Monday, October 13, 2014

  Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Malala Yousafzai breaks Guinness World Records' record (VIDEO)

Oslo, Norway -- The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai for their struggles against the suppression of children and for young people's rights, including the right to education; Yousafzai came to global attention after she was shot in the head by the Taliban for her efforts to promote education for girls in Pakistan; according to the Nobel committee, at 17she's the youngest ever peace prize winner, setting the new world record for the Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner, according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/ .

  Photo: The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai for their struggles against the suppression of children and for young people's rights, including the right to education. ( enlarge photo )

The Guinness World Records' record for the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner was Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan, b. 17 July 1997), who won the award in 2014. Malala Yousafzai shared the prize with Kailash Satyarthi of India "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education".

  Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature is Rudyard Kipling (UK, b. 30 December 1865, d. 18 January 1936) who won the prize in 1907. Rudyard Kipling was also the first English language author to win the prize.

   "I think this is really the beginning," she said, adding that children around the world "should stand up for their rights" and "not wait for someone else." 

  The Norwegian Nobel Committee makes the point that 60% of the current population is under 25 years of age in the poorest countries of the world.
Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said, "Children must go to school, not be financially exploited."   

  Yousafzai was among the favorites for the prize last year, which instead went to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, for its longstanding efforts to "do away with a whole category of weapons of mass destruction."

  The Norwegian Nobel Committee received a record 278 nominations for the 2014 prize, 47 of which were for organizations. Each prize carries with it a monetary reward of 8 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million) to be divided among the winners.