#China #Hong Kong #Yidan Prize #Uri Wilensky #Mamadou Ly

Yidan Prize 2025: Honoring Innovators in Education

On September 29, 2025, the Yidan Prize Foundation announced the recipients of the Yidan Prize for the year 2025. This prestigious award recognizes individuals who are making substantial contributions to the advancement of literacy and education worldwide. This year, Professor Uri Wilensky and Mamadou Amadou Ly have been selected for their groundbreaking work in fostering computational thinking and breaking down barriers to basic education, respectively.

Recognizing Change-Makers

The Yidan Prize, which is regarded as the most significant educational award globally, is awarded to visionaries in research and educational development. The selection committee highlighted the importance of acknowledging innovative and scalable ideas during a time when education faces financial challenges. Both Wilensky and Ly are celebrated for their remarkable efforts in enhancing scientific and fundamental literacy, empowering students to engage actively in their classrooms and become global citizens.

Dr. Charles Chen Yidan, the founder of the Yidan Prize, stated, "Education unlocks potential. It equips individuals and societies with the skills to continuously learn, face uncertainties, and prosper in a changing world." The Yidan Prize serves to illuminate possibilities and forge a brighter future through education.

Contributions of Professor Uri Wilensky

Professor Uri Wilensky, who is the 2025 Yidan Prize Educational Research Laureate, holds the Lorraine H. Morton Chair in Learning Sciences, Computing, and Complex Systems at Northwestern University. He is renowned for his pioneering work in agent-based modeling (ABM), which enhances understanding of complex systems by connecting disciplinary knowledge. Wilensky developed NetLogo, an open-source tool that facilitates deeper understanding of intricate phenomena, including climate change, pandemics, and economic instability. NetLogo allows users—ranging from young students to researchers—to explore and construct models illustrating how the interactions of many individual agents create large-scale patterns. This tool fosters a universal language for tackling complex issues in various educational contexts.

Andreas Schleicher, head of the research jury for the Yidan Prize, emphasized the opportunity to highlight Wilensky's contributions. He noted, "Professor Uri Wilensky explores how computational representations can reshape knowledge across scientific and social domains. By empowering students with tools to understand complex and non-linear systems, he fosters their confidence and capacity to navigate today’s interconnected world."

Advancing Basic Literacy with Mamadou Amadou Ly

Mamadou Amadou Ly, recipient of the 2025 Yidan Prize for Educational Development, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Research and Education for Development Associates (ARED). Under his leadership, ARED has developed bilingual education models that significantly enhance the basic literacy and numeracy skills of both enrolled and non-enrolled children. Ly has showcased the transformative potential of teaching in languages familiar to children alongside new languages they need to learn, presenting a scalable approach to bilingual education in West and Central Africa. His teaching and learning materials are open-licensed and available on the Early Learning Resource Network, promoting accessibility to education.

Dorothy Gordon, head of the jury for the Yidan Prize in Educational Development, underscored Ly’s global achievements in promoting equity and inclusion in education. "Mamadou Amadou Ly's visionary work in multilingual education provides methods that open doors to literacy and opportunities for students worldwide while safeguarding linguistic and cultural identities. This path towards inclusive and equitable learning environments inspires educational reform across Africa and beyond," she affirmed.

Upcoming Celebrations

The awardees will be honored at the Yidan Prize Award Ceremony, scheduled for December 6 in Hong Kong. Additionally, the annual Yidan Prize Summit will take place on December 5 and 6. Nominations for the Yidan Prize 2026 will open from October 2025 to March 2026.

About the Yidan Prize Foundation: The Yidan Prize Foundation is a global philanthropic organization dedicated to creating a better world through education. Through its prize and network of innovators, the foundation supports educational ideas and practices with the potential to positively transform lives and society. The Yidan Prize has awarded a total of 540 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 69.2 million USD) to honor outstanding achievements and amplify innovative work across more than 50 countries. With a focus on fostering systemic, impactful solutions in education, the Yidan Prize remains dedicated to uplifting educational standards and practices worldwide.