(applause) Ms. Mabuse:
You guys are an amazing crowd. Good afternoon, and welcome to
the University of Johannesburg's Soweto campus. My name is Nkepile Mabuse and
I will be the moderator this afternoon. I really do hope that the strong
significance and symbolism of what is happening here in Soweto
today does not escape you. There really are no two
occasions in recent time that have had a more profound impact
on the African people than when Nelson Mandela walked out of
prison a free man in 1990, and of course, the election
of Barack Obama in 2008. Now, these two men are
politicians and their legacies will be judged by history. But there's absolutely no doubt
that these two developments in history have had a profound
impact on the African continent. They have brought
hope in Africa, and also began the process of
restoring pride and dignity in the African people. Now, as I speak to you
and as you all know, President Nelson Mandela
is lying in hospital, critically ill. The euphoria that engulfed this
continent when President Obama was elected is fading, but in
this room -- look around you -- is Africa's brand new hope. These young people are doing
amazing things in their communities. They have already been
identified as leaders, and leaders who are committed
to serving others and not themselves. Exactly 37 years ago this month,
young school children here in Soweto braved Apartheid
bullets, fighting for freedom. It's no coincidence that a new
generation of young people is here today. And like the '76 generation,
they refuse to conform, but are inspired to
transform their world. When President Obama launched
the Young African Leaders Initiative in 2010, he described
them as the Africa that is overlooked. Well, at this moment the
world can see and hear you. President Obama will come here,
address you and then engage you. We will take a question here in
South Africa before we cross to Kenya, Uganda and
then Lagos, Nigeria. When the President selects
you, please, be proud. Introduce yourselves and ask a
short, sharp, smart question. (laughter) As a fellow African,
I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for
keeping hope alive in Africa. Please join me in welcoming
onstage the 44th President of the United States of
America, Barack Obama. (applause) The President:
Hello, everybody! (applause) Yebo Mzansi! (applause) Oh, it is wonderful
to be back in South Africa. Everybody have a seat,
everybody have a seat. Relax. Yes, I'm excited, too. (applause) It is wonderful
to be here with all these extraordinary young people --
young people from across this magnificent country, but also
from all across the continent. And I want to give special
thanks and special welcome to those who are watching from
Nigeria and Uganda and Kenya, a country obviously
very close to my heart. When I travel around the world,
this is one of my favorite things to do -- meeting and
talking with young men and women like you. And our format today, this town
hall is a longstanding tradition in America, and I get
asked all sorts of things. I remember one event, a person
asked a question that's often on a lot of people's minds when
I show up: Where's Michelle? (laughter) Sometimes
people ask me, you seem to have gotten so
old since you were elected -- (laughter) -- what happened? (laughs) So this format can
be a little humbling, but it energizes me because it
gives me a chance to hear from you directly what you're
thinking, what you care about, what your vision is. And I'm making this trip to
Africa because I believe this is a region on the move. Even as this continent faces
great challenges -- and they are great, and we can't paper over
them or pretend that those challenges don't exist -- even
as too many Africans still endure tremendous hardship and
great injustice, there is, as the song says -- a "new
Africa" -- more prosperous, more confident, taking its
place on the world stage. And one of the reasons is
because of your generation. And it's fitting that we've
gathered here, in Jo'burg, in Soweto, because here we
learned that history is in our hands. Not far from here,
in Orlando West, two young men came of age who
would transform this nation and inspire the world -- Nelson
Mandela and Desmond Tutu. And President Mandela once said
that during all those years in that cell, it was his home
here in Soweto -- that small red-brick house -- that was what
he called the "center point of my world." And obviously he's
on our minds today, and we join the people of the
world in sending our prayers to Madiba and his family because
he still inspires us all. Now, not far from here,
on a June morning, young students gathered in
peaceful protest for the right to be taught in
their own language, for the right to be
treated like human beings. And after all the
police bullets, after the smoke cleared, the
world was shocked by that image -- protesters holding
the body of a young boy, Hector Pieterson. And what a powerful tribute
it is to Hector's sacrifice, and to all who struggled, that
we can gather here today in a free South Africa at a
university that serves all South Africans. And I know the story of Soweto
inspires you in your lives, but keep in mind it
inspired me, too. The uprising here helped open my
mind to a broader world and to our responsibilities to choose
between fairness and injustice, between right and wrong. And as a Senator, during my
first visit to South Africa, I was able to go to Hector
Pieterson's memorial and pay tribute to an African
boy who moved the world. And humbled by the sacrifices of
all who have gone before us so that we can stand here
as free men and women, I am honored to return to Soweto
now as President of the United States of America. (applause) Now, tomorrow I'll
be down in Cape Town at the University of Cape Town, and
I'll speak about the future that we can build together --
