Nguyen Thi Thanh

Social entrepreneur who transformed rural education through mobile learning centers

Nguyen Thi Thanh (b. 1965) pioneered innovative education solutions for Vietnam's marginalized communities. Starting in the 1990s, she founded the Center for Education and Development (CED) to address the country's rural education gap. Her flagship 'Mobile Learning School' program used solar-powered buses equipped with computers and books to reach remote villages, serving over 150,000 children by 2005. Thanh's 2000 book 《Education for the Marginalized》 documented her approach, which combined technology access with teacher training and community engagement. Her 'Bamboo School' initiative built low-cost classrooms using local materials, a model later adopted nationwide. Thanh's work with UNESCO's Education 2030 initiative helped draft Vietnam's first national policy on inclusive education in 2002. Her later projects focused on healthcare access, establishing mobile clinics that provided prenatal care and vaccinations alongside education services. By 2010, her programs had reduced school dropout rates by 60% in target areas while training 2,000 rural teachers. Thanh's TED Talk "Educating the Marginalized" (2012) inspired similar initiatives in Laos and Cambodia.