Have you ever woken up and not know where your next strength is coming from or if you have enough water to boil for the little bit of rice to feed your entire family. This is as common as the desert. We are people struggling, fighting for vitality at night our windows rattle and bombs burst through the streets to split open every trek through demolition, they cracked battlelines into the community,h turn neighbors into warriors have been blinded by blood to bd see we are fighting on the same side. O we are the worlds forgotten war and survivors tired of s surviving. We want to live and refused to be starved of our humanity any longer. Good health, nutrition is not a privilege. Good health is not a luxury and water is not a treasure. The sun shines on me as it does you and you and you. Solidarity starts with open palms, square shoulders and steps towards action to care and offer yourself as a resource ane help support a foundation that was already there. In jan and an important part of the culture is to share so let us share the work and fight and accountability. How healthy can you be if you are not extending to the hungry, sick, thirsty, care. Its to offer partnership, teamwork, invest in what we are already living, dont beat just to separate the ones that come after us. Every cup at the table was full, overflowing. Now is the time to be, intentional about our of them ends and i pray we are rich with compassion and joy and support. Peace has always been within our reach and we cannot afford to waste any more time reaching our arms out to the sun and the sky in each other. The time is now more than ever. [cheering] i used to have dreams of traveling and exploring the world, studying, having a better life. All dreams have been blown away. Survival is all we think about every day. This is right in yemen, a country of people dont know about where thousands of women and children are dying every day for different reason. Imagine yourself you wake up in the morning and all you want to do is grab your kids and run for your life and survive. Thousands of people find themselves in this situation. All they think about is what will be next. Will they be able to get clean water to drink and have access to facilities when they get sick. The majority are in their daily routine. In i know many women and men who wish they wont wake up the next day so they dont have to go through pain and suffering. In my life ive also personally experienced this and i know what it means to be homeless, to be displaced and see everything collapsing everything around you and you are not able to save it. I know what it is to say goodbye to family members you wont see again because they are dead. D. I know what it means to be scared to death and feel you are trying to go to school but you may never see him again. Childhoods disappeared through the fear they live every day. Dreams about their future have changed if they still have any. This year they are going through is changing. Millions of people are living in these conditions every day. Another crisis is the outfit of cholera. Who could imagine in the 21st century people are still dying of cholera because people dont have access to basic services you all enjoy here that we should have the right to as well. People are dying and now more than ever we need your attention before it is too late. Thank you. [applause] please welcome president and cef michel non. Will you please join me in thanking them for sharing their stories. [applause] 18 million men, women, boys and girls. That is how many people are in need of humanitarian assistance right now so today as you are all here Standing Shoulder to shoulder and you are giving theh a voice and speaking to their hope to continue their education and requirements to see doctors and have access to lifesaving medications when they need it and desire to have some form of normalcy and a safe haven at home so today you signaled someone remembers them and insist our nation stand with the most vulnerable are around the world. Ordinary citizens like all of us have always shaped the nation to live out our values and promised to one another and the world. To the civil rights hugos, to the ordinary citizens the first responded to the refugees of a world war ii with a creation of the first care packages. Today you joined in this quarter of citizens responded with compassion and generosity and pave the way for people everywhere to live more free and dignified lives. Fi so theres never been a time in history that this has been more important. St there are more displaced People Living in the world than ever before. More people facing famine. More than ever before. So the theme now more than ever is true. We welcome you and we thank you for participating in the conference. So give yourselves a round of applause. [applause] please join me in thing in them. [applause] staggering statistics behind each of those numbers are individuals with unique and really powerful stories and amazing potential. We know, and this is the reason we are here is the world will be different if we help them realize their full potential. So, we have someone here today that embodies the truth, and that truth is we all have the capacity to be enormous agents of change and that person is elaine, and immigrants that came to this country from asia at thn age of eight speaking no english. S her family came to build auild a better life with 6. I was just talking to her backstage with a father that is now 90. Her experience in coming to this country in this way has motivated her to devote her entire career to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their family. They do that really profoundly when you look at the resume. She spoke to the president and operating officer of the united way of america and went on to be the director of the peace corps and then the secretary of labor and was the first asianamerican woman to be appointed to the cabinet position in alcabinet pf american history. So, today serving as the 18th secretary of the treasury of the United States. We want to thank her for her extraordinary leadership. Along the way with that and other things, she has received 36 honorary degrees. So please join me in warmly welcoming and appreciating the secretary. [applause] ive been told youre going to receive two days of workshops and trainings and on the third day you will be going throughout the government to share your experiences about care and issues you care about to the members of the congress and senate and the house of senat representatives. You are participating in something so fundamental that is so much a hallmark of who we are as a people and what democracy means. Ive been told that for some of you it is the first time and you might be a little scared. But dont worry. Youre going to do fine. Most of all, you have a story to tell you that that is an important story you are sharing with important policymakers. I am pleased to be part of this forum allowing them to make a difference for women. I think my goal of helping women started very early when i was a young child and when i heard about my mothers story. My mothers name is ruth [inaudible] , it is