ISLAMABAD, April 8 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will designate Malala Yousafzai, global advocate for girls'education and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as a UN Messenger of Peace with a special focus on girls' education, the UN Islamabad office said Saturday.
The Messenger of Peace designation ceremony will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York at an event to be held in the Trusteeship Council Chamber next week, a UN statement said.
The designation will be followed by a conversation between the secretary-general, Yousafzai and youth representatives around the world on the theme of girls' education.
"Even in the face of grave danger, Malala Yousafzai has shown an unwavering commitment to the rights of women, girls and all people," the secretary-general said on his selection of Yousafzai for the designation.
Born on July 12, 1997 in Pakistan's Swat Valley, Yousafzai became an international symbol for the fight for girls' education after being shot on October 9, 2012 for opposing Taliban restrictions on female education.
She survived the attack and became an advocate for the millions of girls denied a formal education worldwide.
In 2013, Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, co-founded Malala Fund to bring awareness to the social and economic impact of girls' education and to empower girls to demand change. Yousafzai became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2014.
