Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai To Receive 2026 Lifelong Learning Award From WHYY

PHILADELPHIA – WHYY is proud to announce that it will honor Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai with its prestigious Lifelong Learning Award on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. The special engagement will be held both online and in person, featuring an exclusive live interview between Yousafzai and Terry Gross, the host and co-executive producer of WHYY’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley, nationally heard by more than five million weekly listeners over the air on NPR and via its podcast.

“Malala Yousafzai’s courage and commitment to education have inspired millions and set a global standard for advocacy in the face of adversity,” said Bill Marrazzo, WHYY President & CEO. “Her leadership aligns directly with WHYY’s values around access to learning and civic responsibility. We are honored to recognize her unwavering efforts to empower young people and promote lifelong learning as a foundational component to resilient communities.”

WHYY will recognize Yousafzai for her long-standing work advancing girls’ education worldwide and for elevating education as a fundamental human right. Through her advocacy and philanthropy, she has helped expand educational access for young people across diverse regions, reinforcing the role education plays in strengthening societies and creating opportunities.

“I have seen the power of education to transform individual lives, families and communities around the world,” said Yousafzai. “It is an honor for me to return to Philadelphia and share my story with WHYY’s audiences and supporters.”

At age 15, Yousafzai was targeted for her activism in Pakistan but survived and continued her campaign for education on a global stage. In 2014, at the age of 17, she became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle against the suppression of children and her campaign for the right of all children to education. She co-founded the Malala Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to pursue a future she chooses. Yousafzai’s own educational journey includes a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University.

Through the Malala Fund, Yousafzai champions initiatives that strengthen girls’ rights to secondary education, advocate for policies that address gender discrimination, and secure vital resources for schools in some of the world’s most challenged regions.

The Fund invests directly in local advocates — particularly those rooted in their communities — through its Education Champion Network, enabling targeted grantmaking to overcome barriers to education. By collaborating with governments, civil society and global institutions, the Malala Fund drives systemic change, ensuring more girls can access quality education, remain in school during crises and ultimately shape their own futures.

WHYY’s Lifelong Learning Award has been awarded for over two decades and has previously honored distinguished individuals such as author James Patterson, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., President Joseph Biden, researcher Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and many others. The event’s proceeds support WHYY’s ongoing mission to encourage lifelong learning and advance civic engagement through storytelling, education and community dialogue programs.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, please visit whyy.org/events.

About WHYY:
WHYY, the Philadelphia region’s leading independent, non-commercial public media provider, has served southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and all of Delaware for more than 70 years. WHYY’s mission is to engage audiences, expand perspectives, and empower communities through lifelong learning, truthful reporting, healthy dialogue, and amplification of diverse voices. The station’s national production and presentation roster for public media includes Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley, the award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues; the children’s arts education series Albie’s Elevator and The Infinite Art Hunt; the weekly science and health program & podcast, The Pulse as well as a variety of documentaries, series, and specials. WHYY also serves as the Local Primary 1 (LP1) station for the Philadelphia emergency alert system (EAS) operational area, acting as the region’s primary broadcaster for receiving and relaying emergency alerts to other stations and cable systems—ensuring the public receives timely and potentially lifesaving information. For more information, visit WHYY.org