Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist and youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is headed to Boulder to headline the closing night of the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her appearance is set for April 16, as the finale to a four-day run of panels and conversations. Organizers expect the event to draw a big mix of campus and community attendees.
According to the CU Boulder Conference on World Affairs page, the 78th annual CWA runs April 13–16, with in-person sessions on campus plus livestreamed programming. The conference is free and open to the public, organizers say, although some marquee events may require tickets.
In a university news release, Jon Leslie, vice chancellor for strategic communications and interim CWA director, called Yousafzai “bold, visionary and committed to engaging the issues of our world,” according to Newswise. The release frames her closing conversation as a major milestone for CWA during CU Boulder’s 150th-anniversary year.
Local coverage notes that the Yousafzai conversation is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 16 and will be ticketed, with the rest of the conference remaining free, as reported by Westword. That reporting also runs through Yousafzai’s activism arc, from blogging at age 11 to surviving a 2012 assassination attempt, founding the Malala Fund, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, and continuing her global advocacy.
What CWA Means For Boulder
The Conference on World Affairs is a long-running, volunteer and student-led program that brings speakers and panels to the community and to online audiences, and this year it will help kick off CU Boulder’s 150th anniversary, per CU Boulder Today. That grassroots model spreads events across campus venues and into smaller classroom panels, alongside marquee moments like the Macky Auditorium keynote that Yousafzai is set to anchor.
How To Attend
Most CWA sessions are free and available via livestream. Still, organizers say the Yousafzai closing conversation will be ticketed and that ticket details will be released in the coming weeks, according to Newswise. Those who want to get in line early can sign up at CWA.
The CWA has a long history of high-profile guests and civic conversation, and Malala’s visit sits among the conference’s most prominent headliners in recent memory. Watch for the full CWA schedule and ticket details to drop in the weeks ahead.