Africans and Americans. And that's where Robert Kennedy
delivered his eloquent address to another generation
of young people. The challenges of
our world, he said, demand "the qualities of
youth; not a time in life, but a state of mind,
a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination,
a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for
adventure over the love of ease." That's what young people are. That's the spirit of
youth, and it's still true. That's why three years ago, I
launched a new effort to make sure we're tapping those
qualities of youth -- the imagination, the
courage, the "yes, we can" attitude of
young Africans like you. It's our Young African
Leaders Initiative, and I kicked it off by welcoming
young men and women from across Africa to the White House, and
we had a town hall similar to this one. I think some of you
were there, in fact. And since then, we've helped
empower young people across this continent with new skills and
entrepreneurship and leadership, and new partnerships in
education and health and technology. Michelle came here to Soweto
for a forum with some inspiring young women, and she's here
today in Jozi meeting with students who -- (laughter)
-- did I say that wrong? (applause) -- meeting with students who, like you, are going to determine the
future of your countries. So today, I'm proud to announce
a significant expansion of this initiative. We're launching a new program
that's going to give thousands of promising young Africans like
you the opportunity to come to the United States and develop
your skills at some of our best colleges and universities. (applause) It's called the
Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, and I hope
all of you apply because we're joining with our top schools
-- public and private. We'll focus on civic leadership
and public administration and business and entrepreneurship,
the skills you need to serve your communities and start
and grow businesses and run effective ministries. And you'll interact with
Americans from all walks of life, because our citizens --
especially our young people -- can learn from you, too. You'll meet with leaders in
business and nonprofits and government, including me. And I look forward to welcoming
you at a summit that I'll host in Washington, because I want to
hear directly from you -- your hopes, your dreams, what
we can achieve together. And your time in America
will be just the beginning. When you come back home, new
grants will help you turn your ideas into new businesses
and new non-profits. And we're going to partner with
American companies here in Africa to provide internships
and mentoring and job opportunities to help you grow
into the next generation of business leaders. We're going to partner with
your governments and regional organizations here in Africa and
foundations and civil society to amplify your voices as you stand
up for democracy and equality. And with the connections you
make as a Washington Fellow, you'll have something else
for the rest of your life, and that is a network of
Africans and Americans ready to collaborate on the future
that you want to build. So this won't be the most
expensive program that we have, but I actually believe this is
going to end up being one of the most important. And it's important
to me personally, because it's a great way for me
to show my faith and confidence in all of you. I believe in you, and I intend
to make this a lasting part of our engagement with Africa
beyond my presidency, for years to come. We want to empower entrepreneurs
like Fred Swaniker. Where's Fred? He's from Ghana. (applause) Where is he? (applause) There he is. (applause) So Fred has got a
fan club over here. (laughter and applause) Fred helped to start a biotech company, and now uses his expertise to help other young Africans develop their leadership skills so that they can come back and put those skills to use serving their communities, starting businesses, creating jobs. So thank you, Fred, for the
great work that you're doing. (applause) We want to empower
citizens like Khadija Patel. Where's Khadija? Khadija? (applause) So Khadija is a
fearless journalist here in South Africa. She's reported on
Sudan, and Mali, and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. (applause) She's exposed
the roots of conflict, she's challenged leaders as a
voice for peace and justice. So we're very proud of the
work that you do, Khadija. Thank you. (applause) We want to empower
advocates like Jacob Jabari. Where's Jacob? Right here. (applause) So here
in South Africa, Jacob decided he was not going
to hide the fact that he was HIV positive; he embraced it,
he became a counselor. He helps guide others, because
he says the key to saving lives and slowing the spread of
AIDS is an honest approach, and that takes great courage. Thank you, Jacob. (applause) And we want to empower women like Lebo Bogapane. Lebo? (applause) Growing up, Lebo
endured domestic abuse and violence, which led to
homelessness and hunger. Over many years, she didn't
simply rebuild her own life, she built a crisis center here
in South Africa that's helped thousands of women and
children escape abuse as well. What a great legacy. Thank you, Lebo. (applause) So building
the future that you seek, realizing the vision
that you have, not just for your own countries
but for the world -- it will not be easy. It will not be easy. But as you go forward, I want
you to think of the man who's in our prayers today. Think about 27 years in prison. Think about the hardships and
the struggles and being away from family and friends. Reflecting on his
years in prison, Nelson Mandela wrote that there
were dark moments that tested his faith in humanity,
but he refused to give up. And he said, "I am
fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature
or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is
