prize’s 10th anniversary in 2026, the following enhancements have been introduced this year: 

• Extended eligibility opens doors to future recognition: Nominators may now choose to keep their nominations active for four prize cycles, making it easier to nominate without the need to resubmit each year.
• Collective recognition amplifies visibility: The Yidan Prize may now be awarded to multiple nominations, honoring up to three individuals in each prize category. More specifically, under each prize category, the Yidan Prize may be awarded to an individual from a nomination; a team of up to three members from the same nomination; or up to three laureates from multiple nominations, i.e. two to three individual nominations or an individual nomination and a team nomination of two.

Yidan Prize laureates receive a gold medal and share a total sum of HK$30 million (approximately US$3.8 million) in each category. Half of the amount is a cash prize to celebrate their achievements, while the other half is a project fund to support the scaling of their work.

The 2025 Yidan Prize for Education Research has been awarded to Professor Uri Wilensky of Northwestern University for his pioneering work in fostering computational literacy and systems thinking through agent-based modeling. The 2025 Yidan Prize for Education Development has been awarded to Mamadou Amadou Ly of Associates in Research and Education for Development (ARED) for advancing foundational literacy and multilingualism in Senegal and beyond.

The Yidan Prize Foundation accepts nominations annually, from the last Tuesday of October to the first Tuesday of March. Nominations for the 2026 Yidan Prize are now open and will close at 12 noon Hong Kong time on 3 March 2026. To learn more about making a nomination, visit the Yidan Prize Foundation website: yidanprize.org