a mouthful but that is how chinese names are. She was among the very few women of her generation in the wartorn china of the early 19 hundreds to gain an education and who came from a distinguished family that would lead to the education of daughters, women. So she received an education. En and because of that education my mother was prepared to face a turmoil and challenge of her later life. She returned home to the war of august 2, 2007, but her spirit and good words continue to inspire me and my sisters every day. As youve heard im an immigrant to this country. I came to america when i was 8yearsold and i didnt speak any english. Not only did we not speak english but we couldnt get used to so many things in this country. We have difficulty with american blues, hamburgers, hot dogs. We didnt put me to between five. We didnt eat bread so we didnt understand so much about the culture and with mainstream america was like. Like so many other newcomers, my parents were so brave they were incredibly hardworking and they were determined to build a better life for their daughters. The fact that their six children were all girls was never an issue. They taught each one of their daughters to work and fulfill our potential and contribute to society. They believed with hard work, a positive attitude and perseverance, we could achieve anything we wanted to do. That was their recipe for empowerment. [applause] one of the most important attributes my parents also taught their daughters was to always help others and appreciate the value of Financial Independence for women so whenever i had the opportunity ive tried to launch programs that empower women and help them achieve very important goals. Broadly speaking, we know education is the key to success in all countries, rich and poor. It means there is a huge impediment to reduce poverty rates especially for women. Nearly a billion women today are estimated to be a literate, and two thirds of them are women. I was once the director of the peace corps and i saw so many efforts big and small to help impoverished people around the world. One account that stayed with me awas a peace corps volunteers experience helping women build their own Small Businesses and do you know what they told her they needed the most they told her the skills they needed the most was to learn how to read and write and count numbers. Basic math skills are something we take for granted in the developing country and its worth remembering women in developing countries need basic skills to access opportunities but educat it takes more than jh skills. Basic entrepreneurial skills are critical as well. So what the director of the peace corps i launched the first entrepreneurial training courses in the democracies of the former soviet union and an important element of this training was encouraging women entrepreneurs. I had an opportunity to help make a difference for women in the middle east. Rebuilding iraqs economy and Civil Society were priorities after the fall of saddam hussein, and as a part of the reconstruction, the department of labor under my tenure provided 10 million right away to help rebuild the ministry of labor and social affairs. This ministry has a very important task for creating job Training Programs and Employment Services so desperately needed after the war. I wanted to ensure when me womea priority for the ministry of labor. So do you know what i did . I was kind of proud of myself. The first three that we chose to participate in a Leadership Program at the department of labor were women. [applause] and that was so important because it sent such a signal to the Iraqi Ministry and because one of the major challenges in iraq and throughout the world with the empowerment of women. I was also honored to support the efforts of the First Lady Laura Bush and provide access to education to afghan women and girls. Her daughter barbara bush i understand shes good to be here today and is carrying out her mothers work on the most vulnerable population so im delighted that barbara is on the program this afternoon and i understand Chelsea Clinton is on the program as well. You are lucky. Working with the first lady, the Labor Department provided funding to purchase materials for School Uniforms for girls in afghanistan. Something so simple so that impoverished afghan families can send their daughters to school. As you know, girls couldnt attend school under the television and today hundreds of thousands have access to education. In addition i also cochaired along with Condoleezza Rice and other powerful woman of the administrations intradepartmental task force on child trafficking. Our goal was to strengthen the sanctions against child trafficking which is another splurge that devastates so many of the most Vulnerable Women and girls. Finally one more story, we achieved gender equity in the top Leadership Team during my tenure as the u. S. Secretary of labor. [applause] when i had the opportunity to travel to iraq i presented a group with a framed autograph of the eight top women executive leaders at the u. S. Department of labor. The iraq he women could not believe it. They couldnt believe that women held half of the top leadership positions in the Big Government ministries like the department of labor. I hear thank you so much for everything that you are doing, globally to reassure that each mother, daughter, sister and wife can grow and reach her full potential so that our world will be a better place. Thank you for all that you do. [applause] have a great conference. [applause] please welcome activist and violinist, mariana. Logthank you so much for the opportunity to share my story with you today. Its truly a great honor. Four years ago while i was i studied Business Administration and i graduated from the university of. [inaudible] i was also employed as a fulltime violin teacher at the Arabic Institute of music. I remember during the war walking to teach at the institute not knowing if i would make it back home in the eveni evening. As mortars or following everywhere, randomly. My students and i would hide under the tables when we heard the airstrike and the bomb sitting the closed neighborhood. Every day, we risk our lives by being there. However, this did not scare me. [inaudible] our determined to send my applications to different programs and universities all over the world. We do not have electricity or power so i was running under bombs falling to internet cafes. After six months of tireless work, i was beyond happy to receive an email from a college in illinois offering me a full tuition scholarship in music performance. Although i feel safe here now, i live in a constant fear about my family and friends who are still struggling and surviving without the basic necessities of life. I wonder if they will be alive tomorrow and i wonder if i will get the chance to be united with them one day. I was hoping for my mom to be here with me as i am graduating in two back weeks. [applause] but she did not come because she did not get the visa to come here. Even my fiance who has been admitted to Johns Hopkins university for a postgraduate degree in piano performance with