By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

BEAUTY, brains and boldness describe the 2008 YouTube Visionary awardee and staunch advocate of women rights, Jordan’s Queen Rania Al-Yassin.

Queen Rania was born to Faisal and Ilham Yassin in Kuwait on August 31, 1970. She finished business administration at the American University in Cairo in 1991. Two years later, she met now Jordanian King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein, then Prince, at a dinner party and months after, they were engaged and married. They have four children.

Jordan’s Queen Rania has been noted for being tech savvy, especially in using video blogging (vlogging) for her advocacy on women’s rights and for answering questions about Islam and Arab culture stereotypes.

This led YouTube to award her for the “use of technology to instigate social change.” She accepted the award in a video taped speech and spoofed David Letterman by enumerating the top 10 reasons why she started her own YouTube channel in March.

Queen Rania also puts education a top priority and has started the Madrasati initiative to help renovate Jordan’s “most dilapidated public schools.” At the homepage of her official website, it can be read:

Educating our children is not just about imposing a body of knowledge on them. Rather, it involves preparing children from the early years for the world in which they will come of age. It means instilling a love for lifelong learning, creativity, self-expression and an appreciation for diversity.

Below is her acceptance speech for the YouTube Visionary Award spoofing David Letterman’s show: