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Educate Girls Becomes First Indian Organisation to Receive 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award

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Educate Girls Becomes First Indian Organisation to Receive 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award
Business

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Educate Girls Becomes First Indian Organisation to Receive 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award

2025-09-01 19:03 Last Updated At:19:25

Asia's highest honour recognises the organisation's community-powered model that has brought over 2 million girls back to school.

MUMBAI, India, Sept. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- India's leading non-profit organisation Educate Girls has been named a 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, Asia's premier prize and highest honour. It is the first Indian organisation ever to receive this award, in recognition of 'its commitment to addressing cultural stereotyping through the education of girls and young women, liberating them from the bondage of illiteracy and infusing them with skills, courage, and agency to achieve their full human potential.'

The non-profit joins a lineage of distinguished laureates, including filmmaker Satyajit Ray, singer M.S. Subbulakshmi, social reformer Kiran Bedi, and Vinoba Bhave, alongside international icons such as Nobel Peace Prize laureates the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, as well as Oscar-winning storyteller Hayao Miyazaki.

"Being the first Indian nonprofit to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award is a historic moment for Educate Girls and for the country. This recognition places a global spotlight on India's people-powered movement for girls' education, one that began with a single girl in the remotest village and grew to reshape entire communities, challenging traditions and shifting mindsets. This Award honours our dedicated Team Balika volunteers, valued partners, passionate gender champions, and supporters, and acknowledges the millions of girls who reclaimed their right to education. As we work to reach 10 million learners in the next decade and share this blueprint beyond India, we carry forward a simple truth that when one girl is educated, she takes others with her, multiplying change across families, generations, and nations," said Safeena Husain, Founder, Educate Girls, reflecting on this milestone.

"At Educate Girls, we believe every girl deserves an education, it's her right, and one of the most powerful tools for change. This award is a tribute to what's possible when governments, communities, and changemakers come together to break barriers and open doors. We're deeply thankful to the Government of India for its incredible support, and we celebrate our fellow awardees, Shaahina Ali and Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, whose work continues to inspire," added Gayatri Nair Lobo, CEO, Educate Girls.

Educate Girls, founded in 2007, empowers girls through education to break cycles of poverty and illiteracy. Since its inception, mobilising 55,000+ volunteers, it has brought back over 2 million girls to school and supported over 2.4 million children with remedial learning. It operates in over 30,000 villages, aligning with the government's priorities and initiatives. With a goal to reach 10 million learners in the next decade, the organization drives systemic change through government partnerships and ensures last-mile access for the most vulnerable. Its global recognition underscores the transformative power of investing in girls' education.

Completing the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award roster are Shaahina Ali (Maldives), honored for combating plastic pollution and protecting marine ecosystems, and Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva (Philippines), recognized for restoring dignity to Manila's poor and homeless.

The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees will formally receive their medallions and certificates during the 67th Ramon Magsaysay Awards Presentation Ceremonies on 7 November 2025 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila, Philippines.

Photo: https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2761791/Educate_Girls_RMA_2025.jpg?p=medium600
Logo: https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2761792/Educate_Girls_Logo.jpg?p=medium600

 

Asia's highest honour recognises the organisation's community-powered model that has brought over 2 million girls back to school.

MUMBAI, India, Sept. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- India's leading non-profit organisation Educate Girls has been named a 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, Asia's premier prize and highest honour. It is the first Indian organisation ever to receive this award, in recognition of 'its commitment to addressing cultural stereotyping through the education of girls and young women, liberating them from the bondage of illiteracy and infusing them with skills, courage, and agency to achieve their full human potential.'

The non-profit joins a lineage of distinguished laureates, including filmmaker Satyajit Ray, singer M.S. Subbulakshmi, social reformer Kiran Bedi, and Vinoba Bhave, alongside international icons such as Nobel Peace Prize laureates the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, as well as Oscar-winning storyteller Hayao Miyazaki.

"Being the first Indian nonprofit to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award is a historic moment for Educate Girls and for the country. This recognition places a global spotlight on India's people-powered movement for girls' education, one that began with a single girl in the remotest village and grew to reshape entire communities, challenging traditions and shifting mindsets. This Award honours our dedicated Team Balika volunteers, valued partners, passionate gender champions, and supporters, and acknowledges the millions of girls who reclaimed their right to education. As we work to reach 10 million learners in the next decade and share this blueprint beyond India, we carry forward a simple truth that when one girl is educated, she takes others with her, multiplying change across families, generations, and nations," said Safeena Husain, Founder, Educate Girls, reflecting on this milestone.

"At Educate Girls, we believe every girl deserves an education, it's her right, and one of the most powerful tools for change. This award is a tribute to what's possible when governments, communities, and changemakers come together to break barriers and open doors. We're deeply thankful to the Government of India for its incredible support, and we celebrate our fellow awardees, Shaahina Ali and Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, whose work continues to inspire," added Gayatri Nair Lobo, CEO, Educate Girls.

Educate Girls, founded in 2007, empowers girls through education to break cycles of poverty and illiteracy. Since its inception, mobilising 55,000+ volunteers, it has brought back over 2 million girls to school and supported over 2.4 million children with remedial learning. It operates in over 30,000 villages, aligning with the government's priorities and initiatives. With a goal to reach 10 million learners in the next decade, the organization drives systemic change through government partnerships and ensures last-mile access for the most vulnerable. Its global recognition underscores the transformative power of investing in girls' education.

