Bright Simons

Bright Simons is president of the mPedigree Network, www.mpedigree.net, where he pioneered a system, www.goldkeys.net, that allows consumers to instantly check whether products they buy, especially health-related products, are counterfeits or not by sending a free text message. He is honorary director of development research at IMANI; an active member of various World Economic Forum Communities; a TED and Ashoka fellow; and a Brain Trust member of the Evian Group at IMD. He is a recipient of numerous awards, ranging from an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Award, Marie Curie and Commonwealth Vision Grants to a PPARC Scholarship in Gamma Ray Astronomy. Bright is consulted on innovation strategy by international organizations such as the World Bank, UNECA, USAID, and the Commonwealth; and is a member of the United Nations taskforce on innovative models in healthcare and the Lancet Commission on Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a Global Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar, where he also served on the 2011 faculty for healthcare. He has appeared on prime time BBC shows,  been cited by the Economist magazine, and been profiled by MIT’s Tech Review’s as one of the world’s most impressive visionaries under age 35.  Bright is furthermore a member of the Advisory Board of IC Publications, one of the world’s leading publishers focused on Africa and the African diaspora; of the Microsoft for Africa Advisory Council; and of the Sanofi Digital and Africa 2.0 Advisory boards.

"The Global Teachers Prize is now among the most visible and impactful initiatives worldwide restoring teachers to the center of the educational landscape. By elevating the importance of the role of teachers in the self-discovery of tomorrow's visionaries, reformers, and moral crusaders, the Prize, in its farseeing optimism, anticipates a coming era, in which teaching shall be all about leadership, and leadership all about teaching."