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
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 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]
Beginning in 2011, Hakim co-hosted Dateline with fellow video journalistMark Davis, the two taking it in turns to present the programme in approximately six-week blocks, while the other was away on assignment.[11]
BBC News
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.[12]
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.[15]
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.[16]
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
On 27 July 2023, Hakim tweeted that she was leaving the BBC.[17] It was announced that she would be joining Sky News as their lead world news presenter.[18] On 22 January 2024, Hakim began hosting the foreign affairs programme The World with Yalda Hakim,[19] with press reports suggesting an audience of about 60,000 viewers a night. [20]
Yalda Hakim Foundation
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.[21]
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.[22]
References
^ abcdWilmoth, Peter (16 July 2011). "Anchor woman". The Weekly Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2012.