Governments of the UNESCO Member States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in official partnership with UNESCO are now invited to nominate up to three individuals, institutions or organizations who have made outstanding contributions in favour of girls’ and women’s education.
The UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education honours outstanding innovation and contributions made by individuals, institutions and organizations to advance girls’ and women’s education. It is the first UNESCO Prize of this nature and will be unique in showcasing successful projects that improve and promote the educational prospects of girls and women and in turn, the quality of their lives.
The Director-general of UNESCO selected the two laureates of the first edition of the Prize based on recommendations by the International Jury, composed of five experts in girls’ and women’s education. The Prize was awarded for the first time to two outstanding projects from Indonesia and Zimbabwe at an official ceremony held in Beijing, P.R. China in June 2016.
Eligibility Criteria
In addition to these three criteria, the project/programme should:
- Have already been running for at least two years
- Show evidence that it may be replicable, scalable and/or provide significant learning potential for initiatives in other contexts
- Contribute to one or more of the five priority action areas of the Prize:
- supporting girls/adolescent girls to transition from primary education to lower secondary education and to complete full basic education;
- supporting adolescent girls and young women to acquire literacy skills;
- supporting the creation of a gender-responsive and safe teaching-learning environment, free of school-related gender-based violence;
- engaging female and male teachers to develop gender-responsive teaching attitudes and practices and be change agents; or
- supporting adolescent girls and young women to acquire knowledge and skills for them to adequately transition from school to work and lead a fulfilling life.
Application Process
Governments of UNESCO Member States via their Permanent Delegations to UNESCO and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in official partnership with UNESCO can make up to 3 nominations. Self-nominations are not accepted.
Who can be nominated?
Individuals, institutions, or organizations advancing girls’ and women’s education are eligible for nomination. Nominations must focus on an established project or programme of the candidate, which has been running for at least two years, and meets the selection criteria.
How to be nominated?
Self-nominations are not accepted. If you, your institution, or organization meet the selection criteria, please contact your country’s National Commission to UNESCO or a relevant NGO in official Partnership with UNESCO.
Please check the Prize’s explanatory note for more information.
How to nominate?
- Nominations can be submitted via the dedicated online platform in English or French by a National Commission or Permanent Delegation to UNESCO of the concerned Member State, or by an NGO in official partnership with UNESCO.
Nominations submitted by a Member State’s National Commission must be validated by the Permanent Delegation.
ominations from an NGO in official partnership with UNESCO must be validated by the organization’s headquarters. Nominations from country branches or affiliated offices will not be accepted.
- National Commissions and Permanent Delegations to UNESCO may access the online submissions platform through their official UNESCO account using the following link: http://unesco.org/gwe.
NGOs in official partnership with UNESCO will be granted direct access to the online platform by the Secretariat upon request. To request access, please contact .
- Member States and NGOs in official partnership may request that candidates complete the online nomination form directly.
Access to the platform will be granted to candidates by the Prize Secretariat upon request from the nominating entity (National Commission, Permanent Delegation or NGO in official Partnership with UNESCO). Requests should be sent to by 15 May 2023. Once the online form is completed by the candidate, the nominating entity will be required to review and validate the submission.
- Nominations must be submitted via the online platform by midnight of 19 May 2023 (UTC+1, Paris time). Kindly note that a nominating entity (Member State or NGO in official partnership with UNESCO) may not submit more than three nominations.
For any question regarding the UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education or the submission process, please contact the Secretariat of the Prize at the Section of Education for Inclusion and Gender Equality at .
