Malala Yousafzai urges world leaders at UN to promise safe, quality education for every child
25 September 2015 – Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly
alongside 193 youth representatives from the Organization’s 193 Member
States, Pakistani education advocate Malala Yousafzai today asked world
leaders to promise that every child will have the right to safe, free
and quality primary and secondary education.
“World leaders sitting there, look up because the future generation is
raising their voice,” Ms. Yousafzai, who was shot in 2012 by the Taliban
for attending classes, told hundreds of senior government officials in a
stirring address delivered from the highest mezzanine of the General
Assembly Hall.
“Today, we are 193 young people representing billions more. Each lantern
we hold represents the hope we have for our future because of the
commitments you have made to the global goals,” she added as each young
person held up a blue light.
The 17 Global Goals are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by the General Assembly just minutes after the youngest-ever Nobel Laureate addressed the Hall.
They aim to build on the work of the historic Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which in September 2000 rallied the world around a common 15-year agenda to tackle the indignity of poverty.
“I’m hopeful that we all in the UN will be united in the goal of
education and peace, and that we will make this world not just a better
place, but the best place to live. Education is hope, education is
peace,” Ms. Yousafzai stressed.
Education
advocate Malala Yousafzai (third left) addresses the General Assembly
during the opening day of the UN Sustainable Development Summit. UN
Photo/Mark Garten
advocate Malala Yousafzai (third left) addresses the General Assembly
during the opening day of the UN Sustainable Development Summit. UN
Photo/Mark Garten
