Echo, Liverpool :
International education champion Malala Yousafzai has been confirmed as the headline speaker for World Merit Day.
The 16 year-old education activist from Pakistan spread her positive message as she made a remarkable recovery after an attempted assassination by the Taliban.
In October 2012, the then 15-year-old Malala was shot by the Taliban while travelling home from school on the bus with her friends.
Following the attack, Malala was flown to Birmingham to receive treatment at the specialist Queen Elizabeth hospital, and by March 2013 she had made a remarkable recovery and was well enough to return to school.
Now living in Birmingham with her family, Malala continues to campaign for the right of every child to go to school. Since the attack, she has become internationally known for her courage in refusing to be silenced and continuing her fight for the right of everyone to receive an education.
On her 16th birthday Malala was invited to speak at the United Nations and was quoted in her speech saying; “They thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed. Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”