a scholarship, being a refugee here talk to me to be strong, independent and among all, to never give up. Since i arrived here i have been working so hard to achieve success in the music world and to advocate for my colleagues and friends. I was humbled to be honored at the white house as a champion of change for world refugees in 2015. I feel this is a huge responsibility and i would like to be an ambassador for my country, syria, and the us and to present all the great values i learned here worldwide. I feel powerless to change the current tragedy ongoing in my country. However, i believe so much in the power of music to remove barriers between people and nations. Today, i am delighted to perfo perform. [inaudible] through this music i would like to get to tell the story of my suffering country and people. They music one day help heal the pain our world has felt and to be a peace platform for everyone. Thank you. [applause] [applause] please welcome cater founder of more than me and 2004 person of the year. I am back on the bathroom floor again. Its the middle of the night again. Flashes of your face keep me up again. Its you, abigail. You have seen my soul. Is it a street worker . Is it a sex worker . You tell me what is the politically correct way to say that my 11 yearold friends, abigail, is a war orphaned prostitute . Yes, this 2dollar hooker, this child. She opens her legs to men so that she can stay alive and right now im not sure that shes alive and when i think about her i dont have the words to describe my friend abigail is missing. She is gone and nowhere to be found. When i called her name, no one knows her. Her Community Tells me that shes spanish. Her country says that its not good for their reputation. My country tells me its not polite to talk about her. Here she is, the blame of a corrupt government and people that know nothing about. Heres shes just another abstract thought that would never cross someones mind on a line to purchase a cup of coffee they cost more than she would make selling herself for one day. Here she is just another facebook cause of people might check that they like because its trendy or because its easy. She is the bottom of the earth to a world that has been brutal to her, that is beat her up and raised her and people that could never pronounce. This small child is gone. I promised her that i would come and find her. I cant. So, im up again on this bathroom floor and its the middle of the night again and i need to free her name. Abigail, where are you . I am trying to find you. I have not forgotten you. People here are offended by you, disturbed by you. I am too. You keep me up at night. I hope that you always do. You are my doubt, i promise. Im coming to get you. I moved to liberia almost 12 years ago, i was 23 with my first job out of college. It was almost like a peace corps situation. They said you are going to liberia and when i got there i lived in a remote village. I was in charge of running Adult Literacy program. I come to the citys, to be honest with you, because i wanted to get a visa. I didnt like the food. Now i love the liberian food. I would meet kids like agnes and abigail and we became friends. Im a big kid myself siding out with these children and we would draw donkeys in the sand and spin and spin until we fell down. Id ask these kids if they can have anything in the world and what would it be. They said we just really want to go to school. One kid turned 230 and they kept coming. I was using myspace to help color stories and people from my hometown, church where i grew up, send me money and this new York City Tax attorney said you need to make this an organization. I remember feeling like i am not qualified, i dont have a masters degree. Im not smart enough and not a celebrity or a superhero. I cant do it. I got the best advice of my life. My friend said get over yourself, its not about you. So i made the organization. I played it over and over in my head again. Get over yourself. Its not about you. Thats where the name more than me came from. I figured if i can do all the things that i can get other people to help me and we have to, theres no time to waste. We have to help abigail and girls like her get to school. The president of liberia was the first female president in afri africa, she heard about what i was doing and invited me to her house and she said, as long as you are serving the children of liberia for free, you get this building. Then she gave me this building. I was like, yes, how will i fix this thing up . We didnt have this big but it. I ended up on the Primetime Television show and we ended up eating the most amount of likes throughout campaign called im like emma abigail. It went viral through facebook and instagram. We won a Million Dollar grant. [applause] we ended up winning a milliondollar grant and we started first free, allgirls school post world country and world for girls. The president was there and was the best day of my life. It wasnt just the school, just make my we were cutting the ribbon and we addressed every challenge that young women face in getting an education. We had health programs, afterschool programs, community was of all, kids were having two or three grades at a time. The ebola hit. We didnt have a choice. We could sit on the sidelines and wait to see what would happen. I had never even heard of ebola but before we knew it it ebola was the epicenter of the epidemic and thats where my students live. Where the girls were from. West point. We couldnt just that there and wait. We might not have a school or girl left. We had to fight with everything we had. We turned our school into an evil out reach center. We work with the community to help quarantine families and lead will have her teams. Our school nurse became hired all these verses. Our team changed and will never be the same. I dont have time to get into all the stories but after words, we realize, the children that we might have changed us and the root cause of sexual explication is similar to the hold that ebola has, the broken eggs infrastructure thats in the country. How do you build infrastructure . How you build the systems if you dont have basic education for all. I went to the minister of education this is a country that literally, this hundred of people failed the Entrance Exam to the university the Literacy Rate is one of the worst in the world. I went to the minister of education and i said, how can i help you partner to rebuild the Education System . You have done a pretty good job can you what youve done in the schools and Public Schools . That turned into something called Partnership Schools for liberia. This year we went from one school, seven, next year our goal is to have 1830. We have a dream and plan of getting to 500 schools in the next five years in partnership with the ministry of education [cheering] [applause] every girl, boys and girls in our Public Schools and the model is safety, health, quality education for every child. Its exciting. The way that we are doing is something called every girl collective. We believe that young women will never, wont be able to have their basic rights unless boys do too. Yet