(applause) Mrs. Obama: Good morning. Good morning. (applause) Thank
you so much. Thank you so
much, everyone. Well, my name is Michelle
Obama, and I am an African American woman. (applause) On behalf of
myself and my husband, it is truly a pleasure and an
honor to welcome you all here to Washington. We have so many
distinguished leaders here with us today. Of course, we have
President Bush and Mrs. Bush who are here
today, and I want to thank them both
and the Bush Institute for their passionate leadership on
the issues that we're going to be
discussing today. I also want to recognize
my dear friend, Dr. Jill Biden, who is
here as well. She has been a tremendous
partner over the past five and a half years, and I'm
thrilled that she is here with us today. And of course, most of
all, I want to thank all of you for joining
us at this event. We have a fabulous program
lined up for you today, as you've heard. We'll be discussing
important issues, we'll be hearing from renowned
experts, and we're going to be making
some really exciting announcements about new
initiatives across Africa. So this is going to
be a really big day. This has been a day that's
been a part of a big week that's been a part
of a big couple of months, actually. As you may know, the
summit that your husbands are attending this week is
the largest gathering of African leaders ever
hosted by an American President. And about six weeks ago,
500 young leaders from across Africa arrived here
in the United States to take part in the Mandela Washington
Fellowship for Young African Leaders. And I have to tell you
that these young men and women are truly
extraordinary. Many of them are barely
half my age -- I don't want to say that,
but they're young -- (laughter) -- and they've
already founded NGOs, they've started their own
businesses, they've risen to senior levels
of their governments. And as part of the Mandela
Fellowship, they have undertaken intensive
academic coursework and leadership training at universities across America. And the passion, the
intelligence, the dedication of these young
leaders has inspired all of us here in the U.S. who have had the pleasure
of spending any time with them. I had the privilege of
speaking with these fellows last week, and I
met with a group of them who share my interest
in girls' education. And two of the fellows
from that meeting will be doing a presentation
today about their stories and their ideas. And I'm not going to steal
any of their thunder, because they are
remarkable individuals. But I can tell you this --
that while we talked about a range of issues, there
was one theme we kept returning to. Again and again, these
young people emphasized how important it is
for them to have support from leaders in their
governments. And this is the very same
message that I hear so often from the
young American leaders that I meet with. These young people are
working so hard in their communities. They're facing so many
challenges and obstacles. And they're looking to all
of us for inspiration. They're looking to us to
champion the issues they care about. And most of all, they're
looking to us to empower them to be part
of the solution. And that means that we all
are going to need to do everything in our power to
bring these young people to the table. We need to spend a lot of
time with them, more time listening -- and I
mean really listening -- to their voices, to their
views so that we can understand the
challenges that they're facing through their eyes. And we need to learn from
their experiences and from their expertise. You see, these young
people are developing all kinds of new technologies and social media strategies to
address problems that our generation hasn't
yet solved. Whether it's an app to
fight cervical cancer or a new approach to
clean energy, they're coming up with solutions
that we never could have dreamed of. So the question is, can we
and our governments learn from them and
follow their lead? Can we embrace their ideas
and incorporate them into policies and strategies? And in our work as First
Ladies, First Spouses, can we find new ways to be
more inclusive of these young people and show
them that we truly value their voices? And so many of you are
already embracing the young leaders in your
countries through your work -- whether it's
improving girls' education, or fighting
cervical cancer or HIV, or supporting microfinance. You all have the potential
to inspire millions across the globe. So it is my hope that
today, we will rededicate ourselves to
these efforts and commit to new efforts to lift up our
young people. And I hope that you all
will have a chance today to really connect with
each other, and learn from each other, and
hopefully be inspired by each other. And with that, it is
now my pleasure to begin a conversation with a
First Lady who has long been an inspiration to me. Laura Bush set a high bar
for me during her time in the White House, and
she has continued to do outstanding work around
the world since she and her husband left
Washington. And I consider her not
just a role model, but also a friend. And I'm thrilled that our
conversation today will be moderated by another
woman who I greatly respect and admire, one of America's