keeping one's head pointed towards the sun, one's
feet moving forward." So in your lives, there will
be time to test your faith. But no matter how old you grow,
I say to all of you today, don't lose those qualities of
youth -- your imagination, your optimism, your idealism. Because the future of this
continent is in your hands, and if you keep your head
pointed towards the sun and you keep your feet moving forward, I
promise you will have no better friend and partner than the
United States of America. Thank you
very much, everybody. Thank you. (applause) So now I get to do what
I really want to do, which is to hear from you. So why don't we open
it up for questions. And I understand that we've got
somebody from South Africa here perhaps. Ms. Mabuse:
Yes, the plan is
to get somebody here in Soweto before we move across to
other parts of the continent. The President:
Okay. Ms. Mabuse:
The choice is yours, Mr. President. The President:
Well, this
is a good-looking group. Let me -- (laughter) -- I'm
going to call on this young lady right here. Introduce yourself. Audience Member:
Good afternoon,
President Obama. My name is Melissa (ph). I'm an attorney, and I'm
passionate about telecoms in Africa. My question is: The African
Growth and Opportunities Act, the term expires in 2015, and I
understand there's a bill which provides for an
extension to 2019. Do you think this
bill will be passed? And if it isn't passed, what do
you think the impact will be on small states in Africa
that are benefiting, such as Lesotho and Togo? The President:
Well, it's a great question. (applause) By the way, what
kind of law are you practicing? Audience Member:
Oh, right now I actually do
cross-border African work. The President:
Excellent. Audience Member:
Yes, (inaudible) work. The President:
Fantastic. Well, for those of you who
are not as familiar with it, the program we call AGOA is
basically a trade arrangement that allows probably 95 percent
of goods from Africa to come into the United States
without tariffs, duty-free. And, as a consequence, it
obviously gives African exports a greater advantage. And the whole idea
is that historically, if you look at the relationship
between Africa and the rest of the global market, dating
back to colonial days, the idea was somehow that raw
materials get sent somewhere else, they got produced
somewhere or refined somewhere else; sometimes they're sold
back to Africa, but the jobs, the value, the profits
are all someplace else. And we graduated from those
colonial times to the idea of aid, which continues to
be critically important. There are parts of Africa
that -- where, right now, people just need food, or right
now people just need medicine, and it is the obligation of
wealthier nations to help deliver that food
or that medicine. But everywhere I go in Africa,
what's very clear is people want to break out of a
dependency trap. The idea is not that Africa
somehow should be the ward of some other country. What we need is an Africa that
is building, manufacturing, creating value, inventing, and
then sending those products around the world and receiving
products in return in fair terms of trade. And if we do that, then there's
no reason why Africa cannot succeed. So part of what I'm trying to
highlight during this trip is the enormous opportunities for
an Africa that is intimately integrated into
the world market. I want small and medium-sized
businesses and entrepreneurs and startups here in Africa to see
their potential not just in the local market, but to be able
to sell goods and service all around the world and to bring
those profits back to Africa and reinvest in Africa
and hire Africans. And so as part of that, we want
to make sure that the United States is a critical
trading partner. And, by the way, we're not
doing it out of charity. We're doing it because
if Africa is doing well, then now we've got a market of
people who want to buy more iPads and -- (laughter) --
Boeing airplanes and all the good stuff that we sell, right? And Africa, by the way,
is the youngest continent, which means that demographically
this is going to be a larger and larger share of
the world market. So specifically,
in terms of AGOA, you're right -- the current
AGOA structure expires in 2015. It is my hope that
we get it renewed. Now, what I mentioned to
President Zuma today, and I said this at
a press conference, is that we will have to engage
in some negotiations to find ways to both improve what
we're currently doing, but also to reflect on the fact
that South Africa is becoming more and more
successful, and that U.S. businesses -- in order for me to
get it through Congress in the United States, U.S. businesses have to feel as if they're getting a level playing field relative to, for example, some of the European companies who are able to operate here -- because there's a free trade agreement between Europe and the United States. But I'm confident that
with good negotiations, that we should be
able to get it done. The broader point I
want to make, though, is that the future is going to
be in creating value here in Africa and making sure then that
Southeast Asia and China and Turkey, and all these other
places around the world that everybody is starting to see
the benefits of global trade patterns. And Africa cannot just be a
source of raw materials for somebody else. It has to be a source of the
kinds of products and services and imagination that is going
to be the future of the 21st century. Thank you. (applause) Ms. Mabuse:
We have a young person in Kenya who has a question for you. Kenya, you ready? There we go. Kenya Moderator:
Thank you, South Africa. You are watching us, broadcasted
to you live from Nairobi here in Kenya's capital. And indeed I'm joined by eight
young Kenyans who have come in from five different counties
within the country, quite excited. I think I speak for all of them