to rebuild the Education System. If youre interested in being involved, there is no better time. Theres no time like today. After liberia, which is a country that United States Health Reform than the able epidemic, theres no time like today to get in partnership and fight with slavery are to help. We have to do this. We wont take no for an answer. On behalf of abigail and those children, theres no time like today. If you are interested in learning more, you can look up more than the basement page are more than me. Org. Thank you all come back. [applause] please welcome back michelle president and ceo of care. Lets give a big round of applause for katie. Amazing we can all get over ourselves and lets join again and taking the extra performers that weve already heard. I think they all gave us both wisdom, experience and perspective. Thank you. [applause] so, for 70 years, as i said, care has been a part of responding to the needs of the most Vulnerable People on the planet. Its been with the support and leadership of american citizens that weve rescued people from the devastation of earthquakes, without people rebuilt after typhoons in tsunamis, with protective people who were facing war and violence and we also have been a critical actor in the longterm work of overcoming poverty. Care is partnered with usaid for over six decades to implement programs in over 80 countries. Together we stabilize power when him and girls and fostered stability with some of the worlds most challenging places. Weve seen amazing results. I think its good to be reminded that there is a lot of progress. There was recently a poll that was put out and asked people how many of you think that poverty has been decreased in the last 25 years and how many think it increased . 70 of the people thought that poverty had been increased. So, you all know that actually in the last 25 years its been cut in half. The number of children who are surviving to age five has been doubled. So, we have a lot to be thankful for. For the last 15 years, care has gathered together to learn about this work, this progress and to lift up your voices to congress to dance Critical Resources and often reform to continue to stabilize. Our advocacy work which is your voices dramatically multiplies our impact and our ability to create scale in our reach. Let me ask, how many have been to this conference before, can you stand up . All right. Amazing. Stay standing for a minute. I want to thank you for your extraordinary commitment. You know that when weve stood together that weve made important progress. Helped us advanced issues around health and safety and wellbeing of women and girls. Men and boys around the globe. Youve seen it, you all know, that we passed the global Food Security act as a result of your work. [applause] weve seen the adoption of the adolescent girls strategy in the past administration and weve seen important food reform that has literally enabled us to feed hundreds of thousands of additional people at the same level of investment. So, thank you very much for all that you have done but it is not enough so you can sit down but we need to to stand with us. Is karen in the room . Karen, who i met earlier. Karen. This is her ninth conference. Shes 15. [applause] we made the next generation of energy and a lot more and we need the experience and wisdom of all who have been before us. We stand at a critical juncture. I have to say its one that we is truly new in our 70 year history. Its a moment when americas role as a humanitarian leader is being called into question. Its an extra essential question. This is an important point. Once again, if us citizens and advocates who will define our path forward. We face a real threat to the progress that i have talked about earlier and at the same time we have these enormous challenges that are before us that are unparalleled in the last 70 years. The administration has proposed budget cuts that would dramatically reduce foreign assistance. It would cut our ability to globally fight poverty and would threaten millions of lives. This is happening at a time when 20 Million People and four Different Countries are facing starvation because of famine like conditions. Thats unprecedented. Its also a time when refugee crisis, the worst thats ever been reported in terms of number of people, 65 Million People are displaced. Its creating an enormous suffering and dislocation. So, this week, this time, this moment, in fact, tomorrow the budget will be released in the full extent of these cuts will be known. We have a clear message to congress untrained and the administration. That is dont cut Girls Education. Dont cut Economic Empowerment and Economic Development programs. Dont cut Food Assistance and dont cut our security. Dont cut life. Thats the message that were caring forward over the next few days. Americas role is not on the sidelines in times of crisis. Its in the arena. Its our role to lead. Over the last 120 days weve been sending this message. We mobilize hundreds of thousands of voices calling on the administration and congress, urging them to reconsider the executive orders and misguided cuts in foreign assistance. We have to remember its 1 of our federal budget, 1 penny on the dollar. Weve urged, weve said, all of you said, saving lives and patting social injustice is worth that penny. Weve urged that america is much better than the attempted travel bands that prevent people fleeing from unimaginable horrors from coming to our land of opportunity. Weve said that it is untenable to hold out food aid when millions of people are facing their famine. To this work, which is your work, weve seen meaningful resorts already. We have to know this does make a difference. We have actually good news at this time. Two weeks ago, thanks to the work of care in our advocates in many partners, Congress Passed the final fiscal year 2017 spending bill with almost 1 billion earmarked for famine relief. [applause] that will go to south sudan, somalia, yemen, nigeria and also 1. 7 billion worth of food aid. The First Time Ever that congress has passed additional humanitarian aid that has not been asked for by the white house. Its a huge victory. [applause] it would not have happened without the coalition of care and citizens like yours. This response, this additional funding, it embodies the American Values and bipartisan leadership that we are working and we must fight to achieve. Our congressional leaders should be applauded for what theyve done but we cannot stop with this victory because the reality is we are still facing massive general cuts in foreign assistance from the 2018 budget. It would literally cripple our eight effort and millions of people whatsoever as a result. By now, you all know, this conference is titled, now more than ever, for a very good reason. Thats because now more than ever your voices are critical to preserve americas leadership in global development. Now more than ever we are facing critical problems that we actually can solve if we stand up instead of stepping aside. Now more than ever we need congressional leadership to know that we will not be silenced. So, we must lift up our voices, we need your voices to lift up and to also lift up the voices of people weve heard from today, people like. [inaudible] and people you hear from later on today. That request is dont cut food for people who are starving, dont cut medicine from people who need that lifesaving assistance, dont cut girls and women out from opportunity and equality and dont cut hope and dont cut life. Are you all ready to lift up your voices. [applause] [cheering] thank you very much. [applause] when i grew up in rural alabama outside of a little town called. [inaudible] i was see those signs that said white waiting, colored waiting, id ask my mother and father and grandparents wife . Theyd say thats the way it is. Dont get in the way. Dont get in trouble. But i was inspired to get in the way, to get into trouble. They said we couldnt do it, we couldnt bring down the signs but wed pull them down. In a museum, the only way my children will see them. Would someone tell me that change is impossible and you cant bring about change . Id say come and walk in my shoes. I said to you tonight that you must never give up, you must never give in and you must keep the faith and keep your eyes on the prize. Carry the message. Stand up. Speak up. Speak out. Find a way to get in the way. If too many people all over our world, for food, shelter, education for their minds, we need to use our limited resources to take care of care at home and around the world. Doctor king said you must learn to live together as brothers and sisters. If we can get it right, maybe it will serve as a model for the rest of humanity. [applause] nobody said it better than john lewis. We have to get in the way. I think all of you have come in here to get in the way and to live out your own calling to follow your moral compass. Youve chosen to be the change you want to see in the world and, i believe, that choice will make all the difference. So, your voice in washington and home districts have resonated and its already saved in changed life. Its hard to quantify the differences in the world between when we gathered here last year and today. Its a lot. I think, we need new tools, new forms of inspiration, new forms of connection and partnership and we need to pair all of that would be amazing wisdom and experience of history, voices like john lewis. Today we have assembled an amazing panel of activists and leaders and change agents to help us navigate this new world. We want to engage them in a conversation to help us focus on what it will take to get women and at the front and maintain our commitment to overcoming extreme poverty and social injustice. So, i have the honor of bringing you together with an amazing panel. I will introduce them quickly and we will have a dynamic conversation. Cindy is the global fund for wind and which provide support for organizations focusing on women around the world. Shes also a care board member and her accomplishments and awards are too many today. She spent her entire life fighting for the rights of women and those who are marginalized. Amani is the founder and editor and chief of muslim girl. Com. She raises the voices of muslim women and help define them in our society. Shes a vocal supporter of marginalized communities and shes the author of, muslim girl a coming of age. Barbara bush is the ceo and cofounder of Global Health core dedicated to mobilizing the Global Community emerging leaders to build the movement for healthcare, access and equity around the world. Shes a huge proponent of female leadership, both inner or an organization and around the world. Shes worked to combat aids in africa and shes up supporter of lgbt qi and marriage equality. Chelsea clinton is the vice chair of the clinton foundation, shes helped to lead Vital Development initiatives worldwide, including, years of work on behalf of women and girls. Shes worked like no feelings, a project dedicated to the belief that full participation of women and girls is critical to global progress into development into security. On top of that shes also completed her third book which is coming out later in may and its called persistence. Its a portrait of 13 inspiring women. Please join me in welcoming these extraordinary change agents to a conversation. [applause] we have a challenge because theres so much wisdom in this group. I want to make sure that we get to hear as much of it as we can in an interactive conversation. I want to start and see if a couple of you might share, ill call it a vignette, something that is a personal touchstone for you that inspires you and the work and might inspire our advocates and the work they do. Would you start us . Thank you, michelle. Every time i visit a country and meet a girl or woman weather at a project or a problem that is supported by care or any organization i see myself. I grew up in a village like most of the girls that we reach. My mom was a midwife and till the age of nine i accompanied her. Once she was helping a woman give birth to a child and i thought the back of a child at nine years. I saw some kids thereafter survived and many others didnt survive. I do the work that i do because it reflects my life. The most important thing about what inspires me is because i know that Everyone Needs an opportunity and when people have opportunities they thrive. They find alternatives and they become who they may never have become without that opportunity. Michelle, i think of all of the girls that look like me in bangladesh and Papua New Guinea and in california where i live and in columbia where i visited three weeks ago and i say, they can be on a platform just like i am if they get an opportunity. Im inspired everyday and i love what i do. I love the idea of little girls growing up to be you. Im really lucky and the work that i do at Global Healthcare i get to work with Young Leaders from around the world that are passionate about social justice and believe that health is a human right. The past eight years i worked with a thousand Young Leaders and i know some of them are here but i cant see any of them. [cheering] yeah, there they are. I have 750 reasons that i am excited and thats because every morning i wake up i know that all of our 750 fellows and alums are waking up. I know we are here to talk about activism and activism looks different for each person. For instance, one of our alums that im recently proud of because she got a lot of Media Attention is named tamika. Shes nigerian and when she was giving birth she needed a blood transfusion and there was a shortage of blood in nigeria something that should be a tool in making sure that women can survive childbirth. She, luckily, had her baby and started a company called. [inaudible] she had to work really hard to change prejudice and stereotype around giving blood in nigeria. Im proud of her because her passion was blood. It wont be everyone in this rooms passion but it was her passion. She started a company and she was on a forklift and Mark Zuckerberg just visited nigeria and she was one of two women that he called out and the reason i mention her is because thats her form of activism and problemsolving. It looks different for each