leading journalists, our friend, Cokie Roberts. And with that, I will have
them come out to the stage so that we can
begin our conversation. Thank you so much
for joining us. Enjoy the rest of the day. (applause) Ms. Roberts: Well, I am so
excited that we get to do this again. Mrs. Bush: We did this
last summer in Dar es Salaam. Ms. Roberts: In Tanzania. And thank you so
much for that. It was a wonderful,
wonderful experience for all of us to be
there with you. So thank you for
hosting us last year. And thank you for
hosting us this year. So here we are. Mrs. Obama: It's
my pleasure. Ms. Roberts: But it is --
I remember, as I recall, when were -- last
year you were still getting blowback about your bangs. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: Yes,
that's over. Mrs. Bush: That's
an important issue. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: Let's see what
they say about this one. Ms. Roberts: But the
program -- you have bangs in the program, I just
have to -- (laughter) -- and since then, your
daughter has turned 16. Mrs. Obama: Yes, I know. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: I know, but
I have to tell you, I am envious to anybody who's
had a daughter turn 16, as envious to have it happen
in the White House where you kind of can
keep an eye on her. Mrs. Obama: We can share
the experience with the world. (laughter) All the pain
and pleasure that goes along with it. Ms. Roberts: I remember
Lucy Johnson, President Johnson's daughter,
saying when she turned 16 in the White House and got a
driver's license, she said, it was permission
to drive a motor vehicle. That's all it was. (laughter) For most people, a driver's
license is freedom. Mrs. Obama: That's right. That's right. Ms. Roberts: But you're
experiencing it well, right? Mrs. Obama: The
girls are growing up. And as Laura and the
President know, that it is a true testament to
the parents to raise wonderful young people through
this experience. And we have had some
terrific role models -- Jenna and Barbara are just
amazing young women who are doing extraordinary
things, not just in this country, but
around the globe. And once again, they're
setting a high bar. But the girls
are doing great. I'm very proud of them. Ms. Roberts: And you have
a grand-baby, a girl. Mrs. Bush: That's right. We have our first
grand-baby. Yes, exactly. (applause) Our
darling little Mila. George and I are just
gaga over our baby. Mrs. Obama: How
old is she now? Mrs. Bush:
She's 16 months. Mrs. Obama: Oh, she's
doing real things. Ms. Roberts: Also 16. Mrs. Bush: Yes,
exactly -- 16 months. She's doing great. Ms. Roberts: So we just
saw that very important video. And, Mrs. Obama, you spoke
last week to the Young African leaders, and you
were very strong in your statements about the
need for educating girls and treating women and girls
with dignity and equality. Why did you
choose to do that? Mrs. Obama: Well, so
often what we find in our positions is that you can
-- you have to change attitudes
before you can change behaviors. And one of the things I
said to the young people, that we can talk about the
need for more resources as it comes -- when it
concerns girls' education, the need for school
fees and the need to improve transportation. But the bottom line is
that until men, leaders, women, until we value
women and girls, we won't tackle those
other problems. Until we prioritize our
girls and understand that they are as important and
their education is as important as the education
of our sons, then we will have lots of work to do. And I wanted to just
implant that notion in the minds of these young leaders, because they have to approach their work
with a whole new attitude. And one of the things I
asked the young men is that you have to be
introspective and ask yourselves whether you
truly believe that women can be your equal. And in sharing my story,
just understanding the power of having men in my
life who valued me and put me first and treated
me with respect and didn't abuse me, and didn't talk
down to me -- I want young men around
the world to understand that they have a role to play
alongside women who are fighting for these rights, and I
want our young men to understand this
at an early age. (applause) Ms. Roberts: Mrs. Bush,
you have been working on this issue for a long
time, particularly with women of Afghanistan. And are you
still doing that? Tell us about where -- Mrs. Bush: Yes, we're
still working on that. After September 11th, when
the spotlight turned to Afghanistan and we in the
United States looked at the way women in
Afghanistan were treated, many, many people, women and men in the U.S., were concerned. And that's when I first
started working with women in Afghanistan. And Mrs. Obama is right --
in fact, one person said to me one time, why are
you working with women, it's men who
have the problem. (laughter) And I think
we do need to make sure worldwide that all humans
are valued -- that women and men are valued,
that girls and boys are valued, and that human
life is valued. I think that's really the
most important thing we can do, all of us can
do, is try to increase that knowledge worldwide that
every life is precious. Ms. Roberts: And of
course on this question, the question of girls'
