Pakistan's Malala 'has inspired children worldwide'

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) - The bravery of shot Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai has inspired children around the world to fight for a better education, key figures in a United Nations (UN) campaign said on Friday.

Hosting a discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, UN special education envoy and former British prime minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to 15-year-old Malala, who was gunned down in Pakistan in October.

"We saw when Malala Yousafzai was shot in Pakistan, girls in Pakistan went on to the streets to protest that they too wanted the education they were being denied," Mr Brown told an elite audience at the luxury ski resort.

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is also involved in UN education efforts, said Malala's example showed the need for the international community to help "vulnerable states".