IANS | 22 Jan, 2018
Apple on Monday announced to
support The Malala Fund -- led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala
Yousafzai -- which is focused on advocating every girl's right to 12
years of free, safe and quality education.
Apple will
become the fund's first Laureate partner, enabling a significant
expansion of Malala's effort to support girls' education and advocate
for equal opportunity.
"We believe that education is
a great equalising force, and we share Malala Fund's commitment to
give every girl an opportunity to go to school," CEO Tim Cook
said in a statement.
Cook will also join the Malala Fund
leadership council.
"Yousafzai is a courageous
advocate for equality. She's one of the most inspiring figures of our
time, and we are honoured to help her extend the important work she
is doing to empower girls around the world," Cook added.
With
Apple's support, Malala Fund expects to double the number of grants
awarded by its "Gulmakai Network" and extend funding
programmes to India and Latin America -- with the initial goal of
extending secondary education opportunities to more than 100,000
girls.
The fund's "Gulmakai Network" currently
supports programmes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and
Nigeria.
Apple will help Malala Fund scale its
organisation by assisting with technology, curriculum and research
into policy changes needed to help girls everywhere attend school and
complete their education.
"My dream is for every
girl to choose her own future," said Yousafzai.
"I
am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing in girls and is
joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and
lead without fear," she noted.
Since 2013, Malala
Fund has been working in partnership with other organisations, the
private sector and governments around the world to realize every
girl's right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
"With
an estimated 130 million girls out of school, the importance of their
work is increasingly essential," Apple said.