education and women's health and all that, we
have so much data now that shows that if you
educate a girl, you save a country. So are you finding that
you're able to keep working on that, that
that's something you're able -- because one of
the questions I got last year after you all
finished talking and I stayed
for a couple of days from these
wonderful women was, how do you keep it going? Mrs. Bush: Well, one of
the things we've done, George and I have done --
obviously when you live in the White House you
have a platform. But former First Ladies
and former Presidents continue to have a
platform and a convening power, and we've tried to
do that with the First Ladies Initiative that we
started last summer with the first conference in
Dar es Salaam, and that is to bring together
First Ladies really from around the world. We started with African
First Ladies but we're interested in engaging
women from every -- First Ladies from every country
to talk about the very unique platform that
the spouses of world leaders have to help the women
in their countries, to make sure that everyone is
paying attention to the education of boys and
girls in their country, and that we're making
sure that women have the opportunity to be involved
in the economic life of their country. Because only countries
where all people are involved can
be successful. When we look around the
world and we see countries where half
of the population is marginalized or left out,
then we usually see countries that are failing. So it's important to
keep talking about that. Mrs. Obama: And it's
important, as I said in my opening remarks, to
make room for the next generation of leaders. Because one of the things
that the young people said to me, as I mentioned, is
that they asked me to ask the first spouses to
make room for them because they're looking for a
place at the table. And they specifically said
that when you meet with the spouses of our
country, tell that we want to help, that
we want a voice, and that we're looking to them. They're looking to all of
us to provide that seat. And that's where that
platform that Mrs. Bush speaks of, why
it's so important. Because these young people, they believe that we -- they get
their inspiration from us. They're looking to us. They still don't quite
know that they have the expertise and the skills
already, they think we know more. Ms. Roberts:
We actually do. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: We do, we do. But when you listen to
just the opening speakers, when you think about
social media -- I mean, just listening to the
hashtags and the Twitter accounts -- I
mean, that was a little nutty. (laughter) But it's how you continue the conversation. Ms. Roberts: And
globalize it. Mrs. Obama: And
globalize it. And young people are
just more adept at that. And they can -- as I
tease my kids, I tell them I want them to use
Instagram to take a picture of something really important
rather than their food. (laughter) But young people can be a support to us. I mean, no one really
cares what you had for lunch. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: Well, you
both talked last year when we were having this
conversation about shining a light on an issue, and that you -- in this unique
position, that you have the opportunity to shine the light. At some point, people stop
looking at what you're wearing and see
what you're aiming at. One of the questions I get
all the time is, how do you choose? How do you choose what
issue to shine a light on? Now, you knew when you
came in that you wanted to do something about
military families, but it was kind of
inchoate, right? You expected to do
something about early childhood education and
cognition, and of course, September
11th changed all of that. How do you put it together
to decide exactly what you're going to do? Mrs. Bush: Well, I think
you look at yourself and see what your
expertise is. When I came to the White
House, I was a -- had been a librarian. I loved to read. I had been a teacher. And so, education and
literacy were very, very obvious interests of
mine and expertise of mine, so what's I started with. But then, also you look
at what appears, and are there ways you can take
advantage of different things that happen
to go in another way. I got a phone call, for
instance, from the head of the National
Heart, Lung and Blood Institute here in Washington and she
said, did you know that heart disease
is the leading cause of death among American women? And I didn't know that. I just had assumed cancer
was the leading cause of death among
American women. So I knew if I didn't know
that heart disease was the leading cause of death,
that many American women didn't know that either. And so I was presented
with the opportunity to talk about The Heart Truth
and to get the word out to American women that heart
disease was the leading cause of death
so that they could start doing things, because
heart disease is often preventable. But also, if you know that
you might have a heart attack, it wouldn't just
be your husband that had a heart attack, then you
can rush to the hospital yourself and get the kind
of treatment that you would demand for your
husband but you might not realize you
