Nobel Committee honors the importance of education with 2014 peace prize
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alexandra Humme at ahumme@globalpartnership.org
Washington — October 10, 2014. The Global Partnership for Education is delighted that Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi will be receiving the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Two education advocates receiving this prestigious prize is a strong recognition of education as a force for peace. It shows the importance of children’s rights and the crucial role that youth and education can play for the betterment of their communities and countries.
“We are proud and honored that both of these inspirational advocates are strong supporters of the Global Partnership for Education,” said Julia Gillard, Board Chair of the Global Partnership for Education. “Malala is an extraordinary young woman; an undeterred defender and advocate of the right to education for all children, especially girls. We are honored to have her as a champion in our group of distinguished education advocates who support the Global Partnership for Education. We also congratulate Kailash Satyarthi, a former board member of the Global Partnership, who has devoted his life to end child labor and for better education for the children of South Asia,” Gillard added.
“The world needs the powerful voices of Malala and Kailash to draw attention to the many challenges faced by millions of children each day all over the world when trying to get an education”, said Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education. “The Global Partnership for Education will continue to stand with great pride behind these impressive education advocates,” Albright added.
In June, Malala Yousafzai became a champion for the Global Partnership for Education which works in almost 60 low-income countries to ensure every child receives a basic education. In addition, the Malala Fund generously sponsored a group of young education activists to participate in the replenishment conference of the Global Partnership for Education which raised US$28.5 billion for global education.
“Education is the right of every girl, every human being,” Malala had said in June. “I'm proud to be a champion for the Global Partnership for Education and grateful that the Malala Fund is helping bring other young advocates from developing countries to the summit in Brussels. It is only when the voices of young people are heard by our world leaders that we will achieve our goal of children everywhere in school and learning, no matter where they live."
Kailash Satyarthi is also the co-founder of the Global Campaign for Education which is a core member of the Global Partnership for Education. In 2009/10, he represented the civil society constituency at the Board of the Global Partnership for Education (at that time still called Fast Track Initiative) leading significant reforms that contributed to the success of the Global Partnership.