Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Welcome to Obama Summit 2017. Please welcome president of Ariel investments, Mellody Hobson. [Applause]. MELLODY HOBSON: this is very exciting. I'm very, very excite ed to introduce his Royale Heighness, Prince Harry. [Applause]. This is a great thing about introducing a Prince, you just say Prince, you don't have to say anything else about the bio, background, it is clear. We'll have a great conversation today You see there are four chairs here because we'll invite up two young people that will help us in this conversation in a little bbit but we'll start getting into issues around philanthropy, charity, youth involvement, very much the subject of this Summit I want to start Prince Harry by asking you just really to put this in context for us your beliefs, your involvement, Americans say it is a -- we have to say we have a fascination with royals, we don't have any. Therefore, we don't quite understand. I mean that in a genuine way. One would say that is it fair to say that when you're born royal you are born to serve? Is that fair? PRINCE HARRY: that's definitely fair. I think over the course of your life you start to get a better understanding as you would expect of what that service, what that actually look s like and to a certain extent you have to create it or structure it suiting your passions, suiting your preference and suiting the need as well. understand it to begin with? How do you know that's a part of your destiny? PRINCE HARRY: we don't sit in the room with a queen and back board going -- it kind of -- I don't know. I think it is -- I wouldn't say it is in our blood but at the same time it is over the history and watching our parents, watching our grandparents, just learning our way through that process. I mean, I think I went to my first proper royal engagement at the age of 4 or 5. You make mistake s like we all have, and then slowly you find your way and realize that you have it an incredible platform to make really positive change. MELLODY HOBSON: Do you always brace this role and responsibility? PRINCE HARRY: no, I don't think I understood it. I think what -- what happened to my mum probably put me a step back thinking, well, how could someone who did so much for the world and did so much for everybody else could be treated like that by a certain institution. It's -- it takes a bit of getting used to. As I said, you know, it is -- once you understand the privilege position that you're in you then spend the rest of your life earning that privilege and giving back and also gaining the trust and respect of the general public and using that position for good. MELLODY HOBSON: What helped you understand that position that you were in. PRINCE HARRY: Spending ten years in the in I will tri -- in the military was one. MELLODY HOBSON: what did that do I wouldn't say change my Outlook in life but there was experience s I went through in the ten years that not only was I surrounded by normal people on a day-to-day basis and sharing and talking about every day issues they were going through, but it was a grounding moment for me as well. You know, wearing the same uniform as all other people that I was serving with, getting an opportunity to serve your country on operations , but also being a part of a family. That's not just the guys and the girls that were wearing the uniform but the wives, the girl friends, the kids, that whole network of support was huge. I think -- yeah. I think my understanding of service and duty became really, really engained or was given to me bymy service in the military. That's what it is about, you're taking young people from some of the most depriveed cities and towns across the U.K. for the British armed forces and I know for the rest of the world as well, you take some of the people who have had really, really hard upbringings and hard backgrounds and you are training them to be ambassadors. Training them to be fighters but training them to be brothers in arms with each other as well. I think that's an incredibley powerful tool to do and I have a huge amount of respect for anybody, whatever the background is to be able to serve their country like that. MELLODY HOBSON: We'll come back to that in a bit in terms of the efforts you have around leaders in the military. I want to ask you, you travelled whole world in both your military role , in your royal role, as you were going around the world, how did you get more focused on things that you careed about? I mean, we see a lot of pictures of you with children, you spent a year in -- bring that to life for us. PRINCE HARRY: I get all of my passion and inspiration and energy from young people. That's from the ages of 6 or 7 in the Caribbean when you get a 6-year-old turning around and telling you exactly how much damage your country and the developed world has caused them, all the way to 28, 30 year olds who at some point in their life have already a better understanding of duty and service than I ever did at that age because it is all about giving back. I think lots of people say the job of travelling the world is wonderful, of course it is wonderful, when we get sent to some countries we don't always get to see the beautiful parts. We're there trying to deal with some issues but doing everything we can to bring people together to make change, to make positive change It's an absolute Joy and privilege to meet the younger generation of change makers across the world who genuinely believe in the fact that they as a single person, as a group, as a community, as a nation not only can change their country but can change the world as well . That's what keeps me going on a day-to-day basis. MELLODY HOBSON: when a 6 -year-old says your country is ruining theirs, what do you do, say? Had. PRINCE HARRY: Agree slightly. We all know the issues that are out there with the climate and the environmental issues and I don't want to say it is refresh ing but it is nice to know that kids that young have an appreciation and understanding greater than some of the people who have been on this planet for 60, 70 years. r generation of the world has turn ed me into an optimist. They are the best connected, best -- one of the most passionate generation that I think that we have ever had. What we need to do is create a platform so that they can be heard. They have the solutions to some of the world's biggest powerplays. -- biggest problems MELLODY HOBSON: I was going to ask that t my sense is that you have seen a lot of things up close, you have seen miracles and great sadness. You go to a famine, most of us read about one. You can see some things that perhaps none of us understand