would need it yourself. So I think there are both
ways, both look to your own expertise and then
just take advantage of other interests that come
up and see if you can make a difference in
your countries. Mrs. Obama: Also, where
your passions lie. Because I've found that
I've been most effective when I am
uniquely authentic, there's an authenticity
to what I say. So that means I have
to really believe passionately in the
causes that I take on. And that lends itself to more power, more effectiveness. It just makes you a better
advocate, because this is something you
care deeply about. This was true when it came
to the issue of educating our young people. I just started an
initiative this year, Reach Higher, because one
of the things I'm deeply passionate about is the
role that education has to play in the lives
of our young people. And my story is the story
that I try to share with young people to
motivate them. There is nothing in my
life that would indicate that I would be sitting
here on this stage with a former First Lady and
one of the most renowned journalists and every
first spouse in Africa. (laughter) Nothing in
my life indicated that. But my parents believed in
the value of education, even though they were
not educated themselves. And they pushed my brother
and I to do the best that we could do. So what I want young
people in America to understand is that we are
blessed in this country to have public education, to
have opportunities that many girls around the
world are putting their lives at risk to achieve. So it's incumbent upon us
here in America to take advantage of every
opportunity. And young people have
to own their education. I can do that
because I believe it. It is my story. It is why I'm
sitting here. And my hope is that I
can start a national conversation about
reigniting that hunger for education in our young
people and using that to talk about the issues that
our girls around the world are facing with 60 million
girls today not in school, 30 million of those in
Sub-Saharan Africa. I want our young people
across the globe to be talking about how
do we fix that. So that's just an example. I'm clearly passionate
about that. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: But one of
the things that we're going to do today in
the various panels is how-to, essentially. And you all have
done the how-to. And part of that is private-public partnerships. And on all of your
initiatives it seems to me that you've both
done that; that you've brought in
universities, companies, foundations, whatever
combination of things works. Can you talk about it,
for instance, with Helping America's Youth? Mrs. Bush: Sure. Helping America's Youth
was one of my initiatives. And I traveled around the
country and had summits, actually conferences in
many parts of the United States with all of
the youth-serving agencies, types of agencies -- from
individual foundations that people had to
individuals themselves; two men, for instance,
who used sports to teach character building in
Seattle and worked with sports groups because they
knew they could attract boys, and then they
attracted their mothers there because their
mothers would bring the boys to their
sports practices. So they would talk about
sportsmanship in a way that really talked
about life, and the way that people can use
all the characteristics of a good sport to also be
a good person. But what they discovered,
then, was that their mothers were, in many
cases, single mothers. They didn't have a
community really of their own. And so they started --
after the sports games, they would have barbecues
so the mothers could meet each other and be
with each other. And really, they were out
to help the boys, but found out they
helped the whole family with this one agency -- or one
foundation that these two men started. And that's just one
example of many, many others that were
part of Helping America's Youth. Ms. Roberts: And helping
people get off of drugs or not get into drugs. Mrs. Bush: That's right. Ms. Roberts: And it seems
to me in some ways you've built on that
with Let's Move. It is being preventatively
healthy all along. So talk to us a little bit
about how you've put that together. Mrs. Obama: For those of
you who don't know, Let's Move is my initiative to
end childhood obesity in a generation. And we have really relied
greatly on public-private partnerships because what
we all have to understand is government has limits
-- limited resources, a limited base of power. People look to government
and think that government can do everything,
but many of the solutions that we're trying to achieve
require the involvement of the nonprofit sector
and the private sector. So we've really enlisted
companies to market food differently to kids
so that they are not marketing unhealthy
products. We've enlisted sports
organizations to get kids up and moving, try
to invest in more sports in communities that
are underserved. Whether it's the U.S. Tennis Association or the
NBA or what have you, many of these private
players have been very eager to step up and
partner with us to achieve this goal, because we all have
an interest in making sure that the next generation
is as healthy as possible. We spend billions of
dollars in covering obesity-related illnesses,
and all of these illnesses are completely
preventable with good diet and nutrition, exercise. So what we have said to
many of our partners is that we all have an
interest in this, and there's a way that we can all do well by doing good. We can -- companies can
still be profitable by creating foods
and educating parents and families to help them make
better choices about what they feed their kids. Ms. Roberts: I must say,
with teenage daughters, though, it must be --
I would suspect that sometimes they say to
you, let's move, mom. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: Yes, you've
been sitting at our dining room table, Cokie? (laughter) Well, you know,
every teenager has a little smart aleck
in them, it's true. But one of the things
we've found in our household is
that kids listen. They take on these new
messages even when we don't think they're
paying attention. And that's one of the
things that we try to tell parents, is that
they don't -- you don't know that they're listening, but I see how my children make
different decisions about what they eat now as
teenagers now that they have control because they have the information about how food affects their overall health and their
ability to perform. But it's our job to
empower parents and families to make the
choices that are best for them. Ms. Roberts: You've gotten
some blowback for it, which to some ways -- Mrs. Obama: Surprising. Blowback, right? Ms. Roberts: Don't
worry, that was -- Mrs. Obama: I don't know. Mrs. Bush: No
good deed goes -- Mrs. Obama: Right. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: That was
just where I was headed. I know that you both get
into these things and you're doing them for the
good of the country, and suddenly you get
criticized for it. And it must just be
such a shock in a way. Mrs. Bush: Well, I
was not that shocked. (laughter) Remember, we
had somebody that lived in the White House that we
watched very closely that we loved -- President
Bush and Barbara Bush. And so I was very aware
when George ran for President that you're
always going to be characterized in a way
that you aren't, really. And so I don't think That doesn't make
it any less hurtful.
0:26:05.864,1193:02:47.295
it was any big surprise to me. But on the other hand, I
think anyone who's in a leadership position
of any sort knows that you're going to be
criticized and a target, really, for criticism. Mrs. Obama: That's
absolutely true. And that's really the
role of leadership. It's not about amassing
power; it's taking some of those hits and
continuing to do the work, even when it's painful and
sometimes unappreciated. But that's why it's
important for all of us to have a vision
as first spouses. Because if you have your
vision and you know what you're passionate about,
and you know what direction you're going in,
then all of the arrows and the spears and the
criticisms, they just -- they bounce off of you
because you keep doing the work every day. Ms. Roberts: They
might pinch a little. Mrs. Obama: They might
pinch a little bit. You might get
shot in the eye. You just sort of go to the
doctor, patch yourself up and get back in the game. Ms. Roberts: Well, I
think that's an important message for people to
hear, because it's hard to do what you all are doing. And you talked about "it's
not about amassing power" -- it's certainly
not for the spouses. It's not being in that
role, and still, you get the criticism. So it's important to say
that you've lived through it. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: Well, and
everyone comes to these positions with
different temperaments. And watching Mrs. Bush,
she has been able to traverse all of this
with a level of grace and kindness and compassion. Just seeing how our
transition worked -- and we talked about this in
Tanzania -- that people are who they are. I said this in my
convention speech about the President -- being
President doesn't change who you are, it
reveals who you are. And that's true for
first spouses as well. You come to this
with a temperament. Some people are shy and
never want the limelight; other people are much more
outgoing and maybe a bit more aggressive and able
to withstand the heat of the spotlight
that shines on us. But I think that all of
us, we have to bring what is uniquely us to the
table and work within that. And that's sometimes what
people around the world don't understand. First spouses, we don't
choose this position, we just happen to be in
it, and we do the -- Mrs. Bush: We're
elected by one man. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: Right, right. Ms. Roberts: And
you can't be fired. Mrs. Obama:
Can't be fired. Mrs. Bush: We
certainly hope not. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: I
guess we'll see. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: Well, one of
the things that is unique is your voice as women,
and you both talked about that last year. I went back and looked at
-- you were both quite eloquent about how
important it is for women to use to your
voices and your power. And I think, Mrs. Obama,
you said, we're not complicated,
but we're complex. And I think that's a
good way of putting it. But again, Mrs. Bush,
why is it important for women's voices in this