one of us. But if every one of us does that and our alums are trying to figure out their way of treating but thats how you make a different world. Wonderful. Follow your passion. Amani, how about you. Did you all know this is being live streamed . Just so you all know. [applause] i say that because i have an intricate relationship with the cspan but i remember when i was in high school and i was under a lot of extreme alienation from all of the islam a full meal that was unfolding around me especially when it comes to media and the fact that every single time i turned on the Television Set it was always the conversation about muslims and in particular, muslim women. It was never a woman that looks like me. They were included in the conversation i remember at the time thinking in high school, i was a weird kid, i watched cspan religiously and i would keep it on my tv for hours, im talking during the height of the war on terror with all the war on islam and things like that and i was always aggravated because its always white nonmuslim people that couldnt speak to my experience or how this was impacting me there were the ones doing the talking. I would sit there and call it nonstop for hours trying to get online. I had really great aspirations. I was trying to get online just so i could have my voice in the conversation as they were doing conversations life and then finally, the one time my called through was actually in 2008 on the first night of the Democratic National convention with Michelle Obama was giving her speech. I was able to make a comment about how i believe having a strong women of color in the public eye that is in figure for us and how doubt can have an impact on us untrained girl like me. Fastforward to last year when Michelle Obama invited me to be a speaker at the united womens summit in washington dc and i remember in the first five minutes of entering the room someone recognized me and she iran up to me with her little daughter, not older than four years old, and said, excuse me, can i take a photo of you with my daughter because i want her to know that she can be anything. [applause] now youre a regular on cspan. Cspan, you can call me after the. [laughter] chelsea, how about you. Michelle, amani, and care thank you for hosting this and all the important work that will come out over the next few days. I was listening to your remarks earlier in you said something that i reflect on often which was behind every statistic are as many stories are represented in the numbers. Listening to barbara share her story about the young woman who continues to galvanize her passion for Global Healthcare in nigeria and around the world, i think about our world and the Current Foundation and how fiercely proud i am of the fact that weve helped 12 million with antiviral drugs around the world and two thirds of children who are pediatric antiviral around the world access through agreements that we helped negotiate. There are still more people who are not on antiretrovirals than are adults and children alike. So, for me its always what more can and should we be doing. Once you have figured something out, whether that is how to ensure that you make yourself visible or that people know how to do things or issues like girl marriage are not on the sidelines, not left in the shadows because it should make us uncomfortable. I think once we know how we individually have to do more of this because every phenomenal success revealed in some ways how much more there is to be done. It creates opportunities for us to bring more people into that work which is something, you and i were talking about. So, just to ends, briefly, with a direct answer to your question. I recognize many people here today and i know you of all heard me talk about my grandmother before my mothers mother had a life i can even imagine. She was an unwed teenage parents and he abandoned her multiple times and for the last time when she was eight and they put her on a train to look after her two yearold sister to chicago. It was a twoday journey. She moved in with her grandparents right before her 14th birthday to mr. She turned 14 she had to support herself and they considered her to be an adult. She went and worked as a maid and a nanny in someone elses home and she still managed to graduate with high school with honors. What made the biggest difference in her life was a counselor. Who repeal he told her you have value but also repeatedly brought an extra sandwich for lunch that she just happened to have. She didnt make my grandmother feel stigmatized for her hunger and she didnt make her feel stigmatized for the fact that she had to work to support herself but she gave her the dignity of a shared meal but also a shared faith and ultimately what became her confidence that she could create a different life for herself than what maybe wouldve been accepted for someone born to unwed parents and abandoned at such a young age. That says to me, not only do we have to keep going, but we dont know what may seem like a small action have a large ripple effect. Thank goodness cspan picked up your call and all of the times you kept calling until that moment were worth it,. [applause] i want to send this out to all of you. This is a particularly, i think, different moment in time for activists and its different than it was five years ago in terms of mobile technology and equipping people in the world to be change aided individually and globally and powerfully. More young people now that our global system ever before. I talked about the difficulty of this moment from political perspective as a relates to the agenda for foreign assistance. Can you all speak to how you see this moment as being different as an activist and what do you think is called upon for all of us to Carry Forward . I want to talk about technology and how ive seen it translate in the women of girls lights. First of all, we have to know the amends this of what this really means to the world. If i told you the place where i was born where the cops are dry because of lack of rain but everyone has a mobile phone of sorts whether its a smart phone or non smart phone, but what do they do with them that the more important question. People are able to get health information, people are able to get information about their own crops et cetera. When i see the global spin for women support women and girls in more than a hundred 75 countries and one of the areas where he found the most exciting is the ability to support women to success and use of technology in the way that is most affordable for them. Its access and use that are important. The second thing that i have found that technology has done for a lot of young people that we work with is that it has gotten them excited to do something because they dont remember a world where there was no technology. Its not status quo, they belong to the air of technology. This lack of fear to use technology has broken the barriers. We iran a program, i told my colleagues there about it which is mostly muslim women talking about their own life and one of the Campaign Problems and education was amazing. However, more than any other time in the