Luminos Awarded 2022 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize
- The Luminos Fund, headquartered in the United States, recognized for catch-up education programs for out-of-school children in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, which have reached more than 172,000 children
- The Luminos Fund is one of three Best Practice Prize recipients who will be awarded CHF 200,000 ($206,000) each at a ceremony taking place in Zurich on 30 September
- They were selected from a shortlist of 10 finalists, all of whom will convene for a co-creation event, taking place on 1 October 2022, and are eligible for follow-on funding of up to CHF 150,000
The Luminos Fund has been named a recipient of a CHF 200,000 ($206,000) Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize 2022. It is one of three best practice winners that are being honored for outstanding achievement and practice in advancing quality education.
The two other recipients of this year’s Best Practice Prizes are the Luker Foundation, which provides reading programs for children in Colombia and Panama; and Youth Impact, a grassroots, youth-led movement that pioneered simple math tutorials by phone and text message in Botswana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Uganda, and the Philippines.
The three Best Practice Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony in Zurich on 30 September 2022. The recipients were selected from a shortlist of 10 finalists, all of whom will convene for a co-creation event, taking place on 1 October 2022. They will exchange knowledge and ideas on advancing learning, and will have the opportunity to partner with other shortlisted applicants to develop proposals for new projects. Two concepts will receive follow-on funding of up to CHF 150,000 ($155,000) each.
The Luminos Fund is being recognized for providing transformative education programs for out-of-school children aged 8-14 in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, helping them to catch up on three years of learning in just 10 months, then reintegrate into local government schools. Each year, over 90% of Luminos students advance to local government schools, and at least 75% remain in school after 12 months.
With a focus on learning-through-play and assessment-led pedagogy, the Luminos Fund strives to make learning a joyful experience, to equip students with a positive outlook on education. The program is delivered through community-based partners whose capabilities Luminos helps build, support, and oversee. Classrooms are taught by high-potential local young adults who Luminos trains to teach, thereby fueling local education systems with much-needed trained resources.
To date, the Luminos Fund has supported more than 172,000 children across Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, The Gambia, and Lebanon, and plans to reach an additional 200,000 students by 2024. They work with governments, advising on curriculum development, strategies, and national education policy.
The Luminos Fund plans to invest the winning funds in supporting new programs in Ghana and expanding its operations in The Gambia. It will also launch the Luminos Method, a collection of best practices aimed at accelerating their vision of helping all children achieve foundational learning across the globe.
Fabio Segura and Simon Sommer, co-CEOs of the Jacobs Foundation, said:
“We want to warmly congratulate the Luminos Fund on being awarded a 2022 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize. These prizes were created to showcase the groundbreaking work that businesses, social ventures, and non-profits all around the world are doing to ensure children have access to quality education. There is not a moment to lose. By bringing to light the evidence of what works we can use it to implement solutions that can be tailored to learners’ diverse individual needs.
“We can’t wait to see what innovative ideas the Luminos Fund and our other 2022 Best Practice Prizes top 10 finalists are able to develop together at our co-creation event. With the deadline for SDG4 fast approaching, the education community must work together to jointly come up with solutions to ensure equitable education for all.”
Caitlin Baron, CEO of the Luminos Fund, said:
“We are so thrilled to receive this prestigious award, particularly as it is based on such rigorous criteria. We would like to thank the Jacobs Foundation for shining a light on the important work that organizations around the world are doing to advance education, and we look forward to exchanging ideas with all the amazing 2022 Best Practice Prize finalists.”
Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes
Recipients must demonstrate outstanding achievement in advancing learning and education, and embrace variability in learning. Their projects should draw on scientific evidence, use a clear results framework, and must be sustainable, scalable, and financially viable. Finally, they must build on strong leadership and partner networks.
In memory of its founder, the entrepreneur Klaus J. Jacobs, who passed away in 2008, the Jacobs Foundation presents two awards every other year for exceptional achievements in research and practice in the field of child and youth development and learning. The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize rewards scientific work that is highly relevant to society, and the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes honor exceptional commitment and innovative solutions of institutions or individuals.
Notes to editors:
The Jacobs Foundation is active worldwide in promoting child and youth development and learning. The Foundation was founded in Zurich by entrepreneur Klaus J. Jacobs in 1989. As part of its Strategy 2030, it has committed 500 million Swiss francs to advance evidence-based ideas for learning, to support schools in offering quality education, and to transform education ecosystems around the world. https://jacobsfoundation.org/en/
Media contact:
Jacobs Foundation
Alexandra Guentzer, Chief Communications Officer
alexandra.guentzer@jacobsfoundation.org
Tel. + 41 (0) 79 821 74 29
The Luminos Fund
Michael Stulman, Director of Communications
Tel: + 1 667 289 7534
