Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was founder and Chairman of one of the largest non-governmental organisations in the world, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). It was established over 40 years ago and now has more than 140 million students in nine countries at all levels and ages. 

He was awarded the WISE Prize (established by the Qatar Foundation) in 2011 in recognition of his life’s work of bringing basic primary education to some of the world’s poorest communities, from Afghanistan to South Sudan. He won many awards including the prestigious 2018 LEGO Prize for his contribution towards improving children’s lives and the Laudato Si’ award for creating opportunities for millions of people living in poverty.