On July 12, 2013, over 600 young people are taking over the United Nations in New York for an education Youth Summit in honor of Malala’s 16^th birthday.  Support two young women from Afghanistan to attend.

Why we care: In 2000, world leaders at the UN committed to getting every child in school by 2015. They signed the contract, now they need to deliver the goods.

How we’re solving this: Providing travel scholarships to two young women from Afghanistan, where only 13% of girls complete primary school, to participate in a UN Youth Summit focusing on getting all children safely into school.

Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has agreed to a Youth Summit to be held on the date of Malala Yousafzai’s 16^th birthday, July 12, 2013, with her wholehearted approval. The focus of the Summit will be for young people from around the world to set out what they know needs to be done to get children learning.

Your funds will go to cover the full travel scholarships for two young women and their chaperones to ensure the most marginalized girls and young women from the furthest corners of the world can also find a seat at the top table to share their experiences and recommendations for international action.

A World At School, a digital mobilisation campaign supported by the UN and the World Bank, will work with partners from UN agencies, governments, businesses and charities to enable children and youth from around the world to take part in the day.

This day will act as a new catalyst for youth to lead the campaign to get all children into school and learning. Events will also take place around the world, to show solidarity with Malala and her commitment to education. In the lead up to the event youth and children from around the world will be asked to feed into an official UN outcome document, which will be endorsed by the UN Secretary General, and circulated, to all UN Member States.

The document will set out what a new global youth mandate to solve the education emergency. The process to the day and the document will provide a strong foundation for new global youth movement and a strong mandate for youth to return to their countries and call on their governments to live up to the demands of this global movement.

This unique opportunity is only the beginning of the campaign to get all children into school and learning. It is critical that girls and women from Afghanistan are given a voice in this critical moment for the education of all children.

Photo Credit:  UN Photo/Rick Bajornas