Malala popularity may spark more speakers coming to DDC

ACTIVIST Malala Yousafzai, the 19-year-old Pakistani girls’ and children’s education activist, addressed a sold-out crowd at the Dunkin' Donuts Center Thursday night. / COURTESY MALALA.ORG
ACTIVIST Malala Yousafzai, the 19-year-old Pakistani girls’ and children’s education activist, addressed a sold-out crowd at the Dunkin' Donuts Center Thursday night. / COURTESY MALALA.ORG

PROVIDENCE – Malala Yousafzai, the 19-year-old Pakistani girls’ and children’s education activist, addressed a sold-out crowd at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Thursday evening where she talked about women’s equality and the impact of education in fighting terrorism.

“Freedom means making decisions and being recognized as part of society and being of value in society, which is something women have been struggling for for many years … Women need to be respected as human beings,” she said of the campaign for equality she triumphs globally.

Since the almost-fatal shooting of Yousafzai by the Taliban in October 2012, which initiated an international outcry, she said she has come to learn “forgiveness is the best revenge.”

However, Yousafzai’s talk was one of very few speakers’ forums held at the DDC of late and that is something Cheryl Cohen, director of marketing, public relations and booking for the DDC, wants to change.

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According to Cohen, the last speakers’ forum at the DDC was “Get Motivated,” in October 2011, which included talks by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and comedian Bill Cosby.

Since then, she said: “We’ve had religious conferences with speakers, but this is one of the few speaking engagements we’ve done that was open to the public and we hope to do more in the future. It’s a great addition to the portfolio of events we offer.”

“Get Motivated” did not return to Providence, said Cohen, because the promoter did not advertise any further speaking events.

Highlighting the popularity of Yousafzai’s visit was the sold out crowd, which host, Patrice Wood an anchor for NBC10, estimated at more than 6,000 people. The DDC said they sold all 6,100 tickets allotted for the Thursday evening show.

Cohen said the DDC often sells out, but attendance is “act and artist driven” and differs from performance to performance. For example, last week the center hosted a World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. event which also sold out.

She said that prior to Providence, Yousafzai had appearances in Seattle and Minneapolis, and may have an engagement in Portland, Ore., later this year. Cohen was unaware why, specifically, Yousafzai chose Providence for her sole East Coast performance, but said the DDC’s administration provided her with information about the multiple higher learning institutions in the state and capital city, particularly.

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