particular position to be heard? Mrs. Bush: For the First
Lady, well, I think it's important because
the First Lady has an opportunity really to
talk about what is most interesting to her
and what she thinks she can help -- the ways she
thinks she can help her country and the people
in her country the best. I love to quote Lady Bird
Johnson, who said, the First Lady has a
podium and she intended to use it -- and she did. She was another Texas
First Lady, and I admired her from a distance. I didn't know her then, but got to know her later when George was governor and we lived in Austin. But she really did, she
used what she loved. And she happened to love
native flowers and the natural beauty
of our country. And she made a
huge difference. Ms. Roberts: Well,
and Head Start. Mrs. Bush: The daffodils
that you see blooming here along the George
Washington Parkway were planted because of
Lady Bird Johnson. But, yes, she used education and civil rights. And she was a southern
First Lady, so it was very important for her to speak out about civil rights, and she did. She campaigned all across
the South for the civil rights laws that were
passed and signed during President
Johnson's administration. Mrs. Obama: Once again, I
always go back to young people. We meet -- I know I do --
we meet thousands of just wonderful young people
in our countries and around the world. And to have a seven year old or a 12 year old walk up to
you or send you a letter and tell them thank you for what
you do, I look up to you, you inspire me. That reminds us all that
whether we like it or not, we are role models. And as women, we have --
the young girls in our worlds, in our countries,
they're looking to us. They're looking to us for
how we should be, how we should think, how
to use our voices. And as a result, we have
a responsibility to show them the way in
whatever way we can. And that may be something
as simple as embracing a child on the line and
telling them that they're beautiful and that
you're proud of them, and that you know that they're important and they're valued. I think about that,
because every time I meet a child I think, who
knows what's going on in her life, whether she was
just bullied or whether she had a bad day at school
or whether she lost a parent -- that interaction that we have with that
individual, that child for that moment, could change their life. So we can't waste
this spotlight. It is temporary and life
is short, and change is needed. And women are
smarter than men. (laughter and applause) Ms. Roberts: That just
goes without saying. (laughter) Mrs. Obama: And the men
can't complain, because you're outnumbered today. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: But Mrs.
Bush, you've talked about that before, too, that it's a temporary spotlight. But you are now working
hard to carry it on. And I think that sense
of continuity is very important, so you
have the George W. Bush First Ladies
Initiative, you have the Global Women's Initiative, the women for Afghanistan -- you're keeping going. Mrs. Bush: We are
continuing to work, both George and I are, through
the George Bush Institute, which is in Dallas now
at the Bush Library and Museum. And it gives both of us a
chance to keep working on the issues that were the
most important to us. Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon is our global health initiative. Many of you already
know about that. We've launched in three
countries in Africa, and we're going to hear
about some more in a few minutes. Because PEPFAR was
started while George was President, the President's
emergency plan for AIDS relief, we wanted
to be able to continue a global health initiative that
builds on PEPFAR. And when we looked at the
cancer numbers across Africa, and really across
the world, and saw that cervical cancer --
which is preventable -- is the leading cause of cancer
death among African women, we figured out there was
a way we could use the PEPFAR platform that's
already established and add the testing and
treatment for cervical and breast cancer to PEPFAR. And so, that's our global
health initiative. It's given us a way
to keep building. And we have a number of
terrific partners who are in the room, so thank
you all to all the partners, and thanks to the First
Ladies in the countries where we've
already launched and where we're getting ready to launch. Ms. Roberts: I just
thought that was such a smart initiative, because
it really does combine so many elements that
are just sensible, which is another thing
women are good at. But the fact is, is
that you had the PEPFAR clinics, so the women
were already coming in, but you needed -- since
breast cancer isn't caused by the same diseases, you needed
to get somebody else in so you got Susan G. Komen and the
pharmaceutical companies in. And it's really now turned
out to be a total women's health platform. Mrs. Bush: It is, really. And it's partnering,
obviously, with the U.S. government as
well, using the -- U.S. State Department is our
partner, because we are using the PEPFAR
platform to add. And the great news is that
cervical cancer really can be treated -- not when
it's advanced, which is why it's so important
that women come to be screened early on and