life of the world we have got opportunity to really reach out and expand and have connections all over the world. The other side of this is that its also a time of great danger. Great danger of Different Things that are happeningmigration. We have to take into account that they disrupt the lives of people. Weve got to take into account what is happening in. [inaudible] my own continent is going through famine now and thats a reality. That affects the lives of people. We have to take into account the fact that more than 66 Million Girls still dont have access to school and we have to ask why is it that we have technology that can do everything and celebrated and get the simple things that people need in life they still dont have . They still dont have clean water, safety and security. These are things we should think about. Now more than ever we can do something about it because we know that we can be change in this area. I would say in response to your question. One, i think, we all have to and this is what i said previously not mistake progress for success. That doesnt mean that we shouldnt feel validated in our efforts when were able to make progress on various Development Goals but that we cant confuse the two. The second i would say is we cant take progress for granted, either. It has to be planted as well as advanced. Wheres the match challenge in many ways, including here in our own country. The third reflection is one that im sure we on this panel, its not too presumptuous and everyone in the room today, struggle with on a daily, sometimes minute by minute basis, which is to be able to carry multiple concerns in our heads and hearts. Im listening to the concerns around education and Climate Change and Womens Health, child marriage, access to technology, all of those are of course interconnected. We have to focus on each of them in their interconnectedness and as individual outrages do demand are at attention. While that can, of course, be exhausting. We dont have time to be exhausted. Right now, particularly because of the suffering unfolding across the globe and also the real threat to Womens Health and girls in particular around the world but also here in the United States. So, i would end by saying those of us who spend a lot of our time thinking about the rest of the world, we also have to spend real time thinking about whats happening in our own country because as youve talked about, the potential cuts to foreign assistance or, i dont know if you mention this but we spoke earlier about the global gag roles for application and real devastating effects that will have for Womens Health around the world and we have to look at the proposed cuts to medicaid and the Childrens Health insurance program, here at least its rumored that the consequences. It is a moment of great challenges. Theres so much to focus on but know that we can and must focus on it partly because of the advocates i met here, people i know they continue to expire at and inspire all of us. I am optimistic by how many people continue to surge forward even though we have a tremendous amount of work to do. We do have a lot to hold. I do think advocates can feel like were competing with one another around different agendas and i wonder, if you all have thoughts on the confluence between domestic agendas, social justice and the global agenda for social justice and how we might create a more solidarity in our efforts in our articulation. Absolutely. First of all, we as a country are founding principles were built upon activism right . Yet, American People though historically, institutionally, america has always been reluctant to disrupting activism. We try to drive out activism as much as we can. Not just at home but also overseas. If anything, i feel that, i and muslim girl. Com our direct product of this huge problem. We as americans have and that its time for us to own up to it if we are committed to advancing women and girls in global good. We have activism going right on here at home. We try to stamp it out like the black lives matter movements and things get stamped out the tenets of it. I was victimized by that stamping out indirectly through our policies in the war on terror and the way that we spoken on behalf of so many people around the world that as we are going to be involved internationally, america absolutely has a mission, absolutely has a responsibility to provide resources and empower communities around the world that needed and i say that because, you know as americans, we are responsible for those problems too. Right we do have to own up to it. One thing that i think from a woman specifically is crucial when it comes to activism and the fact that these policies are steamrolled over what are needs actually are or what our desires actually are. We saw in afghanistan, right . First later, laura bush made an iconic speech and a radio address in 2001 where she said she positioned herself at womens empowerment. Im sure with great intentions but in that radio address i recall because i was a child when i heard it but i recall her using words like uncivilized and barbaric when talking about afghanistan. In doing so, regardless of the intention, we completely forgot about the activism of afghan women on the ground that was taking place yesterday, President Trump gave a speech basically saying that the middle east is a place where people should talk to any rock is a beacon of modern civilization but we dont talk about the fact that we literally found that region, right . Muslim girl. Com part of the reason why we created the platform was were hoping that by cultivating a present for our in western media and people like me i was born and raised in new jersey, that we can prevent that from happening. If you create a strong presence how these policies and issues impact us and it will be possible for us to be stamped out again. And maybe in the long run we can impact those policies, both domestically and abroad for the communities overseas. I would just say, michelle, the responsibility always has to come with listening first. So, it is tremendously important when youre asked about solidarity is that we have to listen to one another because when i talk about Womens Health or Girls Education that may not mean the same thing to someone else talking about Womens Health and organization. Certainly, if i am wanting to help advanced that around the world we have to first listen so will have people think really are those right answers taken for granted certain human rights parameters that as a starting point. So, i think, what you say is so important, michelle in your question which is that this is the time for us to have solidarity and community with one another. We also have to make sure that we are clear about what our shared objectives and goals really are. Listening is a big part of it. Wed be all well served to incorporate barbara, any thoughts . He worked in the domestic level and you clearly have a global mandate. Our crew live and work in the United States and when we were starting Global Health core we currently work in five countries but one of them is the United States and people would be so surprised when i