The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has met Malala Yousafzai at the University of Oxford where the Nobel peace prize winner is a student.

Yousafzai, 22, posted a photo on Instagram of herself and Thunberg sitting on a bench with their arms around each other on Tuesday, with the caption: “Thank you, @gretathunberg” and a heart emoji.

Thunberg, 17, is in the UK to join a school strike in Bristol on Friday.

Both shot to worldwide fame after standing up for major global issues: the climate crisis and women’s education.

Thunberg became a household name after striking from school in Sweden to protest against the climate emergency, while Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for campaigning for girls to be allowed to go to school.

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In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel peace prize for her advocacy of education. She became a global symbol of the resilience of women in the face of oppression.

Thunberg was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and 2020.

The pair met to discuss their activism at Lady Margaret Hall, Yousafzai’s Oxford college. Thunberg also talked to some of the students about the climate crisis and protest.

The college’s master, Alan Rusbridger, posted a photo of Thunberg on his own Instagram and Twitter, saying that he was honoured to host Thunberg and grateful that she found time to talk to the students.

alan rusbridger (@arusbridger) Honoured to host @gretathunberg at @lmhoxford today. grateful she found time to talk to some of our students about science, voting, the limits of protest, divestment, real zero v net zero, and much more pic.twitter.com/FjcNEQDTci

Yousafzai also posted the photo on Twitter and commented: “She’s the only friend I’d skip school for.”