Yidan Prize Foundation announces global call for nominations

The Yidan Prize Foundation announced on Tuesday a global call for nominations for the 2026 Yidan Prize.

Founded by Tencent co-founder Chen Yidan, the foundation aims to promote education as a driver of human progress. Backed by one of China's leading internet entrepreneurs, the Yidan Prize has become a prominent global platform recognizing changemakers whose work is future-oriented, innovative, transformative, and sustainable.

Ahead of Yidan Prize's 10th anniversary in 2026, the following enhancements have been introduced this year. Improvements include extending eligibility doors to future recognition and collective recognition to amplify visibility.

According to the organizing committee, Yidan Prize laureates receive a gold medal and share a total sum of HK$30 million ($3.8 million) in each category. Half of the amount is a cash prize to celebrate their achievements, while the rest 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 for advancing foundational literacy and multilingualism in Senegal and beyond.