2025 Yidan Prize spotlights changemakers advancing complex systems literacy and multilingual education

HONG KONG, Sept. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yidan Prize Foundation, a global philanthropic organization, has announced its 2025 Yidan Prize laureates. Professor Uri Wilensky and Mamadou Amadou Ly are awarded the world's highest accolade in education for their contributions in fostering computational thinking skills and breaking down barriers to foundational education, respectively. Uri and Mamadou will join the Yidan Prize Council of Laureates, a community of bright minds across research and practice seeking to collaborate, share opportunities, and explore pathways to create a better world through education.

Spotlighting changemakers to create a better world through education

The independent Yidan Prize Judging Committee selected the two laureates among outstanding researchers and practitioners around the world. The Committee highlights the importance of recognizing innovative and scalable ideas in a time of disinvestment in education. The 2025 Yidan Prize laureates are making significant contributions in advancing foundational and scientific literacy, supporting students to participate fully in the classroom and engage in society as global citizens.

"Education unlocks potential. It equips individuals and societies with the skills to continuously learn, navigate uncertainty, and thrive in a changing world. At a crossroads in global development, we stand strong in our commitment to education. The Yidan Prize is dedicated to serving as a lighthouse to illuminate possibilities and shape a brighter future through education," said Dr Charles CHEN Yidan, Founder of the Yidan Prize.

The Yidan Prize recognizes changemakers in education research and education development whose work is future-oriented, innovative, transformative, and sustainable. Professor Uri Wilensky and Mamadou Amadou Ly will each receive HK$30 million (approximately US$3.8 million), half of which is an unrestricted project fund of HK$15 million to expand and scale their education initiatives. To date, the Yidan Prize Foundation has awarded a total of HK$540 million (approximately US$69.2 million) to recognize outstanding achievements and scale innovative work in over 50 countries.

Understanding complexity through hands-on exploration and knowledge generation

2025 Yidan Prize in Education Research Laureate, Professor Uri Wilensky, is the Lorraine H. Morton Professor of Learning Sciences, Computer Science and Complex Systems at Northwestern University. He is recognized for his groundbreaking work in agent-based modeling (ABM), which promotes complex systems literacy and bridges disciplinary knowledge. He has developed a free, open-source tool, NetLogo, to facilitate a deeper understanding of complex phenomena, from climate change to pandemics to economic instability. It enables users to explore and build models that illustrate how the interactions of many individual "agents" create large-scale patterns. The same tool can be used by young children and researchers, providing a universal language to approach complex issues in different educational and academic settings.

Andreas Schleicher, Head of the Yidan Prize Education Research Judging Panel, emphasized the timeliness of spotlighting Uri's work. He said that "Professor Uri Wilensky explores how computational representations can recast knowledge across scientific and social domains. By equipping students with tools to understand nonlinear, complex systems, he fosters their confidence and agency to navigate today's interconnected world."

Advancing foundational literacy and multilingualism for better learning outcomes

2025 Yidan Prize in Education Development Laureate, Mamadou Amadou Ly, is the Executive Director of Associates in Research and Education for Development (ARED). Under Mamadou's leadership, ARED has developed bilingual education models that significantly enhance foundational literacy and numeracy skills for children in and out of school. He has demonstrated the transformative power of teaching in languages children know alongside languages children need to learn and has showcased a scalable pathway for bilingual education in West and Central Africa. ARED's teaching and learning materials are openly licensed and available for all to use on the Early Learning Resource Network. His community-focused, culturally appropriate approach has influenced national education policy in Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and beyond.

Dorothy Gordon, Head of the Yidan Prize Education Development Judging Panel, highlighted the global significance of Mamadou's achievements in advancing equity and inclusivity in education. She said, "Mamadou Amadou Ly's visionary work in multilingual education provides methods that open the door to literacy and opportunity for learners globally while safeguarding linguistic and cultural identities. This path to inclusive and equitable learning environments inspires education reform in Africa and beyond."

The laureates will be celebrated at the 2025 Yidan Prize Awards Ceremony on 6 December in Hong Kong. The annual Yidan Prize Summit will also take place on 5 and 6 December. Nominations for the 2026 Yidan Prize will open from October 2025 until March 2026.

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About the Yidan Prize Foundation

The Yidan Prize Foundation is a global philanthropic foundation, with a mission of creating a better world through education. Through its prize and network of innovators, the Yidan Prize Foundation supports ideas and practices in education — specifically, ones with the power to positively change lives and society.

The Yidan Prize is the world's highest education accolade that recognizes individuals or teams who have contributed significantly to the theory and practice of education. It consists of two prizes, working in harmony: the Yidan Prize for Education Research and the Yidan Prize for Education Development. They're designed for impact: laureates of each prize receive an unrestricted project fund of HK$15 million over three years, helping them scale up their work, as well as a gold medal and a cash prize of HK$15 million. The project fund and cash prize are shared equally for teams.

For more information, visityidanprize.org or contact media@yidanprize.org.

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