Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai, who emerged as a global icon for female rights after being shot at by Taliban for advocating girls’ education, will give her first public speech in New York on her 16th birthday on July 12, a day that would now be marked as ‘Malala Day’.
UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown announced today that Malala is determined to continue campaigning for girls’ education and will speak to a specially convened meeting of young people from around the world at the United Nations.
Her first public address is being organised by Gordon Brown along with President of UN General Assembly Vuk Jeremic.
Some 4,000 young people from across the globe are likely to attend the launch of a youth campaign to secure universal primary education. Currently, 61 million children go without a single day of primary school.
“Malala is a true inspiration and a shining beacon for girls’ education around the world. I am full of admiration for her courage and determination in the journey she is on, and am sure that she can become a real leader in the campaign for a school place for every girl — and every boy,” said Brown.
Malala, who has made a remarkable recovery in Birmingham and has since returned to school, but is yet to make a public speech.
A passionate campaigner for a long-time for the right of every girl to attend school, Malala will be making the case that the voice of young people is essential in the fight for education.
Millennium development goal
The Malala Day meeting will close with a youth resolution to make education for all a reality by the end of 2015, as was promised in the second Millennium Development Goal in 2000.
Brown’s announcement was made during the ‘Learning for All Ministerial’ meeting, co-hosted with Jim Kim of the World Bank and Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations at the World Bank in Washington.
The meeting, one of a series of events as part of an education summit, examined how to put in place education for all in eight countries which represent around half of the world’s out-of-school children.