{{Short description|British female education activist (born 1972)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} '''Lucy Lake''' OBE (born 3 August 1972) is a leader in the field of female education<ref>{{cite web |title=Girls' Education |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/girlseducation#1 |website=World Bank |language=en}}</ref> and Chief Executive of CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://camfed.org|title=CAMFED - Campaign for Female Education|accessdate=18 December 2023}}</ref>

== Education == Lake studied Human Sciences at Wadham College, University of Oxford (1991).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/home/wadham-connects-october-2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223145120/https://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/home/wadham-connects-october-2020|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 December 2021|title=Wadham College|website=www.wadham.ox.ac.uk}} </ref>

== Career == Lake joined CAMFED in 1994 shortly after it was founded<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://camfed.org/who-we-are/our-people/lucy-lake/|title=Lucy Lake - Executive Advisor - CAMFED|access-date=18 December 2023|website=camfed.org}}</ref> in Zimbabwe. She then led the development of its programs in support of girls' education across the region. Lake took on the role of CEO of CAMFED in 2012. In 2017, she appointed Angeline Murimirwa, one of the first women to have completed her education with CAMFED's support, as Co-Executive to underline the importance of ensuring those who were once marginalised move centre stage as leaders. This move has received acclaim as an example of good governance in international development, including from Julia Gillard.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hon Julia Gillard AC - Keynote Address at the 2021 Cambridge Conference "Creating an Equitable Future through Education" |url=https://vimeo.com/637131003/392a91d438 |date=20 October 2021}}</ref>

Lake was a founding member and co-chair of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative.<ref>{{cite web |title=The UNGEI: Letter to Mr. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Mrs. Nane Annan |url=https://keunfast.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/the-ungei-letter-to-mr-secretary-general-kofi-annan-and-mrs-nane-annan/ |website=KEUNFAST worldwide |language=en |date=18 January 2007}}</ref> She served on the High-Level Steering Group of the Global Education Commission's Workforce Initiative<ref>{{cite web |title=Education Workforce Initiative Steering Group |url=https://educationcommission.org/workforce-steering-group/ |website=the Education Commission}}</ref> (2017–2020) and is on the advisory board of the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report.<ref>{{cite web |title=Advisory Board {{!}} Global Education Monitoring Report |url=https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/advisory-board |website=en.unesco.org}}</ref>

In 1998, Lake worked with the first group of young women who had graduated from school with CAMFED's support to set up its alumni, the CAMFED Association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://camfed.org/publications/|title=Publications - Annual Reviews and Research Reports - CAMFED|accessdate=18 December 2023}}</ref> By 2021, the Association had grown to 178,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://camfed.org/annual-review-2020/#video|title=Watch the CAMFED Annual Review 2020 Video|website=CAMFED|access-date=18 December 2023}}</ref> women leaders in sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom are now in prominent public positions. A hallmark of the Association is the commitment of its membership to support the younger generation of girls to go to school. Each member is financially supporting an average five other students in her community through education, a multiplier that was described by Nick Kristof in the ''New York Times''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://camfed.org/nick-kristof-groundswell-girls-education/|title=Nicholas Kristof unleashes groundswell of support for girls’ education among New York Times readers - CAMFED|accessdate=18 December 2023}}</ref> as "a perpetual motion machine".<ref>{{cite tweet|title=What I love about @Camfed is that it's a perpetual motion machine|user=nickkristof|number=1330237934495264768}}</ref>

== Honours and awards == In 2020, Lake was awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Development<ref>{{cite web |title=Ms Lucy Lake |url=https://yidanprize.org/global-community/laureates/ms-lucy-lake/ |website=Yidan Prize Foundation}}</ref> the world's largest education prize, alongside Murimirwa. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 New Year's Honours for "services to young people in Africa".

Under Lake's tenure, CAMFED has been awarded the Hilton Humanitarian Prize<ref>http://Conrad_N._Hilton_Foundation</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Announces CAMFED, the Campaign for Female Education, as the 2021 Recipient of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize |url=https://www.hiltonfoundation.org/news/the-conrad-n-hilton-foundation-announces-camfed-the-campaign-for-female-education-as-the-2021-recipient-of-the-hilton-humanitarian-prize |website=Hilton Foundation}}</ref> and the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation (2021).<ref>{{cite web|title=CAMFED, Campaign for Female Education - Laureates - Princess of Asturias Awards |url=https://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2021-camfed-campaign-for-female-education.html?texto=acta&especifica=0 |website=The Princess of Asturias Foundation |language=en}}</ref> It has also been the recipient of a UN Global Climate Action Award<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/women-for-results/camfed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112013800/https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/women-for-results/camfed|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 November 2019|title=Women for results|website=unfccc.int}} </ref> and has been recognised by the OECD DAC for best practice in taking development innovation to scale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://camfed.org/camfed-oecd/|title=CAMFED recognized by the OECD for taking innovation to scale|website=CAMFED|accessdate=18 December 2023}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Lucy}} Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Recipients of Princess of Asturias Awards Category:Yidan Prize laureates