the devastation up close and you're saying that young people are the ones that keep youish motivated, why is that voice not treated the same as that 60-year-old voice? PRINCE HARRY: That's the way it alwys was, before the way it was when people were connected in a positive way it was presumed -- this is in eye take on it, it -- my take on it, it may be wrong -- the presumption was the longer you spend on the planet the more experience and knowledge that you have. Fine. I think we all agree the longer you're around the more experience you have. What kind of world are we going to end up% being a part of if we don't listen to the younger generation who handle the solutions, that are better connected than ever before and because of the connectiveity they have the opportunity and the ability to be able to fix problems in a quarter of the amount of time than anybody else in previous generations was able to do in a 10, 15-year period. MELLODY HOBSON: You're affiliated with many charityies, patrons of certain organizations , I read that you have 15 charities you're affiliated with, your brother and sister-in-law have 35, but that's less than some other members of your family. You all are doing it a bit differently. PRINCE HARRY: Yeah. MELLODY HOBSON: How do you focus ? Tell us by contrast how many charityies might other royals be affiliateed with in different generations. PRINCE HARRY: Hundreds. My grand grandmother had to -- my grandmother rewrote the rule books, my father and mother have done it their way. the younger generation coming through trying to do it our way. the world has changed so much. We believe that by streamlineing, bringing people together in order to affect real positive change is the only way forward. You know, it worked for previous generations, we were always saying yes to become a patron of a charity that we believe in and that we're incredibley fashion Nat about, in today's world you have to be involved with things that make sense to where your passions lie rather than potentially turning up to a charity once a year. I don't think that's necessarily beneficial to anyone. Our mental health campaign back in the U.K. is a classic example of bringing together eight charity ies within the mental health sector. We were able to bring together 8 mental charities that worked in the sector for many, many years. Bringing them together right. You never sat around a table together, discussed the main issues, we want to be able to do now through the foundation is create a platform in which your expertise and experience is elevated and therefore you tell us what needs to be done around mental health within the U.K. and globally. They said if you can remove the stigma, that make s our life easier. That's exactly what we did. We try to remove the stigma and normalize the discussion around mental health. [Applause]. MELLODY HOBSON: In some ways, the past -- [Applause]. MELLODY HOBSON: the protocol may have been lending your name and using your name to create a halo around the organization that would benefit it. It sounds like the younger royals are more about more than just name association, more direct action and involvement. So do you feel you are more hands on? Is that fair to say? PRINCE HARRY: I think in today's world you have to be. I think you have to be much more hands on and also -- MELLODY HOBSON: Why? You could have done it the same way, you could have 200 charities and been a patron of them. No one would have thought any different . PRINCE HARRY: No. If you end up working individually for 200 charities in today's world that dilutes the impact you can have What our foundation is all about , our platform it about is encouraging people to come together, to work together so that there is less competition within that sector, whether it is financially or otherwise, and say, you are all doing the same thing, let's get around the table, talk to each other, work it out and come up with a long- term strategy. MELLODY HOBSON: Wouldn't that -- isn't it obvious? Why haven't other people done it this en? -- done it then? You have createed with your brother and sister-in-law your royal foundation. You started the charity. My first question is do we need another charity? What was your thinking in coming together? Whose idea was this? PRINCE HARRY: My motto is exactly that. Why another charity. Our foundation is not another charity. We're not trying to take up space. the charity sector is quite full at the moment. About what we're trying to do is use our platform to bring people together to affect change. MELLODY HOBSON: Why haven't others done this. PRINCE HARRY: I genuinely believe we as a foundation will never be able to compete with some of the other big foundations financially as much as that sounds, but it is fact. We have a unique ability to be able to put our name and everything that comes with to a really good purpose, to a really good cause. As I said, there are many organizations out there that have never come together and would never sit around a table to discuss the topic of which they're all involved with, but we have proven that, we have made that possible. MELLODY HOBSON: In some ways you're leverageing the name it seems to me. Does this create something unique to you and your brother and sister-in-law in that you can get the people to come together and talk to each other? Working together is hard . PRINCE HARRY: Yeah. It is hard working together as a family, it is hard working together when you're scrapping for the same money in the same sector as a lot of people know. You know, for some initiatives we have createed, the games, that brought together as an Example ten, twelve different charities to share expertise, knowledge, experience specifically around mental health so that all the standardizeation across the board to make sure that whatever the best practice was everybody was sharing that. Therefore, if there is a wounded soldier that's left the forces that's been lost among the chaos of everything else, if they stick their head above the -- and they go to a help for heroes in the you can, if it is not for them -- everybody chooses a supermarket they want to go to, same with charity sector, if you have 102 choices, every person is unique, their cure, their fix , it will be specific to them . What we're able to do is bring everybody together around the table and say, right, you're part of a group, part of something. Therefore, anybody that comes in gets the opportunity or option of 12 of you rather than one. MELLODY HOBSON: Whose idea was this? Whose idea was it? Yours , Prince William? PRINCE HARRY: the royal foundation? I don't remember. MELLODY HOBSON: Was it obvious it was a good idea. PRINCE HARRY: I think it comes with the territory. Once you realize the affect your name and position can have, surely all you want to do is make sure that you spend every living day trying to bring people together and trying to make the most of that position. MELLODY HOBSON: It hadn't been done before this way. PRINCE HARRY: True. As I said, with the way that the world has changed and with the platforms we now have used in a positive way we can really bring people together from all over the world , across the Commonwealth, 52 countries, a third of the world's population of which 60% of the age is under 30, that's a platform of youth that needs to be listened to. MELLODY HOBSON: the scale and vastness of that -- [Applause] MELLODY HOBSON: -- it is really hard then to manage. How do you pick what you're going to do? You mentioned the games, you do everything from that to a program to develop coaches in the U.K. and around the world, you have mentioned heads together which is focused on mental health. How do you decide what to do? You have literally seen a lot, you have seen a lot of programs, you have seen great need in the world. Who puts a finger down on something and says this one? PRINCE HARRY: I think when you're part of a large charity or a large foundation I think it is very hard to -- it is very hard to say no. What we have realized is it is even harder to have a finger in every single pie. for us, early intervention where possible is key. Impact, it is definitely -- it has to be a priority. You know, none of us want to spend the rest of our lives connected to charities of which we're just making people's lives better. We would rather identify a problem and try to fix it before it is even a bigger problem. MELLODY HOBSON: When you come at it from that perspective is there a vetting process for what you decide to do or is it these are just particular areas of interest to one or all of you? PRINCE HARRY: It depends on our background, passions, what we're really interested in. MELLODY HOBSON: Do people pitch you ideas? PRINCE HARRY: Yeah. There is plenty of ideas pitched. to go back to the mental health thing, that was -- that was luck of the timing. There was an issue that needed to be talked about, probably needed to be talked about many, many years ago. I imagine ten years ago if we started that campaign or anyone else would have, it wouldn't have succeeded. the success of that campaign was built on the need within the U.K. and the fact that every single person in the U.K. was ready for that conversation and all of a sudden when you normalize that topic, that discussion, everybody started to realize, wow, not only do I know other people that have suffered, I might have suffered as well. Once that becomes normalizeed, then all of a sudden you realize that actually more people have tasted a mental health issue to a certain extent than haven't. That's the tipping -- that's the tipping point of which we kind of are at at the moment. the success was that everybody was ready for the conversation. MELLODY HOBSON: I hate to keep beating a dead horse, I want to ask practically, let's say that comes to you, it has the unique characteristics where you can see the need, you can see the ability to leverage, you can see how lending your name and reputation will elevate an issue that's important whose moment will come, do you vote? Do you sit down, say I'm in, out. PRINCE HARRY: Prius it is a young organization. Our first grant was in 2012 with these guy s. Yeah. We're still very much in the infans -- infancy years. We want to prove the model in different sectors. When we have proven it we want to expand it. There is no-point in doing it otherwise because what's the point in being involved with something unless you know you're succeeding to a certain extent if you know what I mean. [Applause]. MELLODY HOBSON: Is this easier or harder than you thought to start your own foundation and what would you say? PRINCE HARRY: It is easier with the people we work with. with the support we have, obviously it certainly is made easier having had the name and position because with that comes the ability to convene some amazing people and expertise of which a lot of other organizations wouldn't have the opportunity to do. Yeah. It has been emotional. the highs, no lows. There is so much to do as everybody in this room knows, there is so much to do and the question is making sure that you streamline it, you do it the right way the first time and the crucial point is that we listen and that we don't go into a project, we don't go into a community and stamp our authority down saying with our foundation this is who how you'll do it. Its completely opposite. That's why I believe we have been so successful. We have gone in the communities and said we know there is a problem, what's the solution, let us facilitate and fund you in the process. MELLODY HOBSON: Why do you think it is that, again, this model is so unique which seems so obvious because so many organizations say they have the answer and they go and impose that. You know, how did you see this differently? PRINCE HARRY: I think as far as I can explain it, to us, it was a simple case of we have to listen. We have to listen to the younger generation because they are the cure of some of the world's biggest problems. They're the cure of many communities as well. As we'll hear from these guys, especially from Chantelle Stevanovic, you're talking about young people, individuals who have lived experience. You can teach someone to be a lawyer, teach one to be a pilot, you can't teach some of the experiencess and some of the scars that some of these people have. Therefore , in my mind, the workforce is already there. What we have to do is be able to create a platform, be able to create a way that the workforce is reintegrated back into society because they can do things that we can never do. If I was in their position I wouldn't want someone in a suit or tie or prince or anybody else telling me how to do things. I would much rather them come in and say, right, we have an amazing platform, we have an amazing ability, we have a bit of money, how do you want to do this? How can we succeed the first time and make sure that you guys are running this project? This is a perfect segue, we'll bring out the other two guests to go deeper in this issue. Chantelle Stevanovic will come out. David Peterson, they're coming right out. This is a real life example. [Applause]. This is exciting! Chantelle Stevanovic is here from Nottingham and David is here from pullman, we'll tell the stories but before that, I want to use this to help me introduce Chantelle Stevanovic's stoy, we'll start with her, one of your programs, called Full Effect and that's a -- PRINCE HARRY: It is one of her programs. MELLODY HOBSON: Where the royal foundation has gotten deeply involved. Is that fair to say? Adopted would not be the right word but certainly as -- you have createed it together in some ways, right? PRINCE HARRY: In short before Afghanistan in 2012, the foundation said please find somewhere, a community which is suffering from youth violence and crime of which we can go into and try to help them. It has to be led by them. I think it was April, 2013 arrived in Nottingham, the royal foundation , and we met this incredible group of young people that in their way were trying to do everything they could but had been let down so many times by other organizations and other people -- not -- just some people had struggleed. Again, they come in they think they though who exactly how to do it and they're a let down. You can see it in their faces. What we wanted to do was try to work out what all right existed. the community recording studio already existed headed up by Trevor rose and epic partners of which Chantelle Stevanovic was part of. the two organizations existed. They worked 200 meters apart. They were in Nottingham, they had never met each other. That was a classic example of us coming, right, who do you recommend, they said them and them. Okay. Are you interested in working together? Let's make it happen. MELLODY HOBSON: Tell us first about your story before we get into the work that you do as a program coordinateor for Full Effect. Tell us about how you grew up? I think in America we have movies like James bond that leads us to Romanticize all of the U.K. and we don't think of them having communities like Nottingham which have had violence and very, very tough situations. I read dating back to the 1800s. It has gone on for a very long time. You grew up in a really tough circumstance. Tell us a little by the about that. Yeah. -- a little bit about that. Yes. I grew up in the U.K., Nottingham, years ago it was -- it was built to house poor people. They put everybody together and unfortunately that's kind of continued. Growing up there was tough. You have a lot of different opportunities, positive and negative, a lot more negative than positive. Yes. So when you live in a household that's suffering from deprivation, there isn't in much money, a lot of children there -- MELLODY HOBSON: How many children in your family? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: five children and I'm the oldest and two parents. Knowing growing up that your mother is having trouble feeding you. All you want to do is help. You help by any means necessary. the easiest kind of solution for me when I was younger was to go out and help in a way that was quite negative. My father was very good at teaching me how to make money. Yeah. That was one of my biggest things. Growing up when I got to about 16 my mum finally wanted to better herself and better our situation. She started doing community sports leadership, helping out in the St. Thomas community and she drug me along to see if I would do something positive instead of going down the wrong -- continuing down the wrong path in a spiral and that's how I got into working with epic just doing volunteer work in the community. It was in my community where I lived. I started seeing a difference within myself. Okay. This is pretty good. I started empower ing myself. It was a gradual slow progression, I'm not going to lie. It got me to where I am how. MELLODY HOBSON: Help us a little bit. You were a kid. CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: yeah. MELLODY HOBSON: Involved in crime. This was not light stuff , running to a corner store and steelling a cup cake. It was drugs and a lot of things. You were -- and then you went off to -- you were introduced to it by your father. CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: in the community, that's what happened That was the easiest way. That was what was going on. You know , going down to the local pu b with the family, there was always something happening and that was just apparent what was there, it is what happened. MELLODY HOBSON: You went off and started to do it on your own. You thought you were helping. You were off basically involved in a life of crime as a 16, 17 -year-old, right? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: I became an adult quite young, but forced to be an adult and take on a lot of responsibility. I just wanted -- I knew I wanted better . I knew I wanted better for my family. It was just getting out of a really tough situation and there's not many opportunities especially if you have been involved in something so negative not many people will give you that chance. They won't -- you know, okay, let's give you this chance today and let's see how it goes. That doesn't happen. MELLODY HOBSON: You're 22 and you basically turn the page on that life. CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: yes. MELLODY HOBSON: You start taking courses, volunteering when you're younger with your mother You literally walked away from one life and walked into another one of service? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: yeah. I walked away from a life, but like I said, I still live -- I still live in the community. It is still right in front of me. I wouldn't say that I have turn ed away from it. I embrace what's happened to me as a child and growing up because it made me the person I am today. If I hadn't experienced that I might not be here. I don't think it is about turning away from it but looking past it, trying to find that solution to those situations. MELLODY HOBSON: You're doing something. Explain to us what Full Effect is, you start with children who are very young, right? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: yes. Obviously, this partnership between myself epic and CRS, epic worked a bit with children, did after school and holiday provision, that kind of stuff. Then obviously we met the Prince and started to look at this kind of project that we wanted to do We hooked up with the CRS and realized that we work in schools from 8 to 12 years and then CRS work with 13 and older so it made perfect sense. Both of our -- what we were doing in the same community just complemented it very well. MELLODY HOBSON: I love this story. David, I promise I'm coming to you. You're touring Nottingham and she gives you a letter, right? PRINCE HARRY: Touring -- MELLODY HOBSON: You're -- PRINCE HARRY: Me and my band. Yeah. MELLODY HOBSON: You're going around, observing conditions and issues and I'm not certainly meaning to make it light. These issues are significant. and this woman comes up to you and gives you a letter. PRINCE HARRY: There was a group of them actually in the community recording studio and the point was I was going to be there and we were going to have an open discussion and talk about the issues of which these guys were facing and hopefully get to some solutions. MELLODY HOBSON: She didn't want to talk. PRINCE HARRY: She decideed not to talk and handed me a letter afterwards. CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: any only -- I was the only female in the room as well. Mornings out of how many. CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: 12, 13. I was the only female. I lived in that area and for a long time you hold what's happened to you very close to your heart. You don't want to express it because you don't want people to judge you. Because I lived around those people, you know, I just felt a little bit uncomfortable I fostered that. MELLODY HOBSON: You planned it, the letter. What did the letter say. PRINCE HARRY: the letter was her life story on -- actually wasn't her life story but as much as you can say on a two-sided piece of 8X4, she quite understandable y didn't want to share most of the stuff that she had been through which is pretty har rowing. She didn't to share that with that group of people. They soyed do -- she decideed to say you need to had know my back story and what happens in the community, there it is in a letter. I really respected and admireed it. It was exactly -- it was exactly what I needed to he no that we were in the right place. MELLODY HOBSON: Then afterwards, you two have had this great partnership, the foundation, Full Effect and you have actually developed a friendship, I have watched you together. You seem very comfortable with each other. Is that odd? Seem Nova Scotia? I feel even odd asking -- is that odd? Feel unusual? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: the first time we met, I don't think I could say my name appropriately It was breatheed out, Chantelle Stevanovic, that was it. Then as time went on you know, Harry is an amazing person. He's very inspiring. He makes you very relaxed. He listens. It was the first time that someone came to our community and listened and didn't tell us what to do or how to fix ourselves, he was more intrigueed about what he could do for us and not anything else It was really, really an inspiration. [Applause]. MELLODY HOBSON: David, you are the and Executive Director of the -- I want to get the title right, the -- The first and only black labor history museum in the world. MELLODY HOBSON: First and only. That means we need a lot more. Your story is also a unique one in some ways and also the story of tens of millions of people. In this country and in other places. You grew up with a couple of siblings, single mom, tell us a bit about the back story. You were going to lab school, one of the best schools in Chicago. You had a good life . What happened? DAVID PETERSON: I came from an entrepreneurial background, my mom was and my dad were entrepreneurs, I just kind of picked it up. When I was a kid I would pick up chip bags off the ground and put them in the mike cave and sell them -- in the microwave and sell them as key chains. My mom would have community festivals and I worked the nacho and cheese stand. I came from that entrepreneurial background and as I got older she would push me into places that would nurture that entrepreneurial perspective. So galloway 37 was one, a summer program job I got right after graduating right down the street . You know, that's why I met people that were with gallery 37 and we made art and they sold our art. I was introduced to cultural economic development because I understood that our history, heritage, culture is for sale and it can benefit us and moving fast forward, graduateed, I went to University in the Tallahassee, Florida. You skipped over -- I don't mean to get -- to pry -- you're going to school, the family can't pay, you're taken out. You move to a rough area on the South side, culture shock you said. You said you have seen both sides. You are thrown into that circumstance and what happens? Tell us -- DAVID PETERSON: I always went to school from hyde park and we moved from there to the wild hundreds, 103rd, 115th street, cottage grove to the expressway That historic district changed my life. We moved over there, my mom was doing real estate speculation and that later evolveed into an entrepreneurial endeavor if you will. from that , you know, I always was -- I always was kind of captureed by the culture, by the arts, by Entrepreneurship. When I was 1% a best friend was murdered a block from my house, that's when things became real for me, if you will, and then -- MELLODY HOBSON: What kept you focused? You had a mom, but you stayed on the path, you went to college, you got a Master's, you never left that community, you stayed there in terms of your work with the museum. DAVID PETERSON: absolutely. MELLODY HOBSON: What kept you focused and let's talk about how you're paying it forward in terms of working with young people there. DAVID PETERSON: what kept me focused was a Devine appointment . -- divine appointment. MELLODY HOBSON: Did you always know that? DAVID PETERSON: when you allow yourself, you know, at a young age you have a personal relationship createed with God. So with that, as I got -- as I became older and I researched religion a lot, I understood that most was inside of me. You know, that's what kept me going I began to use myself as a vessel for the ancestors to pretty much do the work. In that, I understood that I was standing on the shoulders of giants. You know, basically that turned into an every day motivation, every day motivation , when I was at FMU, I dropped out for a bit, I said I I don't need school, I'll start my own business. I had guys from an investment Committee scoop me up and nurtureed me and they said I had to stay in school and finish and introduced me to Entrepreneurship. You know, they raise their endowment rate 500%, that's 1.9 to 7.9% from 2006 to 2007, this is what the entrepreneurial investment Committee did at Florida, that proof of concept let me know that this is something that I could do for the rest of my life and as a result of that I grew up in the hip-hop era, I was a contributeor to hip-hop and it was cool to do that. As I became older I reliesed that this is the same mechanism that creates billionaires, all the millionaires I know come from the art community. You didn't pursuit commerce, you pursued a life of service. DAVIDETERSON: absolutely. MELLODY HOBSON: You talk about hip-hop meeting history with museum 44 which has to do with -- DAVID PETERSON: it is with our 44th president. We came up that in 2009.Good morning America, they did a live segment there, I said to myself, you know, we could do this ourselves. I said we're going to do a TV show and call it museum 44 because we want to change the narrative, we want to control the narrative. We're tired -- I'm tireed of looking on the news and seeing somebody else tell me what I'm about. I'm looking on the news, yeah, these young kids, urban terrorists, I'm like that's not me! I live in this neighborhood , the guys that you're demonizeing are the same ones that pick me up at the train and walk me home every day . You know what, this is a young guy that will be somebody, we want to make sure that we protect him, install the principals in him so that he can navigate any street that he walks on, now 22 years later, this is the proof of concept sitting before you. MELLODY HOBSON: Building on that question, asking all three of you, how hard is it today to inspire young people. You're young people, I'm 48, I sound like -- relative to you, I'm old . Your actually young people in the trenches, all three of you in your own way. Society has made it easier in some ways with the connectiveity and harder in others in that the connectiveity leads to some anonymity and some passiveity I think would be fair to say. Doing what you do, how hard is it. You're saving lives. Just to be Frank, it is very hard. You know, I hear myself as I'm older saying things that my mom used to say. You're entitled, you think it is easy, you're from the microwave era, you want it right now. I mentor the kids, we have an after school program right now, museum 44, we have a podcast as well, museum 44. As I mentor these kids, sometimes they're on the phones, sometimes they come late , I'm just like you have some nerve! I'm like oh, you're the mom! What are you doing! I have to step back and look at it through their lens, okay. Maybe they have been in school all day , maybe they're jittery, I have to give them time to sit back, do what they do. There is a sense of entitlement that they just naturally have. It is our duty as leaders and as mentors to instruct to them that this is something that they have to value. Every day, that's my thing. You have to understand, there is a list of kids that would rather be in your space. This isn't just a summer program , this is a job, after After school matters, we have 7 ,000 promise over the City of Chicago, we have employed 200 ,000 people. So think about that. You know, you need to understand that and appreciate it. Then, once again, I just have to humble myself, I go to the office and laugh and say this is hilarious. MELLODY HOBSON: I love that you talk about after school matter, I chair that, we're doing amazing work, a reason that you are here is that people we have direct relationships we could enhance the opportunity for them in terms of you. Answer the question, the same question, how hard is it to inspire the young people. You're starting really young, you're starting with at risk youth you want to make sure don't go down the wrong path. Is it hard for you? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: it is always hard. Times change. I used to think I was quite hip and now I have realized that I have got older. It is hard for the fact that children are not inspired by things that I thought they would be. Now it is mobile phones, social media, everyone on TV. They have -- for me I would say to them I had to inspire myself. I had to be my hero in my own eyes and every mistake I made I had to take a lesson from that to inspire myself to go further. I think a lot of children don't have inspiration in themselves, it is trying to shine that light on them like the light was shineed on me. I now need to shine the light on them to give them the stage and for them to be become whatever they want to become. Its hard and a listening process . Definitely. [Applause]. MELLODY HOBSON: What do you think? How hard is is it for you to inspire young people? Sounds like you're inspired by young people, you have the other side going in spades. PRINCE HARRY: Yeah. I think especially for these guys it is about turning a negative into a positive. Some of these guys, they have lived experiences of which you cannot teach people, they have it. They have made that choice to give back to the communities. MELLODY HOBSON: Isn't that true of you, too? PRINCE HARRY: Yes. of course it is. If you have a lived experience in anything, then automatically it gives you the ability to be able to see it from their eyes as such. I think, you know, Chantelle Stevanovic, she's -- she's not really sharing the full story. the effect she's having on the kids, let's not not forget, she's making sure that they have better choices and that they don't end up making bad choices -- MELLODY HOBSON: Bring it to life for us. Tell us how -- PRINCE HARRY: I'm just saying she's downplaying her talents, her abilityies. Before she was around primary school kids the age of 7, 8, they were being used by their younger brothers to move guns, move knives around the place. She herself -- she wouldn't want me -- mind me saying hopefully, she was used in that sense as a young age, what she's doing, using her experience to make sure that those young kids don't go through what she went through. the same with mental health, you talk about mental health suffer ers, it is a community. It is a club of people and nobody who suffered ever wants anybody else to go through what they have been through. That's what I love about both of you guys and the young people in today's world. They -- I think there is a real lack of trust and there is a sense of optimism in a world where wherever they turn, they don't know who to trust. Therefore, if you can build that trust, it may take time, if you can build that trust and give that belief and confidence because all of the potential and qualityies, all of the skills, they're within every single one of these people. Therefore, we shouldn't start looking elsewhere, we should look at where the actually problem is and realizing that the solution, it is all around them. MELLODY HOBSON: Is so much of the solution the example of you and Chantelle Stevanovic, I read a quote about a prince said that we mattered. Is validation, you just said you're validating the young people, is one of the silver bullets of this validation? Is that a big theme that runs through it? By showing up in Nottingham, by showing up for these kids, by showing up and giving them the awareness of these issues that you're talking about, is that in itself perhaps more than half the battle? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: I think a lot of -- you know, a lot of children I know, they're let down. They're let down over and over and over again. You can only take so many knocks until you just go I'm done with this. I think it is about being there and trusting and having that belief, like I said before, listening as well. You know, I live in the area where I work. I'm never shut-off ever. There are children that live all around me, a lot of children that they they can shout my name , knock on the door, families, parents, advice, for me it is about bringing people together as well as just believing in them. MELLODY HOBSON: How do you protect yourself, take care of yourself in that situation? That's an overwhelming obligation especially if you have the thesis that they were let down, which I'm curious, who let them down? Is it society, is it parents? What are we not doing right and letting these kids down? How are you process ing all of that? You live there. You are dealing with it -- there is nowhere for you to go? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: I have thick curtains and blinds and after I finish I come home and they close. I think there is a ricochet affect, it is society and the parents, then you know sometimes parents, they try their best, I know so many families that want to give more, but they just cannot find more to give. I think it kind of goes down within that triangle of society, parents, we need to empower the parents and empower the children, empower that community and try to give instead of taking all the time. We have to give something back. How much of your transformation is about acceptance as well? I remember having this conversation with my husband and we're talking about issues relateed to childhood and some things that I had encountered that were hard. I remember him saying that your moor did the best she could -- your mother did the best she could. My mother was extraordinary. with human frailtyies, like all people have, including myself, but I remember it landing on such a different way and giving me a level of acceptance that I hadn't had before. It sounds like you have accepted some things differently than maybe -- do we -- is it in the -- is it not accepting them in terms of being content with less, but accepting in terms of understanding. How much of that is about this transformation? My mum is amazing. If you're watching this, hey! My mum is absolutely amazing. She's always believed in me. Like what you just said, it was about me accepting who I am more of -- accepting my -- accepting my story and kind of what I have been through myself and not being embarrassed by it if I'm honest. MELLODY HOBSON: How do you teach that to others? Do you believe there is any threat that you see with the young people you work with? DAVID PETERSON: most of the youth I come in contact with, they're -- it is an economic concern for them. They're more victims of deprivation. It is not necessarily a matter of validation in an era where social media gives you that validation you need anyway. It is more why am I trying to do the right thing and I see somebody else doing the wrong thing flourishing before my eyes MELLODY HOBSON: Can't deprivation make you feel you're not worthy? DAVID PETERSON: that's why it is up to us as leaders to come up with unconventional ways to address that solution base. We can have conversations all the time and talk until we're blue in the face but it only happens when we talk about solutions and the solutions are in my case, cultural, economic development, being able to benefit from this and our proof of concept of that is an ability to work with a 7 million population of alumni, you know, there are 186 out there, and it is our duty and goal to work with them, to bring about a venture capitalist ecosystem. Historically black college University and predominantly black institution, so with that, you know, proof of concept, creating an ecosystem where we can fund businesses, we can create millionaires and billionaires by giving them access to the capital so that they can change their mindset from donors to investors and shareholders. You know, we can be self-sufficient. MELLODY HOBSON: I heard you say program managers and funders must remember their role is to " help" provide help, not save communities. DAVID PETERSON: absolutely. So many times -- MELLODY HOBSON: Elaborate on that. DAVID PETERSON: so many people come in with a superiority complex, because I'm this person , I have this, you should do it this way as opposed to saying I have these resources, okay, who needs help. You know, hey, I heard you're hungry, here is a pot luck, I brought this for you, everybody get down, let's eat. Instead of that, what we have, people come in, they basically are saying what should go on in the community but they don't again have the proof of concept, the personal experience. They have not seen the friends shot down dead, haven't dodge the bullets, they have not been a victim of gang violence and poverty and social exclusion. They have not been a victim of that. They haven't had to walk in a room and people look at them because of the color of their skin and undermine them automatically no matter the background. These types of things, just like what you talked about with the mental health thing, that's going on in the neighborhood, these kids are victims of mental health and they're self medicateing so you have kids doing exotic drugs because they're self-medicateing and that's made popular. You know, the mental health, you know, my mentor, he started off Bobby Wright on the west side, mental health facility and brought that proof of concept to Chicago state University where he directly affected the male re edge it be rate at that -- retention rate at that school. the rate increased because of the influence and the re-inforcement that he offered and that re-inforcement was based on culture. We were meeting people where they were and had where they didn't know that they were. We come from an African perspective. I'm not born in Africa, my blood line comes from Africa. We have been spread out all across to the Caribbean, all -- the Americas, you know, even though ships were coming over long before Christopher Columbus but that's a whole other question. I say that all to say that the cultural re-inforcement is the key. Culture is the cure. MELLODY HOBSON: Prince Harry, when you hear that, you nod, you were not dodgeing bullets, not in a situation of of where the color of your skin defines your life, but you understand, you talk about the self line, you spend a lot of time listening, why do you think so many