National Geo Announces Girls Education Initiative Tied to Exclusive Broadcast Premiere of HE NAMED ME MALALA

More than 60 million girls are out of school around the world. It's time to take action. Today, the National Geographic Channel (@NatGeoChannel) and 21st Century FOX (@21CF), in partnership with the Malala Fund (@MalalaFund), announced they would launch a social initiative to raise awareness for girls' right to education and safe schools for every child. Timed to the exclusive global broadcast television premiere of Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim's feature documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA, the initiative will engage audiences through social platforms and drive a charitable donation to the Malala Fund of up to $50,000 from 21st Century Fox.

Starting today, Feb. 18, NGC will launch a highly visible campaign on its Facebook and Twitter platforms encouraging users to Stand #withMalala and show their support for girls' education. Inspired by Malala's mission, Campfire, a creative agency based in New York City, designed a social activation that shows the loss incurred when girls don't have access to education. The activation focuses on a custom Facebook application that allows fans to transform their profile picture into a yearbook photo. The yearbook photo then adds animation that dissolves female users' photos from the page. This powerful visual metaphor sheds light on the 60 million girls out of school worldwide and inspires people to learn more about Malala's mission.

For every person who participates from today through March 10, 21st Century FOX will donate $1 to the Malala Fund. A $1 donation will also be made for every tweet using the hashtag #withMalala during this time period, for a total donation of up to $50,000. More information and instructions on how to create the Facebook video can be found at www.supportmalala.com.

HE NAMED ME MALALA will premiere commercial free on Monday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo MUNDO in the U.S., with a global rollout planned within a week in 171 countries and 45 languages.

HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan's Swat Valley. The documentary offers a look into Malala's life both before and after the attack. She was 15 at the time of the incident, when she was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls' education. The shooting sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. Malala miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls' education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth," "Waiting for Superman") examines how Malala, her father, Zia, and her family are committed to fighting for education for all girls worldwide. The film delivers an inside glimpse into this extraordinary young girl's life - from her close relationship with her father, who inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speeches at the United Nations to joking around at home with her parents and brothers.

HE NAMED ME MALALA was released theatrically by FOX Searchlight Pictures, in association with Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Participant Media, with National Geographic Channel. The film is produced by Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Davis Guggenheim. Executive producers are Mohamed Al Mubarak and Michael Garin from Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Jeff Skoll from Participant Media and Shannon Dill.

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