Hong Kong solidified its position as a global education hub this weekend as the Yidan Prize Foundation convened over 500 changemakers from more than 50 countries for its annual flagship summit at the Hong Kong Palace Museum
The Yidan Prize, which took place on December 5 and 6, brought together students, educators and NGO leaders in what has become the world's most significant gathering around education innovation.
The Yidan Prize, established by philanthropist Charles Chen Yidan—who graced the cover of Tatler in 2019—remains the world's highest education accolade. The prize recognises individuals and teams who have shifted the trajectory of education globally, awarding HK$30 million per laureate: HK$15 million in project funding and HK$15 million as a cash prize.
This year's summit opened with a moment of silence for victims of the recent Tai Po fire, before Chen Yidan addressed attendees with a rallying call for collective action. "What we can achieve together far outweighs anything we each do alone," he told the audience, setting the tone for two days of rigorous dialogue around the theme "Education at a crossroads: co-creating paths forward for a brighter future."
Inside the talks at the Palace Museum (Photo: Courtesy of The Yidan Prize)
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A highlight came on day two, when Tatler Gen.T honouree and Olympian-turned-educator Yvette Kong took the stage alongside Project Melo youth leader Anna Yao, a student at HKUST. Together, they moderated a dialogue with three Yidan Prize laureates: Rukmini Banerji, Usha Goswami and Angeline Murimirwa—each a titan in their respective fields of education research and development.
"My role was simply to be the bridge," Kong reflected afterwards. "To translate the wisdom of our laureates into something every young person and every educator in Hong Kong could hold, feel, and act on." Rather than a traditional panel format, Kong facilitated an exchange that invited the laureates to share the turning points in their journeys—moments of doubt, discovery and determination that shaped their paths as global change makers.
As the 2025 laureates—Uri Wilensky and Mamadou Amadou Ly—officially received their medals that evening, the message was clear: Hong Kong is not merely hosting conversations about the future of education. It is actively co-creating it.
