United Nations special envoy for global education Gordon Brown will arrive on a three-day visit to Pakistan Friday, it was learnt. Official sources said that Brown will call on President Asif Ali Zardari and hand him over a compendium one million signatures, a campaign lunched for compulsory education.
Almost one million people worldwide have signed their name to call on both the Pakistan government and the United Nations to achieve Malala Yousufzai's aim that "every girl has the opportunity to go to school." Brown, former British Prime Minister and now the UN special envoy on education, announced to visit Pakistan last month following the tragic attack on 15-year old Malala Yousufzai.
He is accompanied by a delegation that will discuss with the Pakistani government how to improve education opportunities for children. During his visit, the sources further said that Gordon Brown will also launch Waseela-e-Taleem project of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). He will address a news conference on Saturday.
Brown was appointed special global education envoy to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in July this year, following in the footsteps of former US president Bill Clinton and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. Talking to Business Recorder Phyza Jameel, an official of Unesco at Communication and Freedom of Expression Division confirmed the visit of the UN special envoy but declined to comment further as she was not authorised to talk on the subject.
She, however, stated that Unesco and government of Pakistan will co-host a high-level advocacy event called "Stand-up for Malala - Stand up for Girls' Right to Education," to be held in Paris on December 10 this year, which will coincide with United Nations Human Rights Day. She said President Asif Ali Zardari will also attend the event in Paris, which is designed to generate political will and accelerate action in favour of every girl's right to go to school.