Sir Fazle awarded Yidan Prize

Brac founder and Chair Emeritus Sir Fazle Hasan Abed has been awarded the prestigious Yidan Prize for education development for his groundbreaking work in the sector. The Yidan Prize Foundation made the announcement in a statement yesterday.

From the beginning of his foray into development work, Sir Fazle viewed education as a crucial catalyst for change, said a press release. To date, more than 12 million children have graduated from Brac’s pre-primary and primary schools. Brac offers holistic and joyful learning solutions with play-based early childhood development centres, primary and secondary schools, adolescent learning programmes, and also operates a university.

Dr Charles Chen Yidan, founder of the prize, said, “Knowledge attainment is an area that transcends racial, religious, economic and national boundaries, affecting everything from human health and the environment to well-being and personal fulfilment.”

Currently, Brac is running a total of 656 play labs across Bangladesh, Uganda and Tanzania, reaching out to around 11,500 children every day.

Thanking the Yidan Prize authorities, Sir Fazle said, “I hope world leaders will realise the potential of the play-based education model to develop more socially and emotionally intelligent individuals who are able to live happier, conflict-free lives.”

As a Yidan Prize Laureate, Sir Fazle will receive a gold medal during the award presentation ceremony in December at Hong Kong. He will receive 30 million HKD (around Tk 33 crore), half as cash prize, and the other half as project fund.

“The very generous Yidan Prize funding will allow us to expand our education activities. We plan to use the funds for two purposes: strengthen our existing basic education programme, and establish new Ppay labs,” Sir Fazle added.