Malal Yousafzai Launches Extracurricular Apple TV Programming Partnership

Women’s rights activist Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is building on her longstanding relationship with Apple with an exciting, original programming partnership for Apple TV+. The alliance will produce dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation, and children’s series, — all born of Malala’s historic ability to inspire people of every age in every country in the world.

“I believe in the power of stories to bring families together, forge friendships, build movements, and inspire children to dream,” said Malala Yousafzai. “And I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Apple to help bring these stories to life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to support women, young people, writers, and artists in reflecting the world as they see it.”

Malala and her new production studio Extracurricular is an extension of Apple’s long-running relationship with the young women who was shot in the head by Taliban forces. Sitting in her Swat Valley school bus on Oct. 9, 2012, Malala remained unconscious and in critical condition at the Tawalpindi Institute of Cardiology. In a symbolic girls education nightmare watched by the entire world, Malala was then airlifted out of Pakistan to the UK to seek asylum.

The brilliant humanitarian and activist, inspired by her own education activist father Ziauddin, recovered at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham UK. In addition to offering world class medical resources, Birmingham has a large population — about 20% — of Muslims from all over the world.

When Malala founded Malala Fund to champion every girl’s right to 12 years of safe, free, quality education, Apple proudly became her first Laureate partner “supporting the organization’s work with local advocates and teachers in eight countries where girls face significant education challenges. Apple also assists with technology, curriculum, and research into policy changes to support girls’ education. The partnership has since expanded, and in Brazil, Apple’s 10 Developer Academies have partnered with Malala Fund to advance girls’ education opportunities there and around the world”, writes the Apple Newsroom. .

The voice of young women worldwide, Malala Yousafzai graduated virtually from Oxford University in Fall 2020. She wrote an essay published on Vanity Fair “Not the Ending I Imagined”: Malala on Her Virtual Oxford Graduation”.

Malala will join Apple’s burgeoning roster of creative visionaries, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Idris Elba, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Octavia Spencer, Kumail Nanjiani, Alfonso Cuarón, and more.

Why Dolly Parton is More Than a Country Icon; She's All of Us

“I just wanted to do really good work, and I wanted it to make a really big difference in the world … to uplift mankind and glorify God”.

Dolly Parton to New York Times, Nov. 30, 2020. Image: Craig McDean

Among her many titles, we know Dolly Parton as the Queen of Country Music and a music icon. She now sits among a very small number of artists as a loved across the world and generations. However, this queen has long spread her wings beyond ballads and strummed guitars to become a beloved global icon for reasons beyond music. If there's one thing to really admire her for, it's her work as a humanitarian.

Her Coat of Many Colors

Dolly has long used her big personality and iconic voice to lend credence to important messages and causes even before "wokeness" became a part of the common vernacular. People from all walks of life have loved her because, throughout all her accolades and renown, she has used her platform for good without ever showing a hint of ego or self-gratification.

Even in today's climate, with social media and heightened cultural divides, not only do her songs provide a unified comfort but she has voiced out her support for numerous causes like the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBT+ equality, and even PETA's campaign to protect dogs. As late as 2020, in the midst of the pandemic (for which she donated $1 million to Moderna’s vaccine research), she has used her status and privilege to sway even the most derisive of crowds.

Her contributions to various causes are just one of the many things that make her an icon in America’s eyes. She is also recognized for her timeless lyrics, unforgettable quotes in interviews, the amazing Dollywood theme park, and her innumerable accolades in the music and film industries. You can even find a statue of her in Downtown Sevierville, as well as countless homages and tributes like the film Dumplin’. Gala Bingo has even dedicated a slot game in her honor, calling it a ‘guilty pleasure’ of theirs. This only goes to show that Dolly’s appeal transcends boundaries, be that in geography or media. And if you haven’t had enough of her, Dolly has her own American Girl doll version designed after the young icon in the ‘Coat of Many Colors’.

Even Emily J. Lordi, a faculty member at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, author of Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature, and interviewer of Dolly Parton for T Magazine “was not immune to the desire for a little more Dolly. . . PEOPLE WANT HER gifts, her glow, her time; and Parton, who, as she says, ‘loves everybody and wants everybody to love me,’ is often happy to oblige.”'

In Nov. 2020 Emily Lordi (lower right)) interviewed Dolly Parton in ‘The Grit and Glory of Dolly Parton, one of three major essays for The New York Times Style Magazine ‘The Divas’. The series also featured Barbara Streisand and Patti LaBelle. Emily Lordi website.

Working 9 to 5

That said, Dolly Parton has always proven herself to be more than just a figurehead of female empowerment, love, and allyship. She's one of the few celebrities that hasn't been labeled as "in a bubble". She has long voiced her desire to do her part to help out those who are less fortunate, regardless of political parties or agenda.

If you take a trip down memory lane, you'll see that her philanthropic efforts can be traced all the way back to the '80s, and not just because she came into the music scene an unapologetically talented woman. She established her Dollywood Foundation to help students gain access to education, created the Dolly Parton Scholarship for college hopefuls, launched countless founds to help hospitals, families afflicted by tragedies and natural disasters, and supported transgender rights. That long list of giving is just the tip of the iceberg too.

Despite the spotlight on her long and varied career, Dolly is an icon simply because she has never touted herself to be one. She is just unabashedly herself, amazing at her craft, and she bares her heart for the world to see - with actions to back up her talk. What makes her a figure worth even a fraction of the idolatry we give our stars today, is how she has shown that a true-blue nationalistic woman can be a pioneer in creativity and able to bridge gaps among differing groups of people.

In the star's own recent words with Fox, "Love is more contagious than a virus." And she has personified this throughout all the trails she has blazed, clad in acrylic nails and bedazzled tops.

Dolly Parton has a multi-documentary/movie relationship with Netflix. Her recent documentary Here I Am has been streaming since October 2020 in America, after opening in Britain. You can check the entire Dolly Parton Netflix lineup on this link.