The president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, sent a letter to Malala Yousafzai in which he congratulates the young Pakistani activist on behalf of the Catalan nation for the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to her for efforts and her example in promoting the rights for all children to education.

 

In the letter, the Chief Executive made reference to the Government’s Catalonia International Prize awarded to Malala last year in acknowledgment of her commitment and her fight for universal child education, particularly in countries where these rights are denied to young women. The panel of the Prize made a special mention of this and highlighted in particular her constant battle “from a very early age, risking her life for the right to education in a very difficult context”.  

 

During the Catalonia International Prize award ceremony, celebrated in the Palace of the Government in July last year, Malala Yousafzai asked that she not be remembered as the girl who suffered an attempt on her life, but instead be seen as “the girl who fought for the right of all children, boys and girls, to education”. “It is my dream, my obsession and the objective I am pursuing” stated the activist. In his intervention, president Mas highlighted the “bravery and courage” of Malala and held her as an example of a “person of great quality and exigency”.

 

In his letter, the Head of the Catalan government also expressed his congratulations and hoped the young Pakistani holds “a pleasant memory” of her stay in Catalonia, which included a visit to the Eugeni d’Ors Insitute in Badalona and the Can Serra school in Barberà del Vallès.