Educate Girls Wins 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award

Source: News on Air

Context: Educate Girls, an Indian NGO working to bring out-of-school girls into classrooms, has won the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award.

• It is the first Indian organisation (not individual) to be honoured with this award, often called the “Asia’s Nobel Prize”.

About Ramon Magsaysay Award:

• What it is? Asia’s most prestigious award, given annually for exceptional courage, integrity, and service to people.

• Asia’s most prestigious award, given annually for exceptional courage, integrity, and service to people.

• Established in: 1957, by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in memory of Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay (died 1957 in a plane crash).

• Eligibility: Individuals and organisations from Asia showing “greatness of spirit in selfless service to the people.”

• Features: Each awardee receives a medallion with Magsaysay’s image, a certificate, and a cash prize.

• Indian Winners: Vinoba Bhave (1958) – 1st Winner In recent years: Bezwada Wilson and T.M. Krishna (2016) – Human Rights; Carnatic Music Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk (2018) – Restoring Health and Dignity to Troubled Lives; Education for Community Progress Ravish Kumar (2019) – Journalism Ravi Kannan R. (2023) – Healthcare 2025 Special Note: Educate Girls became the first Indian organisation to win.

• Vinoba Bhave (1958) – 1st Winner

• In recent years: Bezwada Wilson and T.M. Krishna (2016) – Human Rights; Carnatic Music Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk (2018) – Restoring Health and Dignity to Troubled Lives; Education for Community Progress Ravish Kumar (2019) – Journalism Ravi Kannan R. (2023) – Healthcare 2025 Special Note: Educate Girls became the first Indian organisation to win.

• Bezwada Wilson and T.M. Krishna (2016) – Human Rights; Carnatic Music

• Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk (2018) – Restoring Health and Dignity to Troubled Lives; Education for Community Progress

• Ravish Kumar (2019) – Journalism

• Ravi Kannan R. (2023) – Healthcare

• 2025 Special Note: Educate Girls became the first Indian organisation to win.

About Educate Girls NGO:

• Full Name: Foundation to Educate Girls Globally (popularly Educate Girls).

• Founded in: 2007 by Safeena Husain, a London School of Economics graduate.

• Aim: To break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty by mobilising communities and governments to support girls’ education in rural and disadvantaged areas. Motto: “One girl at a time.”

• Functions/Initiatives: Community mobilisation: Identifying out-of-school girls, enrolling and retaining them. Government partnerships: Scaling programmes with state support. Innovative finance: Launched the world’s first Development Impact Bond (2015) in education. Pragati Programme: Open schooling for young women (15–29 years) to complete secondary education. Impact: Now operates across 30,000 villages, benefitting over 2 million girls, with >90% retention rate.

• Community mobilisation: Identifying out-of-school girls, enrolling and retaining them.

• Government partnerships: Scaling programmes with state support.

• Innovative finance: Launched the world’s first Development Impact Bond (2015) in education.

• Pragati Programme: Open schooling for young women (15–29 years) to complete secondary education.

• Impact: Now operates across 30,000 villages, benefitting over 2 million girls, with >90% retention rate.