Mamadou Amadou Ly Awarded the Prestigious Yidan Prize 2025 for Advancing Literacy in Africa

The Yidan Foundation, the world’s largest education philanthropy dedicated to improving education globally, has named the Fulani linguist Mamadou Amadou Ly, Executive Director of Associates in Research and Education for Development (ARED), as a recipient of the prestigious Yidan Prize 2025. He is being honored in recognition of his pioneering leadership and transformative work in advancing foundational literacy and bilingual education across West and Central Africa.

Through this distinguished recognition, Mamadou Amadou Ly joins the esteemed community of Yidan Prize laureates—a global council of visionary innovators committed to shaping the future of education and expanding equitable learning opportunities worldwide.

As Executive Director of ARED, Mamadou Amadou Ly has devoted his career to addressing one of the most critical challenges in education: ensuring that children learn in languages they understand. His expertise spans foundational learning, bilingual education, structured pedagogy, remediation, and the advancement of equitable and inclusive education systems.

Under his leadership, ARED has emerged as a pioneering force in breaking down linguistic and educational barriers in West Africa—a region marked by rich linguistic diversity but historically constrained by low literacy outcomes. By promoting mother-tongue instruction and culturally relevant teaching methods, Mamadou and his colleagues are enabling children to acquire essential literacy skills, strengthening educational foundations, and empowering communities to thrive.

His work reflects a profound commitment to the principle that when children are taught in languages they know, they are better equipped to learn, grow, and reach their full potential. The Yidan Prize 2025 recognizes not only his past achievements but also his continuing influence on educational innovation and literacy development across Africa and beyond.

A Vision Rooted in Language, Inclusion, and Community

Founded in Dakar in 1990, ARED has spent more than three decades reshaping the educational landscape by promoting instruction in learners’ native languages alongside official national languages such as French. This bilingual approach has proven transformative, particularly for children who often struggle when education is delivered exclusively in unfamiliar languages.

Under Mamadou Amadou Ly’s leadership, ARED has developed comprehensive bilingual education models designed to strengthen reading, writing, and numeracy skills for both enrolled students and children outside the formal school system. These programs empower learners by allowing them to begin their education in a language they already understand, building confidence and cognitive skills before transitioning into additional languages.

The Yidan Prize Foundation praised Ly’s work as a powerful example of how culturally grounded, linguistically inclusive education can unlock human potential. His efforts demonstrate that teaching children in familiar languages does not hinder learning—it accelerates it, while preserving cultural identity and strengthening communities.

Open Educational Resources and Policy Influence Across the Region

A defining feature of ARED’s work is its commitment to accessibility. Its educational materials are freely licensed and distributed through the Early Learning Resource Network, making high-quality teaching tools available to educators and institutions throughout the region.

ARED’s innovative, community-based model has influenced national education policies in several countries, including Senegal, Mauritania, and The Gambia. As a technical partner of the Senegalese Ministry of Education, the organization conducts applied research and provides evidence-based recommendations that help shape national curricula.

According to Awa Ka Dia, ARED’s programme director, collaboration has been essential to the organization’s success. She emphasized that meaningful educational transformation requires partnerships among communities, educators, researchers, and policymakers.

A $3.8 Million Award to Accelerate Educational Innovation

The Yidan Prize includes an award of approximately $3.8 million, which must be invested in advancing educational initiatives. Mamadou Amadou Ly described the award as a catalyst that will enable ARED to expand its impact and accelerate its mission.

“This recognition will allow us to strengthen our efforts and demonstrate that bilingual, community-centered, and evidence-based education can close learning gaps and shape public policy,” he said.

Dorothy Gordon, chair of the Yidan Prize judging panel, highlighted the global importance of ARED’s work, noting that multilingual education models like ARED’s offer a path toward more equitable and inclusive education systems worldwide.

Innovative Learning Models That Deliver Measurable Results

ARED’s educational programs are built on a structured and adaptive pedagogical framework developed in collaboration with educators, linguists, and local communities. First piloted in partnership with the Senegalese government in 2008, these models have since been integrated into national education policy.

The approach includes:

Comprehensive teacher training
High-quality, culturally relevant learning materials
Participatory and student-centered classroom methods
Flexible classroom arrangements
Gradual transition from mother-tongue instruction to French

These methods replace traditional lecture-based teaching with interactive learning environments that promote creativity, engagement, and social-emotional development.

One of ARED’s most successful initiatives is the Ndaw Wune (“Success for All”) accelerated learning programme, designed to support struggling students at risk of dropping out. The results have been remarkable. Within a single year, participating students improved their reading abilities dramatically:

74% improvement in letter recognition
100% improvement in syllable reading
134% improvement in word reading

These outcomes demonstrate that inclusive, multilingual education can significantly improve literacy and reduce educational inequality.

Global Recognition and a Shared Commitment to Educational Transformation

Mamadou Amadou Ly shares the 2025 Yidan Prize honors with Professor Uri Wilensky of Northwestern University, who received the Education Research Prize for his work in agent-based modeling and for developing NetLogo, an open-source tool used worldwide to teach complex systems such as climate change, pandemics, and economic dynamics.

Both laureates will join the Yidan Prize Laureates Council, an international community of education innovators dedicated to advancing research, collaboration, and global educational progress. They will be formally recognized at the Yidan Prize Award Ceremony in Hong Kong on December 6.

A Future Where Every Child Learns in Their Own Language

ARED’s mission extends beyond literacy—it seeks to create a future where every learner has access to quality education in their own language while maintaining cultural identity and strengthening community development.

Its success offers a powerful lesson: education is most effective when it respects and builds upon the linguistic and cultural realities of learners.

Through innovation, collaboration, and unwavering commitment, ARED is not only transforming education in Africa—it is providing a model for inclusive education worldwide.