organizations get that wrong? That so many have -- not to be critical, but have that spear spear -- that superiority complex. You have seen hundreds of charities with good intentions but go in with a plan you said without asking. Why is that fundamental human connection of listening missing in some of these conversations. Why did you see it differently. Was it time in the military? Something else? PRINCE HARRY: As we said offline as well, you know, for someone in my position, you're immediately born with privilege You spend the rest of your life paying back that privilege. Also spending the rest of your life trying to earn the respect of others, but also to use that position, that platform for change. I don't think I can answer that That's -- as long as -- as far as what we're concerned, as long as we're doing what we think is right, then hopefully others will follow. It was never that you were decideing what was write right for people -- right for people, you were asking them. If you look at the various efforts you have had, which have been pretty successful, early days, but still you have seen immediate success, like Full Effect, like the Games, you went, you sought opinions first. Right? You didn't presume anything? PRINCE HARRY: True. I -- you know, for us, we put the people at the core of everything we do, the heart of everything we do is the people. the organizations, yes, fine, in the media, most of the time, all you hear is names and what so and so is wearing, that stuff. Our focus is always them. If that is showing other people how it should be done. Then that's fine. We can't control who writes what. You -- it can be frustrating when you're trying to be as positive as possible about a certain issue and trying to make the focus X, Y, Z but everybody else is more interested or concerned about something else. MELLODY HOBSON: You reconcile yourself with that, the price you pay, a positive effect it is that the organization gets coverage they would never get. So the world does end up knowing something even if there is a mis placed focus. Is that what trade-off you're willing to make PRINCE HARRY: No. I think as long as -- as long as the focus from our perspective is the people on the ground and the organizations of which we are supporting on that day, whatever they want to write about, they can write about. We'll do everything we can to make sure that the core of the issue and the charity and the name and the support thereafter is all focused around that. MELLODY HOBSON: I thought there was an interesting theme with you Al of you. Around mothers. So your mother you said had a big influence in leading you to shift? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: yes. MELLODY HOBSON: Yours high school a big influence on keep ing you on track. Your mother, start here, the people's Princess, the monicar that was given to her, why do you think she got that monicar? You know, when -- there are royals involved in service for a long time before her, she was positioned very differently. Why do you think she became the people's Princess and what did you learn from that that informs what you're doing today? PRINCE HARRY: I think she had a lot in common with everybody. Also she certainly listened. You know, very, very short space of time, she was like a vacuum going around sucking up all the information and all of the criticism and all of the issues, positives, negatives from everybody and putting her name and had platform to towards some of the biggest issues of which have never been talked about. We do, in society, we suffer from this illusion or this reality I suppose where some problems become so big that nobody wants to get involved. She was one that changed that. I will always look up to her as being, you know, my ideal role model because everything that she did and the way she did it was having an impact. It was making a difference. MELLODY HOBSON: Is that informing you and your work? PRINCE HARRY: Look, it is because of the position that we're in and the role that we play as part of the -- as part of our institution, it is -- you're in it for life. a you are not in it for four years, 8 years, you're in it for life. Therefore, anything that we can do has -- we have a bigger, longer platform than politicians , let's say. Therefore, we can't get involved in certain things, but she rewrote the rulebook. She pushed boundaryies more than ever before and she was successful. I think that all of the people -- the people she was working with, they would be incredibley grateful for her pushing the boundaryies. You know, it is no the always easy, but in today's world I think that the boundaries need to be pushed more and more. MELLODY HOBSON: You said that you're becoming mother. Are we all becoming our mothers? DAVID PETERSON: no. Not technically. CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: I am. MELLODY HOBSON: Around these mannerisms, values, you know, speeches, is that inevitable that we become our mothers, fathers, or -- DAVID PETERSON: I don't think so . I think it takes an intentional effort on the parents' side to make sure they dump those things into you. MELLODY HOBSON: Are you glad you're becoming your mother? DAVID PETERSON: absolutely. Not technically my mother. I'm glad , again, she's provideed me a proof of concept, I watched her thrive in this society as a single black female who was educateed, who went, got her PHD at 67, you know what I mean, that's strength! I can't do anything but applaud her for that. You know, so yes I'm deeply impacted and she's pushed me to the point where now I interact with the Trinidad government taken Cape Verde and all of these other communities and she's trained me in order to craft my conversations with people of this statute. It is easy. a breeze. MELLODY HOBSON: Are you the mother of the kids that you're looking after? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: no. I'm not. No. No. Not of Nottingham. That's way too much children. I don't have any myself! I like to think that I'm an auntie. I'm kind of the big auntie for some of them, someone to lean on, a friend that you can count on. I definitely am becoming my mother MELLODY HOBSON: How is that manifesting itself? CHANTELLE STEFANOVIC: it is funny, my mum would say that I empower her and she empowers me . We're both very similar. We're best friends. We just moan at each other constantly and I hear myself I say my God! I sound like my mum. We people power and push each over. . MELLODY HOBSON: Ladies and gentlemen, Chantelle Stevanovic, David Peterson and Prince Harry Thank you very much! Buses will begin departing for dinner in 15 minutes. Please head down to the hotel lobby.