then be treated. And then, the vaccination
programs with the HPV vaccination is important. And I think many African
First Ladies are trying now to manage these
vaccination programs, so that we really won't
even have to worry about cervical cancer when these
girls who are vaccinated grow up. The Press: And do you
think about that, Mrs. Obama? I know you're still right
in the middle of it. Mrs. Bush: I hope you're
not thinking about that, yet. Mrs. Obama: Oh,
no, not at all. Not at all. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: But about how
you can carry on some of these -- and talk about
some of your other initiatives too
while you're doing it, because you have done these
private-public partnerships, particularly
around the military families. Mrs. Obama: Well,
Dr. Biden and I, we started Joining
Forces, which is a nationwide effort to
provide the support, respect to our men and women in
uniform and their families. We have worked with
private companies to create jobs as these men
and women transition to civilian life,
working on making sure they get the education benefits, all
the support that they should expect having
put their lives on the line and their families'
lives on hold. Ms. Roberts: And the
medical schools -- you're working with medical
schools too? Mrs. Obama: Well, nurses
are becoming trained to be able to identify and
support men and women who may have post-traumatic
stress disorder; just educating the entire
country on what PTSD means, trying to
de-stigmatize it so that these men and women
feel like they can seek help when they need it. All of that has been -- it
is a passion for both Jill and I. Jill is a Blue Star Mom,
and she proudly says that. She has grandchildren who
she has seen grow up while her son Beau was
deployed, so it's truly a passion for her. And for me, this is
something that I'm going to do long after we
leave the White House, because these needs will
always be there. And as I've been able to
see through former first spouses and former
Presidents, that the platform is --
it continues. And that's something that
I would encourage all of you to think about as
well, is how do you sort of lay the
foundation for the legacy that you want to create for yourselves. And I think as women, we
shouldn't be afraid to talk about our legacies,
what we want to leave behind in the
work that we do. Yes, there are so many
important, symbolic responsibilities that we
have in our roles, but there is nothing wrong
with thinking about legacy and what we want to
leave for the world. But that takes planning. It takes coordination. It takes partnerships. And I don't think that we
should be afraid as women to have those
conversations. It's too soon for me to do
it now -- (laughter) -- but the time will come
and I will embrace that, because what I've seen
from the Bush family is that there is a level of
freedom that also comes after you're out of the
spotlight; it's a new spotlight, it's a
different spotlight. But I think that there is
more that you're able to do outside of office
oftentimes than you can do when you're in office. Ms. Roberts: Except you
don't have the same -- I remember you saying at
one point, Mrs. Bush, you could pick up the phone
and call a member of Congress and get
something done. (laughter) Mrs. Bush: Yes, exactly. (laughter) Ms. Roberts: But I also
just want to come back because we are at an
African summit and both of you have exhibited
such a strong interest in Africa, and I think you have
very much helped to shine a spotlight on the continent
and caused us all to learn a great deal
more about the good news that's going on in Africa. But I'm kind of wondering
how you got there. I mean, Mrs. Bush, I know
you were in 75 countries when you were First Lady,
which is a lot, but why Africa? Mrs. Bush: Well,
obviously, it started with PEPFAR. When George launched
PEPFAR in 2003, remember what it was like --
people were dying every single day all across Africa. It was a huge pandemic
that was going to leave a continent of orphans if no
one did anything about it. And so George saw that it
was really important for the United States to be
actively involved in helping in Africa. It was so important for
us, as the wealthiest country in the world, both
because we could, but also because we should
morally try to save as many lives as possible. So I went on that trip
with George in 2003 when PEPFAR was launched. And our daughter Barbara
was with us as well, and she has really made her
life choices because of that trip. She is now the head of
Global Health Corps, she engages young people from
every part of the world. Ms. Roberts: She
created it, right? Mrs. Bush: She created
Global Health Corps, founded it to engage young
people to work in the health field. And she has Global Health
Corps fellows in Africa and also here in
the United States. But I think because of
that first trip and because of PEPFAR, we just
got a huge interest in Africa and traveled there
many times, and of course have traveled
there many times since we've been home. We just had a wonderful
trip this last March -- a private trip, not a
business trip -- to Ethiopia to visit the
Christian sites in Ethiopia. So Africa has become a
very important continent to us, partly because of
