The world’s most famous CEO and perhaps the most famous – and definitely youngest – Nobel Peace Prize winner could be found on Saturday morning taking tea with a family in downtown Beirut.

The reason for the dash to Lebanon by Apple supremo Tim Cook and Malala Yousafzai was the announcement of a groundbreaking tie-up between the tech giant and the women’s rights campaigner that will see funding and resources offered to Malala to help deliver her fund’s goal of getting 100,000 girls into education in places including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and Nigeria. The 100,000 figure is an initial goal; they won’t be stopping at that.

To launch the partnership, Malala and Mr Cook made a flying visit to Lebanon, one of the target countries, where The Independent met them for an in-depth discussion. The conversation covered the need for free education, the gender gap in the UK and US – and if Mr Cook’s job will one day be filled by a woman.

Mr Cook is not your typical CEO. Dressed quietly but immaculately in pale blue shirt, storm blue crew neck and grey chinos, he eschews the clichés of leadership – his is a gentle, collegial approach. Malala, meanwhile, has a still but palpable energy, tailored by a sharp intellect and sense of purpose. The two are utterly at ease together, deferring to each other like old friends.

I begin by asking them where the initiative sprang from.

Mr Cook explains: “I met Malala in Oxford in October last year [she is reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University]. I reached out to Malala just to meet her.

“We began to talk and it became so clear that she had such a bold vision. It really lined up with the boldness of Apple and that the core of it is an overriding belief in equality and that education is the great equaliser. And that has always been at the root of our company and my personal beliefs. And so it started, the fire was lit there. I instantly wanted to throw in on the vision that Malala had.”

Malala continues with her side of the story: “I was really happy that Tim was at Oxford, and excited to meet him. We asked each other questions and we had a conversation about girls’ education and how technology can help us in getting more girls into schools and giving them the education that they want. I really wanted us to work together because Apple has expertise: they are expert in tech, they have resources and they have amazing and incredible people.

“Then the question was, how can we use that? The Malala Fund is trying to reach out to girls, how can we bring these two together to reach more girls, as many as we can, to empower them through quality education. And that was my dream. So, things started happening and I just can’t believe it has been a few months and now we are here in Lebanon and announcing our partnership for the coming years.”

It’s all come about pretty rapidly – four months and counting. “I think it shows the intersection of the values there. And if you intersect there you can do a lot of things very quickly. Then it just becomes a matter of the hows and not the whats,” Mr Cook says.

Of course, problems aren’t always solved or eased significantly just by throwing money at them. I wonder what else Apple can bring to the party besides cash, and what Malala wants from the company.

Mr Cook mentions the company’s founder, Steve Jobs, as he explains: “We have expertise in education. You know we’ve been serving the ‘ed’ market for 40 years; for the length of time of the company. It was a key focus of Steve’s from the start and so we’ve built an expertise of what our products can do in a teaching environment and how they can fuel student achievement.

“We’ve done that in many different settings from very underprivileged schools to the polar opposite. And we have touched a significant number of people with our coding initiative, using our retail stores working with many different groups that are touching girls’ organisations and students in general, but very focused on girls as well.

“And so we bring all of that. Of course, we have an expertise in scaling and we have lots of people in different countries across the world. So, it seemed like the most important thing to me is always values and the vision. And those are the same and then when I thought through this, it seemed like we could bring a lot in support of Malala’s vision.”

Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Show all 30 1 /30 Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, activist for female education, in Nigeria in 2017. She is the youngest ever Nobel prize winner. Reuters Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Attack on Malala - 2012 Pakistani hospital workers carry injured Malala Yousafzai, who was at the time 14, on a stretcher following an attack by gunmen in Mingora on October 9, 2012. The teenage Pakistani children's rights activist was shot in the head in an assassination attempt as she boarded a school bus in the former Taliban stronghold of Swat. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala gets treatment in the UK - 2012 Malala Yousafzai sits up in her hospital bed the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with her father Ziauddin and her two younger brothers, Atal Khan (R) and Khushal Khan (C), on October 26, 2012 in Birmingham. Malala, 15 at the time, was being treated in the UK after she was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Simone de Beauvoir award - 2013 Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala Yousafzai,receives the 2013 Simone de Beauvoir award from Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir during the awards ceremony in Paris. The 2013 Simone de Beauvoir prize for the freedom of women was handed to Malala Yousafzai, who has become a symbol of the struggle for girls' education and women's rights in Pakistan. Malala was flown to the United Kingdom with a life-threatening head wound shortly after her attack. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far United Nations Youth Assembly - 2013 Malala Yousafzai speaking before the United Nations Youth Assembly on July 12, 2013 at UN headquarters in New York. Malala became a public figure when she was shot by the Taliban while travelling to school in Pakistan - targeted because of her committed campaigning for the right of all girls to an education. The UN has declared July 12 "Malala Day", which is also her birthday. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala opens the new Library of Birmingham - 2013 Malala Yousafzai opens the new Library of Birmingham at Centenary Square on September 3, 2013. The new futuristic building was officially opened by Malala when she was 16. The new building was designed by architect Francine Hoube and has cost £189 million. The modern exterior of interlacing rings reflects the canals and tunnels of Birmingham. The library's ten floors will house the city's internationally significant collections of archives, photography and rare books as well as it's lending library. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far International Children's Peace Prize - 2013 Malala Yousafzai receives a trophy from Yemeni Civil Rights activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman after being honored with the International Children's Peace Prize at the Ridderzaal in the Hague, the Netherlands, on September 6, 2013. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far The Leadership in Civil Society - 2013 Queen of Jordan, Rania Al Abdullah awards The Leadership in Civil Society to Malala Yousafzai, at the Clinton Global Citizen Award ceremony on September 25, 2013 in New York City. Timed to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly, CGI brings together heads of state, CEOs, philanthropists and others to help find solutions to the world's major problems. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2013 Malala Yousafzai receives the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2013 from singer with rock band U2, Bono at the Manison House in Dublin on September 17, 2013. The Ambassador of Conscience Award is Amnesty International's highest honour, recognising individuals who have promoted and enhanced the cause of human rights through their life and by example. Malala Yousafzai is an advocate for equal access to education. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far 'I am Malala' book release - 2013 Copies of an autobiography by Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, entitled 'I am Malala' are pictured in a book store in London, on October 8, 2013. Co-written with British journalist Christina Lamb, "I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban" tells of the terror she experienced as two gunmen boarded her schoolbus on October 9, 2012 and shot her in the head. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala meets President Obama - 2013 Malala Yousafzai meets with US President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and their daughter Malia Obama in the Oval Office on October 11, 2013. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Reception for Youth, Education and the Commonwealth - 2013 Malala Yousafzai gives a copy of her book to Queen Elizabeth II during a Reception for Youth, Education and the Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace in London on October 18, 2013. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Awarded honorary masters - 2013 Malala Yousafzai stands between British former prime minister Gordon Brown and university Principal Professor Timothy O'Shea as she receives an honorary masters degree from the University of Edinburgh during the first Global Citizenship Commission meeting at the university in Scotland on October 19, 2013. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Receives Sakharov human rights prize - 2013 Malala Yousafzai addresses the European Parliament assembly after receiving the EU's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize in recognition of her crusade for the right of all children, girls and boys, to an education. Malala became the 25th winner of the Sakharov prize at the ceremony significantly held on World Children's Day, with 21 of the former winners present. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Liberty Medal - 2014 Malala Yousafzai receives the 2014 Liberty Medal from Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center on October 21, 2014 in Philadelphia. Given annually, the medal honors men and women of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far World's Children Prize for the Rights of the Child - 2014 Malala Yousafzai receives the 2014 World's Children Prize for the Rights of the Child from Queen Silvia of Sweden during an award ceremony at Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred, western Stockholm on October 29, 2014. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala Yousafzai's blood stained school uniform - 2014 The blood stained school uniform of Malala Yousafzai on display at an exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on December 9, 2014. At 17-years old, the Pakistani known everywhere as Malala is the youngest ever recipient of the prize she is sharing with the Indian campaigner Kailash Satyarthi, 60, who has fought for 35 years to free thousands of children from virtual slave labour. Their pairing has the extra symbolism of linking neighbouring countries that have been in conflict for decades. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Nobel Peace Prize - 2014 Malala Yousafzai displays her medal during the Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony at the City Hall in Oslo on December 10, 2014. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far 'He Named Me Malala' film premiere - 2015 Director Davis Guggenheim, producer Walter Parkes and documentary subjects Malala Yousafai, Kainat Soomro, Kainat Riaz and Aansoo Kohli attend the "He Named Me Malala" New York premiere at Ziegfeld Theater on September 24, 2015 in New York City. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Supporting Syria - 2016 Pakistani activist for female education Malala Yousafzai addresses delegates during the fourth 'Thematic Pledging Session' during the 'Supporting Syria Conference' at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on February 4, 2016 in London. World leaders gathered for the 4th annual donor conference in an attempt to raise £6.2bn GBP to those affected by the war in Syria. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Jo Cox memorial - 2016 Human rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai delivers a speech on stage during a memorial event for murdered Labour MP Jo Cox at Trafalger Square on June 22, 2016. On what would have been her 42nd birthday, Labour MP Jo Cox was remembered worldwide in a series of #moreincommon events. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala speaks to young refugees in Kenya - 2016 Malala Yousafzai introduces her father, Ziauddin as she addresses young refugees at Kenya's sprawling Dadaab refugee complex during a visit organised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in Garissa on July 12, 2016. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far United Nations Messenger of Peace - 2017 Malala Yousafzai is presented a certificate from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a ceremony to name her as a United Nations Messenger of Peace at UN headquarters on April 10, 2017 in New York City. Yousafzai, who is the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, will now become the youngest to be named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Honorary Canadian citizenship - 2017 Malala Yousafzai shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario on April 12, 2017. Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai becomes only the sixth person to receive honorary Canadian citizenship, advocating in a speech to parliament for women and girls' education - a cause dear to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala meets with students - 2017 Malala Yousafzai meets with students of the University in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on July 11, 2017. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far 20th birthday - 2017 Malala Yousafzai blows out candles on a cake on the eve of her birthday as she meets with students of the University in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on July 11, 2017. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala calls for a "state of emergency for education" in Nigeria - 2017 Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai speaks with Nigeria's Acting President Yemi Osinbajo during her courtesy visit to the presidency in Abuja on July 17, 2017. Malala has called for a "state of emergency for education" in Nigeria, as she visited the country and met some of the Chibok schoolgirls whose cause she championed. The 20-year-old global education campaigner made the suggestion at a meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa in Abuja. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far United Nations General assembly - 2017 Malala Yousafzai, Malawi's President Arthur Peter Mutharika and French President Emmanuel Macron attend the 72nd Session of the United Nations General assembly in New York on September 20, 2017. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Malala meets Macron - 2017 Malala Yousafzai speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron during the 72nd UN General Assembly on September 20, 2017. AFP/Getty Malala Yousafzai: her story so far Goalkeepers 2017 Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai speaks speaks at Goalkeepers 2017 in New York City. Goalkeepers is organized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to highlight progress against global poverty and disease, showcase solutions to help advance the Sustainable Development Goals (or Global Goals) and foster bold leadership to help accelerate the path to a more prosperous, healthy and just future. Getty/Bill & Melinda

