The ADA Annual Meeting is honored to have Malala Yousafzai address its members as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series at ADA 2016, hosted this year in Denver, Colorado. The Distinguished Speaker Series is presented by ACT.
Malala Yousafzai is a celebrated global activist for girls’ education, as well as an award-winning international author and contemporary role model whose bravery and unwavering commitment to her cause helped her achieve one of the world’s highest honors in 2014: a Nobel Peace Prize alongside Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi.
“Malala Yousafzai is one of the most iconic women of our time,” said Dr. Carol Gomez Summerhays, ADA president. “Her life experiences and achievements within the first two decades of her life are profoundly inspiring. To hear her tell her story is a once in a lifetime opportunity for those who attend ADA 2016.”
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A vocal advocate for female education in her native country of Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai nearly died at the age of 15 after being shot by the Taliban while on a bus ride home from school in October of 2012. Despite her harrowing experience, Yousafzai continued her tireless efforts for equal education rights for women and children around the globe.
In 2013, Time magazine named her one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World,” while Amnesty International honored her with the Ambassador of Conscience award, and Glamour declared her “Woman of the Year.” She is also the author of the international bestseller, “I Am Malala,” which has been published in over 27 territories. Now living in Birmingham, England with her family, Yousafazi continues to educate people around the world about her cause and how governments and everyday people alike can help to fight for the rights of every child to go to school and receive an education.
Source: ADA press release 22 February 2016
