National Geographic Channel and 21st Century Fox Announce Girls Education Initiative Tied to the Exclusive Broadcast Premiere of HE NAMED ME MALALA, Monday, Feb. 29
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–More than 60 million girls are out of school around the world. It’s time
to take action. Today, the National Geographic Channel (@NatGeoChannel)
and 21st Century Fox (@21CF), in partnership with the Malala Fund
(@MalalaFund), announced they would launch a social initiative to raise
awareness for girls’ right to education and safe schools for every
child. Timed to the exclusive global broadcast television premiere of
Academy Award® winner Davis Guggenheim’s feature documentary HE NAMED
ME MALALA, the initiative will engage audiences through social
platforms and drive a charitable donation to the Malala Fund of up to
$50,000 from 21st Century Fox.
Starting today, Feb. 18, NGC will launch a highly visible campaign on
its Facebook
and Twitter
platforms encouraging users to Stand #withMalala and show their support
for girls’ education. Inspired by Malala’s mission, Campfire, a creative
agency based in New York City, designed a social activation that shows
the loss incurred when girls don’t have access to education. The
activation focuses on a custom Facebook application that allows fans to
transform their profile picture into a yearbook photo. The yearbook
photo then adds animation that dissolves female users’ photos from the
page. This powerful visual metaphor sheds light on the 60 million girls
out of school worldwide and inspires people to learn more about Malala’s
mission.
For every person who participates from today through March 10, 21st
Century Fox will donate $1 to the Malala Fund. A $1 donation will also
be made for every tweet using the hashtag #withMalala during this time
period, for a total donation of up to $50,000. More information and
instructions on how to create the Facebook video can be found at www.supportmalala.com.
HE NAMED ME MALALA will premiere commercial
free on Monday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on National Geographic
Channel and Nat Geo MUNDO in the U.S., with a global rollout planned
within a week in 171 countries and 45 languages.
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely
wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s
Swat Valley. The documentary offers a look into Malala’s life both
before and after the attack. She was 15 at the time of the incident,
when she was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for
girls’ education. The shooting sparked an outcry from supporters around
the world. Malala miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner
for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient
Truth,” “Waiting for Superman”) examines how Malala, her father, Zia,
and her family are committed to fighting for education for all girls
worldwide. The film delivers an inside glimpse into this extraordinary
young girl’s life — from her close relationship with her father, who
inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speeches at the
United Nations to joking around at home with her parents and brothers.
HE NAMED ME MALALA was released theatrically by Fox Searchlight
Pictures, in association with Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Participant
Media, with National Geographic Channel. The film is produced by Walter
Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Davis Guggenheim. Executive producers are
Mohamed Al Mubarak and Michael Garin from Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Jeff
Skoll from Participant Media and Shannon Dill.
Contacts
National Geographic Channel
Media Contact:
Erin Griffin,
202-316-9707
erin@eringriffinpr.com