Completing the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award roster are Shaahina Ali (Maldives), honored for combating plastic pollution and protecting marine ecosystems, and Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva (Philippines), recognized for restoring dignity to Manila's poor and homeless.

The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees will formally receive their medallions and certificates during the 67th Ramon Magsaysay Awards Presentation Ceremonies on 7 November 2025 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila, Philippines.

Photo: https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2761791/Educate_Girls_RMA_2025.jpg?p=medium600
Logo: https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2761792/Educate_Girls_Logo.jpg?p=medium600

 

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Educate Girls Becomes First Indian Organisation to Receive 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award

Educate Girls Becomes First Indian Organisation to Receive 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award

ZYT's German Office Commences Operations in January, Debuting Local Recruitment for European Push

SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelligent driving solution provider ZYT launched its commercial vehicle strategy at the "ZYT Brand Gala 2025," expanding its business from passenger car ADAS into heavy-duty truck Navigation on Highway (NOA) and unmanned logistics vehicles.

ZYT has partnered with three major Chinese OEMs — XCMG, SHACMAN, and SINOTRUK — to bring the first ZYT-powered heavy trucks to mass production in the first half of 2026. Beyond highway transport, ZYT is extending its intelligent driving capabilities to broader automated scenarios. In early 2026, the company will co-develop unmanned logistics vehicles with leading industry players, targeting automated transport in ports, industrial parks, and mines.

This move marks a natural extension of ZYT's core technical pillars: its transferable architecture, platform adaptability proven through "Equal Intelligence for ICE and EV Vehicles," and a world-class engineering system.

Leveraging Transferable Architecture for Peak Performance

ZYT is porting its mature, full-stack "Perception-Decision-Control" technology from passenger cars to commercial vehicle applications. To address the unique dynamics and operational environments of heavy-duty transport, the company remains committed to its "Stay Passionate" engineering philosophy — extracting peak performance from constrained hardware resources.

The heavy-duty truck intelligent driving system features ZYT's proprietary 1L3R7V sensor suite, powered by an SA8650 domain controller delivering 100 TOPS of computing power. At its core is ZYT's self-developed End-to-End model. Optimized for heavy-truck scenarios, the system enables Navigation on Highway (NOA), driving assistance, and active safety features across a full speed range of 0–110 km/h. Supporting diverse environments — including urban roads, expressways, and highways — the architecture establishes a robust capability for rapid technical migration across different models and scenarios.

Solving Compatibility Challenges through "Equal Intelligence for ICE and EV Vehicles"

The commercial vehicle market — spanning diesel, natural gas, pure electric, and hybrid platforms — demands exceptional system compatibility and stability. Compared to the more uniform passenger car sector, commercial fleets require intelligent driving solutions with far more rigorous universality and reliability.

Building on its "Equal Intelligence for ICE and EV Vehicles" strategy pioneered in the passenger sector, ZYT has validated its multi-platform adaptability, laying the technical foundation for its expansion into commercial vehicles.

Achieving true "Equal Intelligence for ICE and EV Vehicles" is a complex technical feat. Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) powertrains are highly non-linear and present significant thermal management challenges. ZYT specializes in delivering high-level intelligent driving functions using low-power, cost-effective chips, enhancing system stability and adaptability from the ground up.

While industry resources are largely concentrated on New Energy Vehicle (NEV) intelligence, ZYT recognizes the persistent demand for ICE vehicles in markets like Europe. Through its "Equal Intelligence for ICE and EV Vehicles" capability, ZYT provides ICE users with a smart experience on par with EVs. This offers a differentiated upgrade path for legacy automakers like Volkswagen and FAW, who maintain massive global ICE fleets.

By 2025, ZYT had already facilitated the mass production of intelligent driving features in several ICE models, proving its ability to deliver standardized, high-reliability solutions for any commercial powertrain.

Meeting Global Standards to Drive European Localization

Entering the European market with intelligent driving systems requires adherence to the highest levels of functional safety and engineering process standards. Through seven years of deep collaboration with the Volkswagen Group, ZYT has established a research and development and quality management framework that complies with international standards such as A-SPICE CL2 and ISO 26262. This robust engineering foundation serves as a key enabler of ZYT's European strategy.

In August 2025, ZYT successfully passed a third-party joint audit and obtained the relevant certifications. This system is a concrete reflection of ZYT's "Users First • Clients Empowered" philosophy and acts as a critical "passport" for entering high-standard global markets like Europe.

Building on this groundwork, ZYT is steadily advancing its European localization. Following the official launch of its European strategy during the IAA Mobility show in Munich, ZYT is positioning Germany as a key hub and has begun recruiting for local roles. Looking ahead, ZYT aims to provide European OEMs with intelligent driving systems that comply with EU regulations, while simultaneously supporting Chinese automakers in their global market entry by offering solutions ranging from L2+ to L3 and L4 levels.

Moving Toward an Era of Autonomous Mobility

As its business footprint continues to grow, ZYT officially enters a new phase of "Empowering Autonomous Mobility." Moving forward, the company will prioritize its robust engineering framework and localized capabilities as key strategic levers for long-term development. With the passenger car business as its foundation and the commercial sector as a new growth engine, ZYT remains dedicated to its mission: "Safe and Effortless Mobility for ALL."

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Scales Intelligent Driving into Heavy-duty Trucks and Unmanned Logistics

Scales Intelligent Driving into Heavy-duty Trucks and Unmanned Logistics

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