Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakistan, to Pashtun parents (ethnic Afghans) and is a human rights activist for female education as well as the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. Influenced by her father’s beliefs and humanitarian work, Malala began her advocacy through blogging for the BBC about her life during the Taliban occupation of Swat, participating in a New York Times documentary of her life, and through giving print and television interviews. The increased attention Malala’s activism brought her and her family made them a target for the Taliban, which culminated in an assassination attempt by the Taliban on Malala’s life on 9 October 2012. After receiving emergency treatment in Pakistan, Malala was transferred to Birmingham, England, for aftercare and rehabilitation. Her parents and younger brothers joined her in England shortly after where they still remain, unable yet to return to Pakistan for safety reasons.

While in Birmingham, Malala co-authored her autobiography and founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation that aims to provide twelve years of free, safe and quality education for every girl. In addition to her 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, Malala was awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize in 2012 and Europe’s Sakharov Prize in 2013. Malala’s other achievements include being the subject of an Oscar-shortlisted documentary He Named Me Malala in 2015, as well as receiving honorary Canadian citizenship and addressing the Canada’s House of Commons. Having completed her secondary education in England, Malala is currently enrolled at Oxford University where she is studying a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Christina Lamb

British journalist and one of Britain’s leading foreign correspondents, Christina Lamb has reported from many of the world’s hotspots, including Afghanistan in 1987 aged 22, and has won fifteen major awards including Europe’s Bayeux-Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents. In addition to I am Malala, Lamb has written eight books including bestseller The Africa House.

An Honorary Fellow of University College, Oxford, Lamb was awarded an OBE by the Queen for services to journalism in 2013 and in 2018 received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Dundee.

Lamb is also an inspirational speaker, playwright and performer, and sits on several boards. She currently lives in London with her family.