when I say that indeed it's an honor to be able to engage
with you, Mr. President, while directly
during this program. And I'll just get right to it
and give an opportunity for one of the Kenyans who is with
me here to be able to ask a question to you, Mr. President. Margaret (ph), you
have the floor now. Audience Member:
Thank you, Katherine (ph). Jambo, Barack Obama, President. We are honored to be with you
live today this afternoon from Nairobi, Kenya. Our question to you really is,
given the recent shift of trade ties of Kenya to the East, how
does this impact on American foreign policy towards Kenya? And does the ICC indictment of
our President and his deputy prevent the U.S. from engaging with Kenya both
politically and economically? In addition, Mr. President, many
Kenyan youth would like to know what are your thoughts and
plans on youth empowerment that involve structure of
governance to Kenya? Thank you. Kenya Moderator:
Now, Mr. President, as you prepare to
respond to that question, I'm sure you're alive to the
fact that there has been a lot of speculation in the Kenyan
media and also in the social media for your reasons for not
visiting Kenya on your second tour of Africa. Maybe if you recall in an
interview that you did have with this channel that is way
back on the 1st of June 2010, you did a promise that during
your tenure as President of the United States of America,
you will be touring Kenya. Well, will you still
keep your word on that? (laughter and applause) The President:
Well, Asante Sana. It's wonderful to
see all of you. (laughter) First of all, let me
just say that I'm going to be President for another
three and a half years. (laughter and applause) One of the things that you learn as President is not only do people want you to fulfill your promises, but they want you to fulfill your promises yesterday. (laughter) And part of the
reason that I wasn't able to visit Kenya this time is I've
been to Kenya multiple times and there hadn't been a sustained
visit by me in West Africa; and then South Africa, given
the importance of the work that we're doing together; Tanzania
is a country I hadn't visited before. So I was trying to spread the
wealth a little bit in terms of my visit. But what's also
true, I won't deny, is that Kenya just
had an election. I was very proud to see the
restraint in which the election was held. We did not see a repeat of the
violence that we saw in the last election. But with a new administration
that's also having to manage some of the international
issues around the ICC, I did not think it was the
optimal time for me to visit. But as I said, I'm going to --
I've got three and a half years. So if in three years and seven
months I'm not in Kenya, then you can fault me for not
following through on my promise. (laughter) You raise the issue
of whether our attitudes towards Kenya changed because of Kenya's
orientation towards trade and commerce with the East. And this was asked of me before
-- it's a general question that I get during this visit;
people saying, well, China is here a lot, and is this
what's motivating America to want to be more involved. And I want to make two points. First of all, our commitment to
Africa is based on our belief in Africa's promise
and Africa's future, and we want to be
part of that future. Second of all, I think everybody
should be involved in Africa. (applause) I want China and I
want India and I want Brazil, and I want Singapore
-- everybody, come on down -- (laughter)
-- to Africa because 6 of the 10-fastest growing economies
in the world are right here in Africa. You are seeing a
shift inside of Africa in which a commitment to democracy and
transparency is beginning to take hold. I just visited Senegal, where
President Sall has embarked on a reform agenda,
including, by the way, shortening his term from
seven years to five years, and a belief that, for example,
members who join the government need to disclose their assets
-- just basic measures that can help to root out corruption. And so when you start
seeing these changes, everybody should be excited
about wanting to do business here in Africa and doing
business with Kenya. Now, what I said during a press
conference today I want to repeat, which is I want to make
sure that as countries come to Africa, that it's
benefiting Africans. So if somebody is building
a road here in Africa, make sure they're
hiring some Africans. (applause) If there's going to
be manufacturing taking place of raw materials, locate some of
those plants here in Africa. And so I do want to make sure
that whoever you're dealing with -- and as you enter into
government and business -- whoever you're dealing with,
making sure you're getting a good deal that's benefiting the
people here and can help to spur on broad-based development. And, hopefully, that's the kind
of relationship that you'll be able to develop with the
United States of America. And that's the kind of
relationship I want Kenya to have with every
country on Earth. We're in a global economy
with a global supply chain, and I don't want Africa to
continually just be at the bottom of the supply chain. You produce the raw
materials, sold cheap, and then all the way up the
chain somebody else is making the money and creating
the jobs and the value. So part of what your
generation's challenge will be is making sure that, first of
all, you have a transparent, accountable, non-corrupt, open
government -- because economic development is not going to
happen in the absence of that kind of certainty. That's what businesses want. They don't want to have to pay
a bribe just to get phone lines installed in their business. They don't want to have to hire
somebody's cousin just to open a business. And we have to be
honest about it. In a lot of countries,
that's still the case, and that discourages investment. And then as you move
