Malala Yousafzai Announced As Keynote Of Pluralsight LIVE 2018

Chris Rawle -

In 2014, at age 17, Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Her work as a human rights advocate — centered on the education of women and children in her native Pakistan — is inspirational. Her rise from near death — shot in the head by a member of the Taliban, an assassination attempt tied to her activism — is stunning. Her non-profit organization, the Malala Fund, is dedicated to providing education for the 130 million girls denied opportunity. And at the end of August, Yousafzai will be coming to Utah as the keynote speaker of Pluralsight LIVE.

“We are honored to have Malala take the stage at Pluralsight LIVE 2018,” said Aaron Skonnard, CEO of Pluralsight. “We believe education is a fundamental human right, and there is no better person to speak about this topic than Malala. Since the age of 11, and even in the face of an attack on her life, Malala has continued to fight for the educational rights of girls and children around the world.”

I’ll admit, I’m fired up for this. Yousafzai’s story is incredible, her mission admirable and much needed. Pluralsight has been leading the charge for universal computer science education opportunities for K-12 students in Utah (Said Skonnard: “We want to ensure every youth has the skills needed to create their own futures.”). Both believe in the value of opportunity given to those without — I believe in this as well. I can’t wait for August, to hear a message that resonates on a scale larger than tech or entrepreneurship, to participate in a discussion about striving to be better than we are. Let’s go.

I woke up on Oct. 16, a week after the shooting. I had been flown from Pakistan to the U.K. while unconscious and without my parents. I was thousands of miles away from home with a tube in my neck to help me breathe and unable to speak.

The first thing I thought when I came around was, ‘Thank God I’m not dead.’