would tell them were working here as if Global Health issues only affected other parts of the world. We are part of the globe. We have health issues. [laughter] it was intentional for us to start here and in other countries. If were going to address Global Health issues and needs to be a Global Health of leaders. We are working together. This first part to have that understanding the connection and imperative. What we need to do to ensure. Itwithin the broad and multinational institutional choice. It is the Global Impact that is realized in the development. The listing of the goal is that it is part of the world we have an opportunity on Climate Change and then to act on the quality of. It focuses directly on women and girls and everything we know. Perhaps what is exciting about being able to use the Global Compact there are so many people working on this Global Compact from government, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and of the movement is taught in the Development Goals. So we have something that can unite us together and we can break it down into areas we are strongest and then to remember they require funding in the global Development Goals and it is the priority for the world and i think that this is where they put us with more strength because the market is placed, the more there is to assist others in. Talking on the macro level and thinking about it on the micro level, too about who is even on your team. We actually have a problem that the Global Health where the entire team is winning. And that is who wants to work on Global Health. We are hiring on talent and that is good news. But the reason i say that is because sometimes it can seem like such a big thing. How do we do this on a macro level than each of us needs to be practicing this in our daily life and its not hard to find really talented women everywhere. That is true. We need the hardwon wisdom to the advocates around the journey ahead in just a few seconds to. I would say i dont agree anyone is voiceless but some are just a systematic and silent. It was a platform by elevating those voices and empowering them on the presentation. Hurting ones you love in the story and this goes to the idea of listening. But also effectively sharing our own stories end up taking it for granted that people should know us. You will not know someone unless you listen to their story and that is where the connection lies. Wonderful. Im going to have you close this out and you might have a new book that will fit into this. Im going to add to what i said but i will end this on a more optimistic note which is i completely agree that we have to start by listening and getting a platform and opt in forcibly silent and i think we all have a vested interest in the principle of moving towards a more perfect union. We also have to recognize particularly at this moment sexism is not an opinion. Racism is not an opinion, homophobia is not an opinion. So we end our posture getting comfortable standing up and speaking out. By definition those of us on the stage have been blessed and there is a responsibility giving voice to the voiceless. One of the women ive admired for too long that i can remember, sally ride the First American woman in space. The pleasure of hearing her aunt did it come as a 13 or 14yearold. She said kind throughout the. It would likely uncomfortable because there are too many people that find the unimaginable and im so grateful to all of the women on the stage for kind of showing us the most affirmative and positive sense oin a positive senseof what is. So, thank you so much. Plus the please join me in thanking we have a quest for justice, so thank you very much, each of you. [applause] serving as a beacon of hope and progress and his or her individual community. This individual exemplifies determination and strength and ingenuity and persistence and serves as a role model for others. So, this year karen is honored to present this award to a young woman who defied the odds and ends by inspired her own community and all of us and so its never taken opportunity for granted. [applause] [inaudible] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] is please join me in presenting the 2,017th of the deliver lasting change award to be ou bianca. [applause] [speaking in native tongue] translator thank you for affording me this award and i would like to thank you so much care america. [speaking in native tongue] translator i come from a village with a very poor family. Generally they get married between 12 and 14 and have to take the responsibility of their family. They get pregnant at a very early age. [speaking in native tongue] translator right now i am working with young boys and girls to stop the early child marriage. I am feeling very happy dealing with this kind of work. [speaking in native tongue] im very happy to be working with this these kids. I would like to tell them if you want to reach your goals you can reach it by working very hard. [speaking in native tongue] translator at a very early age i convinced my parents and told them i dont want to get married at this early age. I am happy that my parents listened to me and i want to thank them for that and giving me this opportunity to go ahead, and i want to thank the whole committee for giving me the opportunity. [speaking in native tongue] translator and again, i would like to thank michelle, care usa. Thanks so much for getting this opportunity to meet. [applause] why dont you say it with me because this is the last call to action and they will be inspired to get here. You all can sit down here. We are almost done. It was part of a reenergized efforts to make sure that we have a powerful network of citizens who are ready to move forward on the issues that we talked about here today. And not only is the work that yoyoure doing the next few days critically important to congress but we also want you to go home and talk to your representatives in your home community. So we want to amplify the voice. Last year we had over 80 meetings in home districts. So, given what we heard today and what you know is coming tomorrow and for instance the budget release, i hope that we will be able to double that. I want you all to think about what you can do to extend your voice to bring somebody else into this movement to take some of the lessons we heard and take the persistence of priyanka and so many girls like her to lift up thy voice to the congressional members. So, this is an incredibly important today and this week, but its incredibly important for the longterm. So now again, more than ever, we need your voice. You can change lives and make a difference in this world. Thank you for being part of this and we look forward to the opportunity of working together and Going Forward together in our aspirations to assure that everyone, priyanka and all the girls around the world have an opportunity to realize their full potential. I want to ask you all to give me one round of applause for the sponsors, delta, dove chocolates, walmart, and then lets just do a standing ovation for your leadership and commitment. [applause]
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