OEGlobal Reveals the 2026 Open Education Awards for Excellence Winners

Sixteen winners across four categories are celebrated in a global livestream, as recognition extends to 204 nominees from 49 countries.

CONCORD, MA, UNITED STATES, September 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The seeds which had been sown in June has finally bloomed in full flower. Open Education Global (OEGlobal) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Open Education Awards for Excellence — the latest entries to join a Hall of Fame that has been honouring the outstanding achievements in the field of Open Education since 2011. Out of a record number of more than 200 nominations, which were reduced down to a shortlist of 48 finalists, the winners were announced by OEAwards Lead, Alan Levine, live in four categories: People of Open, Open Assets, Open Practices, and Special Awards.

The winners come from all parts of the world and represent every aspect of Open Education work—those who lead it, the resources created and shared with others, and the practices that enable sharing. Each award reflects countless hours of generosity, creativity, and dedication to a more open world.

People of Open Awards
The award in the People of Open category is given to those whose leadership and dedication help to advance Open Education.
* Gabriella Paolini — Italy
* Girish Bhuteja — Canada (student, Conestoga College)
* Javiera Atenas — United Kingdom
* Jonathan Lashley — United States
“Girish has been such a wonderful student leader. He’s been working with my team for well over a year, and I see the open principles even beyond his work in OPEN. He’s always putting people first, helping to develop his co-students, and sharing out what we do here in OPEN with his colleagues, so I’m thrilled.”
— Kimberlee Carter, Conestoga College, on 2026 Individual Awardee Girish Bhuteja

Open Assets Awards
The Open Assets category highlights the open-licensed resources that are created and made available under open licenses — that is, ‘what we share’ — since they help to increase access to knowledge.
* Cosumnes River College ZTC Faculty Resources — United States (CCCOER)
* Open Praxis — Turkey (Anadolu University)
* The GHOSHEH Model: An Open Instructional Design Model for Creating Open Educational Resources — Palestine
* Virtual Language Environment (AVI) — Mexico
“I’m really excited. I wasn’t expecting an award, but it’s really great to see that our hard work is appreciated. It’s a great honor. I would like to thank the whole team, especially our reviewers and our authors — without them, this wouldn’t be possible.”
— Aras Bozkurt, Anadolu University, representing 2026 Open Asset Awardee Open Praxis

Open Practices Award
The Open Practices category recognizes innovative approaches — effectively displaying ‘how we share’ — that put openness into action.
* Digital Ethnography Jember: Open Cultural Heritage for Education — Indonesia
* K-12 Studio — Canada
* HAN University’s Comprehensive OER Strategy Development and Implementation — The Netherlands
* Sharing Is a Challenge: 16 Obstacles Overcome to Enhance Sharing — Europe
“It’s a great honor for us to be nominated, shortlisted, and now to be a winner. It feels amazing. This is just a small part of our complete project group — you have to bring a lot of people together to get things done.”
— Marja Versantvoort, HAN University of Applied Sciences, 2026 Open Practices Awardee

Special Awards for Contributions to Open Education
The Special Awards, our greatest honour, are given for having had a continuous and outstanding impact on the Open Education movement.
* Haruo Takemura — Japan
* Paul Stacey — Canada
* Stephen Carson — United States
* MIT OpenCourseWare — United States
“This is just one of so many manifestations of a movement that has exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations from the very beginning. What a thrill it is to witness, year after year, the incredible richness and energy going through this whole community, as shown by all of these nominees and awards. What an honor to keep ‘losing market share’ — I can’t think of a better thing.”
— Curt Newton, representing 2026 Special Awardee MIT OpenCourseWare

Recognition Across the Community
The Open Education Awards for Excellence involve more than just identifying winners; they also pay tribute to the whole community. Each nomination is an act of recognition, and this year that recognition has extended farther than ever. Together with this year’s winners, OEGlobal honors:
* The nominations included 204 people and projects from 49 countries, 31% from outside the Global North, 10% from North American-based community colleges, reflecting the influence of CCCOER, and 22% from organizations that are members of OEGlobal.
* The shortlist of 48 finalists presenting exceptional individuals, open assets, and open practices.
* The 42 members of the review committee who examined the nominations so carefully included 32 past winners of the award, 5 members of the OEGlobal Board of Directors, and — this year for the first time — representatives from 99 OEGlobal member organizations.
* In lieu of physical trophies, the OEAwards will contribute to One Tree Planted to plant trees around the world in each award winner’s name, as acts of transforming and restoring global landscapes.
* Opportunities to share their award-winning work: Winners attending the OEGlobal 2026 Conference in person or online are invited to present at the OEAwards session. In March 2027, a series of showcase events for all nominees will be held during Open Education Week 2027.
If you weren’t able to take part in the celebration in person, the recording is now available.

Explore, celebrate, and share
Well done to all the winners in 2026! And to the whole Open Education community for their nominations, which have made this year so notable. Take a look at the winning entries, read about the projects, get to know the people involved, and pass on the appreciation to others. The details of every nomination are made publicly available and are open to comments and questions, and you can share your personal congratulations on OEGlobal Connect. By celebrating Open Education, we contribute to its growth — from seeds to saplings to trees.

Isla Haddow Flood
Open Education Global (OEGlobal)
+ +27 636995727
email us here

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