Story highlights Malala Yousafzai speaks with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon

Malala announces her first grant to help girls in her home region in Pakistan

Angelina Jolie will donate $200,000 to the fund to help educate Pakistani girls

In March, Malala returned to school for the first time since the Taliban shot her in October

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai has said 40 girls in Pakistan will be the first to benefit from a fund set up in her name after she was shot in the head by the Taliban for her efforts to promote girls' education.

She announced the $45,000 grant for education in the Swat Valley -- the Taliban stronghold where she's from -- in a video played at the Women in the World summit in New York City on Thursday.

"We are going to educate 40 girls, and I invite all of you to support the Malala Fund," she said.

"Let us turn the education of 40 girls into 40 million girls."

Actress and U.N. special envoy Angelina Jolie spoke movingly of Malala's courage in the face of the Taliban's attempt to silence her, saying there was "always something special" about her.

"They shot her at point-blank range in the head and made her stronger," she said.

Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – Malala Yousafzai returns to school for the first time at Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, on March 19, 2012. The 15-year-old said she had "achieved her dream." Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – Malala was one of seven people featured on the cover of Time's 100 most influential people edition of the magazine in April. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – The teen was discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, in February 2012.

Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – Malala Yousufzai, 15, reads a book on November 7, 2012 at the hospital. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – Malala talks with her father, Ziauddin. She was attacked for advocating for girls' education in Pakistan. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – Malala sits up in bed on October 25, 2012 after surgery for a gunshot wound to the head. Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – Malala recovers at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on October 19, 2012 after being treated. Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: Photos: Malala's recovery Malala's road to recovery – Pakistani hospital workers carry Malala on a stretcher on October 9, 2012 after she was shot in the head by the Taliban in Mingora. Hide Caption 8 of 8

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"In a brutal attempt to silence her voice, it grew louder, and she more resolute in calling on the entire world, not just Pakistan, to ensure the right for every girl and boy to an education."

Jolie also paid tribute to Malala's reluctance to be in the limelight for her own sake, despite her new influence as a campaigner and role model.

"She is powerful, but she is also a sweet, creative, loving little girl who wants to help others and work for others," Jolie said.

"She doesn't want to be center of attention -- her goal is progress, not notoriety."

Jolie will donate $200,000 to the Malala Fund, which was set up to support the education of girls in Pakistan, Women in the World said.

The fund was established on Malala's behalf by the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-governmental organization founded in 1997 by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Malala spoke via Skype on Friday with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said he was "deeply impressed" with her.

"When we work together we can achieve our goal, and our goal is simple: peace and happiness in this world," she told Ban. "The way to see peace is through education. It is an honor for me to be associated with the U.N. I want to tell the world how important education is."

Ban said, "The U.N. will always be with you and the many people like you."

"If we educate a woman, we educate a family, a community and a country," he said.

Earlier this week in Washington, Malala was presented with Vital Voices' Global Trailblazer Award, in "recognition of her courage, conviction, and vision for the future."

Previous recipients of the award include Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Malala, now 15, rose to global fame after the attack which almost claimed her life last October.

She had already come to national and international attention through a blog she wrote about her life and girls' right to learn.

In March, Malala returned to school for the first time since the masked Taliban gunmen shot her on a school bus.