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Yalda Hakim

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Yalda Hakim
Hakim at the Halifax International Security Forum 2017
Born (1983-06-26) 26 June 1983 (age 41)
Kabul, Afghanistan[1]
NationalityAustralian
EducationMacquarie University (BA)
Occupations
Employer(s)Sky News
BBC (previously)
Notable credit(s)BBC World News
Our World
Newsnight
BBC News
Impact with Yalda Hakim
Dateline
SpouseAbed Rashid
Children1[2]

Yalda Hakim (born 26 June 1983)[3] is an Australian broadcast journalist, Sky News Lead World News presenter, and documentary maker. She was one of the chief presenters at BBC News broadcasting in English in the UK and globally.[4] After her family left Afghanistan and settled in Australia in 1986, she grew up in the western Sydney suburb of Parramatta and went on to study journalism. She started her career at SBS Television, moving to BBC TV in 2012. In July 2023, it was announced that she was leaving the BBC to join Sky News.

Early life and education

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Hakim was born on 26 June 1983 in Kabul, in then DR Afghanistan. Her family fled the country during the Soviet–Afghan War when she was six months old.[1] The family travelled on horseback overland to Pakistan with the help of people smugglers. After two years in Pakistan, the family settled in Australia as migrants in 1986, when she was three years old.[5]

Hakim attended Macarthur Girls High School in Parramatta, Sydney, where she played the violin and became a sports captain and prefect. She also attended Parramatta West Public School.[1][failed verification]

Hakim went on to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media from 2002 to 2004 at Macquarie University, where she was also a board member of the Macquarie University Union.[5]

In 2005, Hakim received a Diploma in Journalism at Macleay College, Sydney. She then went on to study a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism via distance education at Monash University from 2007 to 2009, in addition to a cadetship at the Special Broadcasting Service.[1][6]

Besides English, Hakim is fluent in Dari, Urdu, and Pashto, and as of 2022 was learning Mandarin.[7][8]

Career

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SBS and Dateline

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Hakim returned to Kabul for her first Dateline report in 2008, and from then reported from across the world for Dateline and SBS World News Australia.

She was awarded the United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Prize for best Australian Television News Coverage in 2009,[9] and has also been a finalist for the Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award.[8]

Beginning in 2011, Hakim co-hosted Dateline with fellow video journalist Mark Davis, the two taking it in turns to present the programme in approximately six-week blocks, while the other was away on assignment.[10]

BBC News

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In December 2012, it was announced that Hakim would join the BBC. Hakim had been in talks with BBC executives since April 2012, after being approached at a broadcasting conference in Brisbane. Subsequent meetings took place in New York, Dubai, and Afghanistan. She first appeared on BBC World News and the BBC News Channel in March 2013.[11]

In October 2013, she interviewed Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, for Newsnight.[12]

Since March 2014, she has made several appearances as the presenter on Impact, ultimately becoming the programme's main presenter later that year.[13]

Her documentaries and reports can also be seen on the BBC News Channel and on BBC Two's Newsnight.[citation needed] She was nominated for a Peabody Award in 2021 for her writing and reporting contribution on Afghanistan: Documenting A Crucial Year.

On 8 September 2022, Hakim tweeted that Buckingham Palace had announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II 3 hours and 23 minutes before the formal announcement of her death. Hakim later withdrew the tweet, which had been made 3 minutes before the official time of the monarch's death at 15:10.[14]

In February 2023, it was announced Hakim would become a chief presenter on the BBC’s new news channel for both UK and international viewers launched in April 2023.[15] She presented The Daily Global for two hours every weekday, a show focused on a variety of international news. Hakim presented her final programme for BBC News on 2 October 2023.

Sky News

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On 27 July 2023, Hakim tweeted that she was leaving the BBC.[16] It was announced that she would be joining Sky News as their lead world news presenter.[17] On 22 January 2024, Hakim began hosting the foreign affairs programme The World with Yalda Hakim,[18] with press reports suggesting an audience of about 60,000 viewers a night. [19]

Yalda Hakim Foundation

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The Yalda Hakim Foundation (YHF) was established in 2018 to support the education of exceptionally talented young women from Afghanistan, through scholarships, internships, and mentoring. In 2019 it offered a full four-year scholarship program at the American University of Afghanistan.[20] In 2021 the Yalda Hakim Foundation partnered with Oriel College at Oxford University to provide a scholarship for a young Afghan woman, offering a fully-funded one-year masters degree course.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Wilmoth, Peter (16 July 2011). "Anchor woman". The Weekly Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  2. ^ Segalov, Michael (7 January 2024). "Yalda Hakim: 'It takes strength to protect a family'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Yalda Hakim - Australian broadcaster". BiographyTree. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ "BBC News channel announces chief presenter line-up for revamp". BBC News. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Home". Yalda Hakim Foundation. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  6. ^ Browne, Rachel (24 October 2010). "She's at home in the hot seat". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Impact – Yalda Hakim". BBC. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b Yalda Hakim Profile Archived 7 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine SBS Dateline
  9. ^ Crary, Alice (17 September 2014). "Yalda Hakim". The European. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Davis and Hakim to front Dateline". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 20 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Hakim joins the BBC".
  12. ^ Hakim, Yalda (7 October 2013). "Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai says Nato caused 'great suffering'". BBC News.
  13. ^ "Hakim becomes the regular presenter of Impact".
  14. ^ Cost, Ben (8 September 2022). "BBC correspondent falsely reported queen died, shocking Twitter". New York Post. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  15. ^ "BBC unveils presenter line-up for news channel". 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  16. ^ Hakim, Yalda. "After more than a decade with @BBCWorld @BBCNews I have decided to depart the organisation. I do so with profound gratitude to all of my extraordinarily talented colleagues for their support and collaboration over the years". Twitter. X Corp. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  17. ^ Kanter, Jake (27 July 2023). "BBC News Channel Anchor Yalda Hakim Quits For Sky Just Months After Landing Chief Presenter Role". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Sky News launches new foreign affairs show The World with Yalda Hakim". news.sky.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  19. ^ Warrington, James. "Sky News slashes freelance budgets as viewing figures slump". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  20. ^ "About Yalda Hakim Foundation". Yalda Hakim Foundation. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Female Afghan student given chance to study for fully-funded masters degree at Oxford". The Telegraph. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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