Malala takes up the theme. “You mentioned vision. The vision is clear. That is the education of 130 million girls who are out of school. My dream is to see every girl getting quality education and for that I’m hoping that through partnership with Apple we’ll be able to expand our work and we want to double our Gulmakai champions, who are the local advocates who are supporting the students, from six to 11 countries.

“I want to teach 100,000 girls and I want to involve girls and make sure that they can get quality education. Also, as you said, Tim, Apple has expertise in education, expertise in tech and we want to see how we can use that to help the Malala Fund.

“Many of the champions who are supporting them are using technology and finding new ways to make it easier for girls to have access to education whether it’s e-learning or getting STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] skills. So, I’m just really hopeful that we can reach as many young girls and as many young advocates as possible.”

This is all admirable, but one of the problems for the education of women in the Arab world, for instance, goes beyond school. Universities can remain male bastions, women can find it hard to get work in the private sector. Will this initiative have a halo effect there?

Malala explains that’s not the immediate emphasis. “There has been a focus on education, but only on primary education. And there are many countries and leaders who are supporting university level education as well through scholarships. But there’s a huge gap in secondary education. So, allowing girls to have primary education is important, but if the secondary education is missing, girls don’t have access to university level education.

“But, yes, once you give them quality 12 years of education, you allow them to explore ways in which they want to work. You allow them to explore what they’re passionate about and what dreams they have and what they want to do in life.”

I wonder if this is an example of the varying social responsibilities of governments and companies. Is this something a government couldn’t manage?

Mr Cook again: “I think it’s one of those things that will have the best results if government joins us. It needs all of us rowing in the same direction. I don’t see it as a substitute because we’re not going to build all the schools that are needed and so forth. So, government is essential in this. You know, Malala has been a tireless advocate with many different state leaders on the subject. I think what I’m feeling more every day is there’s clearly some things in life that only government can do.

“There’s some things that only private companies can do. There are some things perhaps that only non-government organisations can do. But the bigger issues in the world, it really takes everybody. I would say this is one of the big issues in the world.”

Malala adds: “The local advocates we are supporting, the Gulmakai Network of educators, are campaigning, for instance, in Nigeria to make sure the government declares 12 years of education compulsory for all children rather than nine years. They’re doing work locally in their community teaching to as many girls as possible. But then they are also talking to their local and national leaders.”

Gender equality in countries like the UK and US involves a series of different issues, such as the pay gap, gender imbalances and so on. What is Apple doing about that? Mr Cook explains that Apple is working on making coding, for example, more available in schools at every level.

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“I see it as a key responsibility for all companies and not only in their hiring practices and employment practices and so forth. But if there are fewer women graduating in the majors that you generally recruit in, like computer science and so forth, I see it as a responsibility of companies to figure out how to change that.

“You can’t just focus on the end, and say, ‘Oh, we can’t because there’s not enough women in the key majors.’ That’s really a cop-out. I personally feel, and Apple feels, a responsibility much higher than that.

“For coding, we’ve focused on this all the way back to early school, first, second, third grade and upwards. And in community colleges because we know that adults need to be retrained. Malala’s vision is very tied to this because there are so many girls in the world that are never making it through primary. I see this as part of our effort of changing the fundamental dynamics in the education system.

“There are different issues in the US and the UK than the ones we’re talking about today. But maybe at the root there are a lot of things that are similar. At the root what it comes back to is: is everyone treated with dignity and respect, is everyone really treated as an equal and does everyone have access to quality education so that they can be the best that they can be in whatever field? Too many times in society the answer to those questions are a bunch of nos. So it feels great to be a part of this. A really bold and ambitious vision.”

This was a flying visit but they took tea with a family in Tarik al Jadida, Beirut. The Trawi family has three teenage girls, Muslim Sunnites, who go to school in Ashrafieh, a part of Beirut some distance from their modest home. It’s a Christian school and they go there because it’s considered the best school.

Mr Cook and Malala ask the girls what they want to be (an actress, one replies) and their favourite sports (swimming is popular). And they ask if a woman could ever be CEO of Apple. Mr Cook is quick to say, yes, and points out that female senior executives at Apple include Lisa Jackson, vice-president of environment, policy and social initiatives, who previously ran the Environment Protection Agency for President Obama.

Tea is followed by a round-table discussion at the Lebanese Alternative Learning centre in central Beirut, an NGO established by Nagi Ghorra and Nayla Fahed in 2013, offering educational resources. This includes a neat little box containing a basic computer and wi-fi hotspot. It has the learning content on a memory card and can share it with up to 30 tablets or computers at a time. It can be powered by a rechargeable battery, so in areas where no wi-fi or no electricity can be relied on, classes can still take place.

A dozen girls sit in the main room of the centre awaiting the mystery guests. When they learn Malala is among them, the atmosphere is electric, some bursting into tears in their excitement. When Malala arrives, one girl sobs in disbelief again, prompting a hug and encouraging words from the Nobel prize winner.

As the session continues, they find their voices, in one case even breaking into song, enchanting the group and Mr Cook, who is clearly touched. One girl talks of her desire for Lebanon to be the best it can, another, originally from Syria, describes her hopes for her home country to find peace.