Sir Fazle Hasan Abed has been awarded the world’s first major prize for education by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar at the World Innovation Summit for Education, also attended by former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) was held 1-3 November and is an annual international summit with a mission to address the challenges facing 21st century education where thought leaders and experts share best practices in education.

The first WISE Prize for Education, a global education ‘Laureate’, has been awarded to Sir Fazle, in recognition of his 40-year career dedicated to alleviating poverty through education.

Sir Fazle founded BRAC, formerly known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), in 1972 to address the humanitarian crisis, which followed the country’s struggle for independence from Pakistan.

Over the next four decades he built, according to WISE, “the world's largest and most efficient NGO” with 120,000 workers, based on the principle of empowering people to grow as individuals, to manage the welfare of their families and to contribute to their societies. Its learning and teaching activities now reach almost 140 million people in 10 Asian, African and Central American countries.

On accepting the award Sir Fazle said, “I am guided by an ideal of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination. Education is the answer to this quest.”

BRAC is also one of the largest private providers of education in the world, contributing directly to the pre-primary, primary and secondary education of more than 10 million students. It concentrates on bringing education to children and young people who are not reached by the traditional education system.

But, Sir Fazle also recognises that the challenges for global education are as much a priority for the more affluent countries as they are for the poorer areas. "A child born in a poor household has less chance of going to university than a child born in a wealthy household, in almost every society”, he said. "So how do we remove this inequity? Every child should have the same opportunity."

WISE Chairman H.E. Dr. Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani spoke of  Sir Fazle’s life and career and said “he stands as an example to all of us who believe that education, more than anything else, determines the destiny of individuals and societies. The Jury saw him as an ideal WISE Prize Laureate.”