into positions of power, I want to make sure that you're
negotiating a good deal with these other countries. Now, it's got to be realistic. It's got to be based on what
assets do you bring to bear. And initially, at least in some
countries and in some regions in parts of Africa, you're
looking at a certain type of manufacturing or a certain type
of industry that may not be very capital-intensive, for example,
because there may not be as much capital initially to invest. So it may start at a smaller
scale but continually upgrading and improving the prospects for
Africa I think will require that kind of tough,
hardheaded negotiations. But I want every
country to be here. Last point on Kenya -- I already
made this for all countries -- yes, I want young people to
be involved in holding their governments accountable. Now, there is a lot of variety
here in Africa in terms of quality of governance. And I don't want to reinforce
for the American press that are here this attitude that Africa
is just one big piece of land on the map. (applause) There's
a lot of variation. Some countries are doing
great work when it comes to accountability and democracy,
and an act of civil society, and a free press, and
freedom of assembly. And some countries
are not doing as well. But what's exciting right now is
you're starting to see more and more a norm, a standard,
take hold in Africa. And young people,
I think especially, have high expectations about
how government should function, and it should function
for the public good, not for the benefit
of just a few. And people should be
able to speak their mind, and they should be able to
organize without fear of retribution. And they should be able to
cast a ballot without problem. And South Africa, I think,
has been a great model. This is one of the greatest
legacies of Nelson Mandela -- is to show that through a
commitment to the constitution and rule of law, and equal
treatment for all people, that a country can prosper
despite a tragic history. And the same should
be true in Kenya, which is why I was heartened
that the process of the last election at least did
not result in chaos. And that should be
true for every country. And President Zuma said
something important today at the press conference, and I'm going
to see what we can do to work with them. The African Union I think is
trying to create sort of a peer review system so that it's not
just the United States coming in and lecturing some African
country that's not observing democracy; it's fellow
Africans who are saying, what are you doing? Why are you suppressing
your people? Why are you throwing
political dissidents in jail? Why are you blocking people's
ability to organize new political parties? And when peers are
organizing in that fashion, then slowly standards get raised
and new norms are established, and all of you can be at
the forefront of that. Thank you, Kenya. (applause) Ms. Mabuse:
We are going to stay in East Africa and take a question from Kampala, Uganda. The President:
Fantastic. Uganda Moderator:
Hello from Kampala in Uganda, "the pearl of Africa,"
as we are known. I am Nancy Kacungira, a news
presenter with NTV Uganda. And Uganda is a very youthful
nation -- more than half of our population is actually
under the age of 15. I'm here today with a group
of vibrant and dynamic young people. And as you can see, they are
very excited to be addressing President Obama today and
asking him a question. Now, I've had the chance to
interact with the young people here today, and they're all
great young leaders in their own right. And they all have different
backgrounds and different experiences, but I've found that
one of the things they do have in common is their passion --
their passion for a better Uganda and for a better Africa. Mr. President, one of them is
now going to ask you a question on behalf of the
rest of the group. Audience Member:
Hello, Mr. President. It's an honor. My name is Eirene Ikomon (ph). My question comes on behalf of
everyone seated here with me. Unfortunately, it's
also regarding trade. Mr. President, as
young Ugandan leaders, we are looking to the world for
equal business partners and commitments, and
not necessarily aid. We are not looking for donors. And yet, Mr. President, the
policy you have just described right now seems to emphasize
help coming in from the U.S. but emphasizing offering jobs
and employment within the countries that they come into. As young leaders, Mr. President,
we want to do the businesses at home and be the ones
to own our own markets. So how do you, Mr. President,
plan on assisting us in reaffirming the U.S. policy to achieve this vision? (applause) The President:
Well, with respect to U.S. policy, I think you mischaracterize it, because our policy is to see success here in Africa. Now, there's no doubt that U.S. businesses also want to sell into Africa, because as President of the United States, I want to create some
jobs in Africa as well. But my attitude is that the more
successful African entrepreneurs are, then the more they're going
to be purchasing and interested in purchasing U.S. goods. And, conversely, when the
economy in the United States is doing strong, then we're going
to buy more from Africa, and everybody's standards
of living can rise. But as you heard me say earlier,
I completely agree with you that we want more investment and
value creation here in Africa. Now, one thing we
haven't spoken about, which I think is critical,
is intra-African trade. All too often, it's easier to
export, say, tea and coffee, from East Africa or flowers from
East Africa to Europe than it is to export it someplace
else in Africa. And part of that is the
legacy of colonialism, an orientation out of Africa
rather than internal to Africa. Part of it is a lack of basic
infrastructure -- so port facilities, trains, rail, roads. So one of the things that we're