that, because of PEPFAR, but just also because of
our experiences there. Mrs. Obama: And Africa is
an important continent to the rest of the world. Its success is integral
to the success of this nation, the United
States and the world. And it is an under-valued,
under-appreciated continent. So it is incumbent upon
the world to have a better understanding of what
Africa has to offer. The importance of Africa
is very personal to me because, as the President
said last night in his toast, Africa
is home for us. His family is there. We have relatives there. We have visited the
continent on several occasions. We have taken our
daughters back to his grandfather's village and
they have seen a part of themselves. So the partnership with
this continent means a great deal to us. And we've seen the power,
the potential -- I mean, to meet these young
leaders and to see how hungry they are
to take their countries to a new level, that kind of
passion is infectious, and it's something that young
people here should know and understand. We want people from
America to travel to Africa, to understand
its languages and its different cultures,
and not to see it as a monolith, and to
truly see the investment opportunities -- which is
one of the reasons why this summit has been so
important, because it hasn't just been a
conversation with world leaders, but some of
the nation's most powerful businesses are here; some of the most prestigious non-profits are here. That's why today's session
is so important, because our success as a nation
is directly tied to the success of Africa. And now it is time for the
United States as a whole to embrace that reality. So this is the beginning
of a lot of work that needs to be done, but it
is -- we are encouraged and we are optimistic. Ms. Roberts: Well, I think
this week has been very instructive for
the whole country. I really do. It was wonderful to be
in Africa, but to have African leaders here
in the United States is educating the country
about what is going on there. But I am going to end
where we began, which is that as good as the news
is coming out of much of Africa, it won't
be as good as it can be until we do more about the girls. Mrs. Bush: That's right. Ms. Roberts: And if you
all want to just say a finishing word on that
subject, and then we will conclude. Mrs. Bush: Well, let
me just thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Michelle, and
thank you to President Obama for hosting the African Leaders Summit here. And thank you for inviting
the Bush Institute to be a part of the First
Lady's initiative. Thank you for coming
to our First Lady's Conference last
summer as well. And thanks to all the
First Ladies who have joined us. Thank you for the great
work you're already doing in your countries, which
we'll hear about in a few minutes. And thank you for all the
good work you will do. Thanks, Cokie. (applause) Mrs. Obama:
Well, thank you. Back at you. (laughter) But,
Laura, no, absolutely. We are here today because
of the example that was set in Tanzania through
the summit that the Bush Institute organized. that when this summit was being
organized, we jumped
0:44:58.729,1193:02:47.295
And as my Chief of Staff
stated, at the chance to do something
similar and to continue this conversation
and to come together as first spouses, and to continue
to be inspired by each other. What I would say just in
closing is that we have to fight for our girls. There should never be a
girl in this world who has to fear getting educated. That should be something
that is intolerable to all of us. I can only think of my own
girls, and I think we all have to see our daughters
in these young girls. We want the best
for our daughters. We want them to be smart
and empowered and loved. We want them
to be healthy. We want them to be
mentally sound. And if it's good enough
for our girls, it's good enough for every
single girl in the world. But it's going to take
leadership like us, women like us speaking up in
our countries and making sure that young girls
are not subject to abuse, and that they are loved and valued. And until we do that,
we will not solve these problems. Investing in our women --
the people who raise our children, the people who
take care of families -- they have to be
healthy and whole. And that is the most
important work that we do. Whether we talk about
clean energy or economic empowerment, until we
start to value women and girls, we will continue to
struggle on this planet. But I have high hopes when
I look around this room that we won't tolerate
that, not anywhere on the planet. And if we continue to work
together and continue to lift up our young people
who we're fighting for a better future, then I
think we will see some progress on these issues. So I look forward to
working with all of you in the years ahead. So thank you all, and I
hope you enjoy the rest of the conference. Cokie, thank you. Thank you, as well. Mrs. Bush: Thank you. (applause) Ms. Roberts: Thank you
both so much for the work you're doing, first of
all, for coming together. I keep saying you've set
such a good example for the men. (laughter) But also for
allowing me to participate in this conversation. Thank you very, very much. (applause)
