Professor Ngo Bao Chau, a young Vietnamese mathematician, and Jimmy Pham, who engages in helping street kids, have been honored as Young Global Leaders 2011 by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Both Chau and Jimmy Pham are among 200 individuals selected by WEF from 5,000 candidates from around the world.

Chau was recognised by the WEF for his contributions to the world’s mathematics.

Chau was awarded the Field Medal, the world’s top mathematics prize, in 2010 for his proof of the Fundamental Lemma in the theory of automorphic forms, by introducing new algebra-geometric methods.

A few days ago, Chau, who is working for the University of Chicago, the US, was appointed as Director of the Hanoi-based Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.

Vietnamese-Australian Jimmy Pham, founder and CEO of KOTO (Know One, Teach One) International, a not-for-profit hospitality restaurant, has trained more than 300 street and disadvantaged Vietnamese adolescents in its Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City training centres.

The KOTO 24-month programme includes both front-of-house and kitchen, as well as English and life skills training and provides trainees with accommodation, food and medical care, all free of charge.

It has a restaurant in Hanoi where trainees work to get practical experience and all profits are invested back into the program. KOTO will open another restaurant in HCMC this year.

Bestowed annually by the forum, the honor recognizes and acknowledges up to 200 outstanding young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. /.