going to be very interested in is working with the African
Union as well as various regional organizations to find
ways that we can start linking up markets inside of Africa,
because particularly for new businesses -- if you're starting
a business here in South Africa, then the best chance you have
initially for export might be closer to home, one of the
surrounding countries. If Uganda -- if you have a
business that you want to get started, and initially you've
gotten your product popular inside of Uganda, the next step
before you think about selling to the United States, you
might say to yourself, let me start selling
some in Kenya, or let me start selling
in Tanzania, or Rwanda. And so part of what we have to
do is to find additional ways in which Africans can also
trade with each other. The last point I will make --
because it's related to trade and capacity-building -- I just
came, as I said, from Senegal. And one of the things that we
were featuring was our Feed the Future program and a Food
Security Alliance that we're creating here in Africa. And we've already gotten
nine countries to join, and Senegal just determined that
it was going to join as well. But we've already helped 7
million small farmers in Africa to pool their resources,
access lower credit, link themselves together as one
producer group so that they can market and sell
more effectively. And we've seen those farmers
increase their yields and their sales by 10, 20, 30, in some
cases, 50 or 100 percent. I met with a young woman farmer
who had started off with one hectare, now has 16. She has been able to achieve
enough growth that she has now bought a tractor. She's hired eight people. Now, that's not what we
ordinarily think of as business or entrepreneurship, but if
you think about the number of Africans who are involved in
agriculture and giving them the tools where suddenly they're
getting better prices for their crops, they've got
access to a marketplace, they now are getting enough
credit to be able to mechanize their operations, and now
suddenly they're able to hire some people in their
surrounding villages, you've just suddenly seen
a small business grow. And the next step may be then
they start doing some small food processing. And next thing you know, now
they're suddenly supplying these processed foods to a school. And next thing you know, they're
supplying those processed foods to the whole country. And so not every business
is going to be an Internet business, an app --
(laughter) -- I mean, I know that's what young people
are all about -- I'm just going to create an app, I'm
the next Facebook. That's great, and I hope
some of you do that, but when we think of development
of Africa as a whole, especially if we're thinking
about broad-based development, then part of what we have to
recognize is that a huge number of people inside of Africa
are still in the agricultural sector, and the work that we're
doing is trying to create capacity for those small farmers
who are essentially small entrepreneurs to be successful
-- because if they've got more money in their pockets, now they
can afford to buy your app. So thank you very much
for the question, Uganda. Appreciate it. (applause) Ms. Mabuse:
Mr. President, we're moving over
to West Africa now, and we're going to take a
question from Lagos, Nigeria. Nigeria Moderator:
Well, welcome, Mr. President, to Lagos, Nigeria, home to perhaps Africa's biggest youth population. I'm Maupe Ogun for
Channels Television here. And here with me in the studio
are a selection of some of Nigeria's brightest and
best, and I must tell you, Mr. President,
they're mostly women, so you better be
careful around them. (laughter) And they say they're
on the march and they have their question ready. Over now to Aisha (ph). Audience Member:
Good afternoon, Mr. President. My name is Aisha Myna (ph), and
I represent seven other people here. In acknowledging our challenges
and our responsibility as the young leaders of Nigeria to
accept our challenges and make the difference, we would like to
thank you for your support to Nigeria and Africa as a whole. The largest resource in
Nigeria is our human capital, and we would like to ask
a two-pronged question. The first is, how can the United
States deepen its investment in deploying technology that will
develop our vast human capital as well as the
education of her youth? My second question --
it's two-pronged, sorry, Mr. President -- considering how
long the war on terror has been on for, would you say that we're
winning the war on terror, seeing that there are new
terrorist groups developing in Africa, one of
which is in Nigeria? Thank you. The President:
Well, those are both great questions. Thank you. (applause) And before
I answer the question, I just want to be clear: I am
surrounded by opinionated women in my house all day long --
(laughter) -- so I've got good practice dealing
with strong women. You guys haven't met Michelle,
but you've probably seen her on TV. She's not shy. (laughter) And Malia and Sasha,
they're just taking right up after her. So every night at
dinner I'm surrounded. In terms of human
capital and young people, I think there is no doubt that
the most important investment any country can make -- not
just an African country -- any country can make is educating
its youth and providing them the skills they need to compete in
a highly technological advanced world economy -- countries that
do not do that well will not succeed. Countries that excel at training
their young people are going to succeed, because these days
businesses can go anywhere. And one of the key criteria
for any business is, where can I find
outstanding workers? Where can I find outstanding
people to manage a plant or manage my sales force? And if you have countries with
high illiteracy rates or limited skills, you're going
to have problems. And I want to be clear that
