Maria Lourdes Khan being inducted into the  International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in Budapest, Hungary. The award is in recognition of her outstanding  international advocacy work in advancing education for the poor and marginalized in Asia.

A Filipino overseas adult education advocate has brought honor to the country by being inducted into the Hall of Fame of a prestigious international award in the field of adult and continuing education.

Maria Lourdes Almazan Khan was recognized by the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame last December 4 in Budapest, Hungary.

Almazan Khan is the only Filipino to be accorded the honor since the Hall of Fame was established in 1995 at the University of Oklahoma. She is a graduate of the University of the Philippines and completed her Masters in Rural Development at the University of East Anglia in Norwich in 1990.
 
The Hall of Fame awards is given to international scholars and practitioners whose contributions provide the foundation for continuing education and adult learning.

Almazan Khan, who currently lives in Mumbai, India with her husband, Azeez Khan, the Principal Secretary (Industries) of the Indian state of Maharashtra, has been described as a strong advocate for state responsibility in adult and continuing education.

Almazan Khan is the secretary-general of the Mumbai-based Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE).

Since she became secretary-general of ASPBAE in 1995, she has developed   ASPBAE into the most important adult education and civil society network in the Asia Pacific region – recognized regionally and internationally for its promotion of education work in general, and adult and continuing education work in particular.

ASPBAE itself follows a clear policy on gender mainstreaming, and special support to girls and women.

She has led efforts to pursue evidence-based advocacy work to convince governments and donors to depart from narrow interpretations of education rights; to provide the full financial commitment and framework to address all Education for ALL (EFA) goals, including adult literacy and life skills, which fall within the domain of lifelong learning, and to scale up learning opportunities of good quality, especially for the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups.