Seize the Summit: An Evening with the Malala Fund

Seize the Summit is the story of four young people’s journey to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Shaqayeq, Adnan, Safa and Tania are not ordinary adventurers, they are all survivors of war from different countries. Safa bares the physical and emotional scars of Syria’s war; Adnan has been bound to a wheelchair ever since he was shot at age 14; Shaqayeq was born in war-torn Afghanistan never knowing what peace looked like until she arrived in Germany; Tania only just managed to escape Ukraine.

What brought them to take on Kilimanjaro was a profound desire to take a stand together against war and have the world hear their messages. But as they are forced to push their limits, the mountain reveals a unique lesson to each of them.

Join us at The Conduit as we collaborate with the Malala Fund to screen this uplifting story of hope, and to celebrate the power of the human spirit. Director Arwa Damon will be joined by some of the young stars of the film for a conversation alongside Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Malala Fund, Malala Yousafzai.

Attendance for Conduit members is strictly limited and on a first come, first served basis.

Event Schedule

6:00pm: Pre-event socialising and networking
A cash bar will be available for refreshments.

6:30pm: Film begins

7:45pm: Film ends and Panel Discussion

8:15pm: Event ends

Speakers

Malala Yousafzai is Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Malala Fund. Malala began her campaign for education at age 11 when she anonymously blogged for the BBC about life under the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Over the next few years, Malala continued her advocacy for girls’ education publicly — attracting international media attention and awards. At age 15, she was attacked by the Taliban for speaking out. After months of surgery and rehabilitation in the United Kingdom, she co-founded Malala Fund with her father Ziauddin to continue her campaign to see every girl complete 12 years of free, safe, quality education. A year later, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts. Malala graduated from Oxford University in 2020 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. She is also the best-selling author of three books and president of Extracurricular Productions.

Arwa Damon is President and Founder of INARA which provides access to life altering medical and mental health care for children impacted by human-induced and natural disasters. Arwa is a former CNN Senior International Correspondent currently working on independent documentaries and other forms of storytelling through her company Scrappy Goat Media. Arwa has over a decade of experience in war zones across the MENA region and has often focused her work on humanitarian stories. Arwa has received extensive recognition for her work including TV and News Emmys, Peabodys, the Investigative Reporters and Editors award, and the International Women’s Media Foundation “Courage in Journalism” award. The concept behind INARA is a by-product of her first hand experience on the ground.