this is a problem in the United States, not just a
problem in Africa. One of the main things that I'm
spending a lot of time on is trying to push Congress to
improve our early childhood education, because it turns
out that children are most susceptible to learning between
the ages of zero and three. And so working with parents,
particularly mothers, around reading to their
children, proper nutrition, stimulating activities. Then, when they get to school,
making sure that our schools are prepared and redesigned for
today -- because a lot of the schools in the United States
were first created during the agricultural era and aren't
always appropriate for what's required today. And then on into what we
call community colleges, which are two-year colleges
or four-year colleges and universities. Somebody should have told my
helicopter to quiet down while I'm talking. (laughter) So across the
board, we're having to rethink education and
workforce training. And one of the things that we
want to do is to partner with a country like Nigeria and
identify ways that we can provide direct value added --
whether it's in helping to train teachers, helping to incorporate
technologies into the education process. So, for example, one of the
things that you hear across the continent is, because a lot of
Africans still live in rural areas, it may be difficult for
them to access education and schooling once they get
beyond a certain level. Well, are there ways in which
we can pipe in, essentially, a university into
a rural community? And suddenly, you've got
the lecturer right there, without the same costs or
obligation for a young person to take on when they go to travel far away from home in order to study. And so I think that there are
some excellent ideas that sometimes we're doing
country by country, depending on the country. But this is an area where I
would love to get more input from young people in terms of
what they think would work. And so part of the Young African
Leaders Initiative may be to elicit additional ideas from
those -- particularly those who may be working in education and
have a sense of what are the barriers right now for young
people in order to succeed. Now, with respect to the
so-called war on terror, there's no doubt that we've made
some progress in dealing with some extremist groups
-- for example, core al Qaeda and bin Laden,
that was based in the FATA area between Pakistan and Afghanistan
-- that they have been greatly diminished. But what is also true
is that in some ways, the problem has metastasized. You have more regional
terrorist organizations, like a Boko Haram in Nigeria,
espousing an extremist ideology, showing no regard
for human life. And although they may not have
the same transnational capacity that some of the earlier
organizations did, they're doing great harm in
Africa and in the Middle East and in South Asia. People always talk about the
terrorist threat to the United States or the West, but the
truth of the matter is, is that the number of people who
are killed by terrorist attacks in African countries,
or in Muslim countries, or in South Asia, far outstrips
any deaths that are experienced by westerners. It's typically people right
there where these organizations are based that are most
likely to be killed. When the Kenya Embassy
bombing happened, the overwhelming majority of
people who were killed were Kenyans, not Americans. And so this is not
just a problem for us. This is a problem for everybody. Now, the question is, how
do we address this problem? It is my strong belief that
terrorism is more likely to emerge and take root where
countries are not delivering for their people and where there
are sources of conflict and underlying frustrations that
have not been adequately dealt with. The danger we have
right now, for example, in a place like Somalia is that
it's been two generations, maybe three since there was a
functioning government inside of Somalia. Now, we've started to see
actually some progress, in part because of intervention
by African nations in Somalia to clear the space, to create
the space for governance. But you look at what's happening
in Mali, for example, right now. Part of the problem is, is
that you had a weak central government and democratic
institutions that weren't reaching out as far into the
country as were necessary, and we've got to build
those institutions. A lot of what we talked about
in terms of responsiveness and governance and democracy, those
things become defense mechanisms against terrorism. They're the most important
defense against terrorism. So I don't start with the
attitude of a military solution to these problems. I think the more that we're
giving people opportunity, the more that we're
giving people education, the more that we're helping
resolve conflicts through regular democratic processes,
the less likely they are to take root. Now, having said that, there are
some extremist groups that will not compromise or work
through a democratic process, and we have to also be
realistic about that. And what we want to do is
partner with African countries to figure out how we can help. But I promise, this notion
somehow that we want to somehow expand our military reach --
I was elected to end a war. I've ended one. I'm now in the process
of ending another one. Every few weeks, I go and visit
soldiers who are your age, who have had their legs blown
off in Afghanistan, or worse. Every week, I'm writing letters
to the families of fallen soldiers. Sometimes I go to Arlington
National Cemetery, where our heroes are buried, and
I hug those families and I feel their sobs on my shoulder. This idea somehow that we want
to get more involved militarily around the world
is simply not true. First of all, it costs a lot of
money, and the United States, just like every country
around the world, has to think about its budget. And where we intervene
