Events

The transformative power of education: in conversation with Safeena Husain

Hosted by the Marshall Institute

Shaw Library, 6th floor, Old Building

Speaker

Safeena Husain

Safeena Husain

Chair

Professor Larry Kramer

Professor Larry Kramer

Girls’ education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet to help solve some of the world’s most difficult problems” says LSE alumna Safeena Husain (BSc Economic History 1995), founder of Educate Girls. Girls’ education acts as a powerful catalyst for change with a multiplier effect on at least 9 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by positively impacting issues ranging from child marriage and poverty to health and climate change. But above all, education is a girl’s fundamental human right. This is why Safeena has committed to improving access and quality of education for over 15 million children in India cumulatively by 2025.

In 2007, Safeena Husain founded Educate Girls, a non-profit organisation in India committed to mobilising communities for girls’ education in India’s rural and educationally backward areas. Educate Girls combines advanced analytics with door-to-door community engagement to create new educational pathways for girls in India. The organisation has achieved remarkable success, mobilising over 1.4 million girls for school enrolment and supporting over 1.9 million students with remedial learning. The organisation works with over 21,000 community-based gender champions in some of the most marginalised communities in India to break the cycle of inequality and exclusion.

At this event, LSE President and Vice Chancellor Larry Kramer and LSE alumna Safeena Husain will discuss why a girls' education is one of the best investments that a country can make and how Safeena intends to continue to scale up Educate Girls to improve millions of lives.

Meet our speaker and chair

Safeena Husain (@safeenahusain) is the Founder and Board Member of Educate Girls – an Indian non-profit working towards empowering communities for girls’ education in some of India’s hardest-to-reach villages. In 2023, Safeena became a WISE Prize Laureate, making her the first Indian woman to be honoured for her contributions to girls’ education in rural India.

Larry Kramer is President and Vice Chancellor of the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a renowned legal scholar and teacher, a former Dean of the Stanford Law School, and a former President of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.

More about this event

The Marshall Institute (@LSEMarshall) works to improve the impact and effectiveness of private action for public benefit through research, teaching and convening.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEducation

LSE Blogs

Many speakers at LSE events also write for LSE Blogs, which present research and critical commentary accessibly for a public audience. Follow British Politics and Policy, the Business Review, the Impact BlogEuropean Politics and Policy and the LSE Review of Books to learn more about the debates our events series present.

Photography

Photographs taken on behalf of LSE are often used on our social media accounts, website and publications. At events, photographs could include broad shots of the audience and lecture theatre, of speakers during the talk, and of audience members as they participate in the Q&A.

If you are photographed participating in an event Q&A but would not like your photograph to be stored for future use, please contact events@lse.ac.uk.

Media queries

Please contact the Press Office if you would like to request a press seat or have a media query about this event, email LSE.Press.Events@lse.ac.uk. Please note that press seats are usually allocated at least 24 hours before each event.

Podcasts

We aim to make all LSE events available as a podcast subject to receiving permission from the speaker/s to do this, and subject to no technical problems with the recording of the event. Podcasts are normally available 1 week after the event. Podcasts and videos of past events can be found online.

Social Media

Follow LSE public events on Twitter for notification on the availability of an event podcast, the posting of transcripts and videos, the announcement of new events and other important event updates. Event updates and other information about what’s happening at LSE can be found on the LSE's Facebook page and for live photos from events and around campus, follow us on Instagram. For live webcasts and archive video of lectures, follow us on YouTube.

LSE in Pictures is a selection of images taken by the school photographer.

Accessibility

If you are planning to attend this event and would like details on how to get here and what time to arrive, as well as on accessibility and special requirements, please refer to LSE Events FAQ.  LSE aims to ensure that people have equal access to these public events, but please contact the events organiser as far as possible in advance if you have any access requirements so that arrangements, where possible, can be made. If the event is ticketed, please ensure you get in touch in advance of the ticket release date. Access Guides to all our venues can be viewed online.

WIFI Access

LSE has now introduced wireless for guests and visitors in association with 'The Cloud', also in use at many other locations across the UK. If you are on campus visiting for the day or attending a conference or event, you can connect your device to wireless. See more information and create an account at Join the Cloud.
Visitors from other participating institutions are encouraged to use eduroam. If you are having trouble connecting to eduroam, please contact your home institution for assistance.
The Cloud is only intended for guest and visitor access to wifi. Existing LSE staff and students are encouraged to use eduroam instead.
From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.
How can I attend? Add to calendar

This public event is free and open to all, but a ticket is required.You can request one ticket via the online ticket request form, which will open after 10am on Monday 20 May. The ticket request form will be open until at least 10am on Tuesday 21 May. If after this time we have received more requests than there are tickets available, the line will be closed, and tickets will be allocated on a random basis to those requests received. If we have received fewer requests than tickets available, the ticket line will stay open until all tickets have been allocated. You will be notified within 3 working days whether your ticket request has been successful.

For any queries email events@lse.ac.uk.

  Sign up for news about events