Dr Charles Chen Yidan, the founder of the world’s biggest education prize – Yidan Prize – visited Harvard Graduate School of Education together with the two Yidan Prize inaugural laureates, Professor
Carol S. Dweck and Ms Vicky Colbert, to meet world leading academia and educators
on 5-6 February 2018 and address the audience on the role of education in realising human potential.
Opening keynote by Dr Charles Chen Yidan, founder of the Yidan Prize, at Harvard Graduate School of Education
Professor Carol S. Dweck (right), Yidan Prize for Research Education inaugural laureate, and Ms Vicky Colbert (left), Yidan Prize for Education Development inaugural laureate, had an in-depth discussion with educators
Dr Charles Chen Yidan and his delegation with Drew Faust, President of Harvard University
Titled “Realising Human Potential Through Education: A Convening in Honour of the 2017 Yidan Prize
Laureates”, this conference examined the key drivers for transformational education reform and the
changes that must happen in order for education systems to tap into, develop and fully realise the hidden potentials in our children.
Charles Chen Yidan said: “Education has the power to transform lives and make the world a better place, and this is achievable through uncovering, nurturing and expanding human potential to meet the needs and challenges of an ever-changing world. We must do everything we can to broaden the horizons of our children, so that they can thrive in a world that lives only in our imagination right now.
“I am honoured to have the opportunity to join our inaugural laureates Professor Carol S. Dweck and
Ms Vicky Colbert, together with many other outstanding educators, to explore the actions that need to be taken as we move forward.”
James E. Ryan, Dean of the Faculty and Charles William Eliot Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education said in his opening remarks: “The Yidan Prize will elevate and celebrate the power and promise of education as the most important tool we have to address our greatest challenges, from national security to economic prosperity. It will shine a light on the power of education to lift people out of poverty, to reduce inequality and to build a more promising future for the generations that follow.”
Following the huge success of the Yidan Prize Summit in Hong Kong in December 2017, which brought together more than 350 world leaders on education for an enlightening, interactive dialogue on the topic of “Education Redefined: The Future is Now”, the Yidan Prize Foundation took this much needed debate to one of the world’s leading universities for another round of thought-provoking discussions at this conference held at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
In addition to celebrating the achievements of the recent Yidan Prize recipients, Professor Carol S. Dweck, Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, and Ms Vicky Colbert, founder and director of Fundación Escuela Nueva, this conference brought together leading figures from the worlds of education research, education practice and psychology to debate what future oriented education looks like and how it can become reality for all children globally.
