Education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate hailing from Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai, will deliver the 21st Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture on December 5 in Johannesburg.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation made the announcement on Monday, saying the lecture held significance as it coincided with the 10th anniversary of Mandela’s death.
The foundation’s acting chief executive, Verne Harris, said Yousafzai, who is recognised globally for her education advocacy, stood as “an inspiring symbol of hope”.
“Malala embodies the type of leadership we believe the world needs across all levels of society. In the face of current global challenges, which can seem daunting, she stands as an inspiring symbol of hope for a just and equitable future,” he said.
Yousafzai became a global symbol of defiance after she was shot by masked gunmen on a school bus in October 2012 by the Taliban for advocating girls’ rights while 12 years old.
At the age of 17, she became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her education advocacy and has been recognised as a global symbol of the resilience of women in the face of repression.
Yousafzai will be the youngest speaker to deliver the Nelson Mandela lecture.
Other notable speakers who have presented the annual lecture include former American presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, UN secretary-general António Guterres and former president Thabo Mbeki.
Cape Times