oftentimes it's not very effective because unless you've
got a local population that is standing up against terrorism,
we end up being viewed as interlopers and intruders. So with -- in the
Africa context, what we want to do is to
build African capacity. We want the African Union and
other regional organizations to build up the capacity
to send in peacekeepers, to be able to nip terrorist
cells that may be forming before they start and gain strength. And we can provide advice and
training and in some cases equipment, but we would love
nothing more than for Africa, collectively, to say no to
extremism, say no to terrorism, to say no to sectarianism --
which in the case of Boko Haram, for example, is an example
of essentially a religious rationale for this kind of
violence -- and the United States to be able to step back
and worry about selling iPads and planes. That's what we would like to do. But what we won't do is just
stand by if our embassy is being attacked or our people are
in vulnerable situations. And we expect countries to work
with us to try to deal with some of these threats. And this is a global issue; it's
not just one related to the United States. Okay. All right. (applause) Ms. Mabuse:
We have time to take one last question from Soweto. The President:
If it's a really short question, I'll give a short answer and we'll get two in. (laughter) Gentleman right here, yes, go ahead. Everybody has got -- you've
got to describe why you're all wearing orange. (laughter) Audience Member:
Okay. Firstly, my name is
Han Dinkelman (ph). I'm nervous. (laughter and applause) I'm a student at UJ. I'm an honor student;
also studied education. You said education
people should stand up. (laughter) My education is -- oh, my question is we've got a lot of barriers in this country, and one of those barriers is the amount of students in our classes versus a single person. And what I find difficult is,
how does that one person stand up and control, in some cases
-- we've just come back from training -- some cases 90
to 100 kids in one class? It's difficult enough
to carry 40 in my class. How do you carry those 90 -- I
find it very difficult -- and try to make an impact
in their lives? The President:
Good. I think that's a great question. First of all, I think it's
wonderful that you're going into education. Very proud of you. (applause) No job more important
than educating our young people. This is a challenge that we have
in the United States as well, and that is the
issue of class size. Now, our problem typically is
that our class sizes are around 35 or 33, and we'd like to see
if we can get it down in the twenties. If you're talking about 90 --
(laughter) -- that's a whole other level. Now, we're -- I'm assuming
we're talking about primary and secondary education, we're not
talking about universities, because by the time you get to
university it's -- you better be focused on your studies. It's not the job of the teacher
to make you do your work and pay attention, because
you're now an adult. But when it comes
to young people, studies do show that
particularly for poorer children, the more one-on-one
attention that they can get from their teachers, the more
personalized instruction they can get, the better
they're going to do. So the first response is, if you
can budget -- if a government can budget smaller class
sizes, that's better. But not every country is going
to have the resources to do that. And one of the things that we're
starting to see in the United States is, how can you
effectively use, for example, teacher's assistants in a class,
who may not be fully certified teachers but can
break up, let's say, a class of 90 into
smaller groups. This is also where technology
can also potentially make a difference, because it's
conceivable that if you've got some sort of technology -- a
couple of laptops -- that you can leverage one teacher
into multiple instruction. The question you raise, though,
makes me want to suggest to my team when we leave here that we
start taking some of the best practices and some of the things
that we're learning in the United States and seeing if
there may be some application we can -- might be able to start
some pilot programs here in South Africa to see if we
can make an impact there. (applause) Good. All right. Last question? One more. All right. All these folks have been
so patient in the back, I don't want them
to feel neglected. So the -- this
gentleman right here, because he seems very eager. Right here. Yes, yes, you right there. (laughter) Go ahead. The -- but you guys can -- feel
free to stand together if you want, but -- (laughter) -- I'm
only going to take a question from one of you. (laughter) What's your name? Audience Member:
My name is Sydney Mukumu (ph). I'm from Limpopo. (applause) Thank you. President Obama,
I met you in 2006. I was working for the embassy. The President:
Excellent. Audience Member:
Yes. I'm very much worried about some
of United States international -- I mean foreign policy,
especially on the environment. President Obama, today I want
you to tell these young leaders about the foreign policy
of the United States on the environment. The President:
On the environment? Audience Member:
Yes, because South Africa
is facing the same problem. Whatever is happening in
America, it's affecting us. Please tell these -- this is
your children -- tell us today -- (laughter) -- The President:
Yes. Audience Member:
-- just like people who
are protesting outside, there are people who are crying, and now you must address them here -- The President:
Okay, let's go. Audience Member:
-- and tell them
outside what is happening. Make it clear, and then when you
go back you will have a safe trip. Thank you very much, President. (applause) The President:
I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. (laughter) I'll see if
I can make it clear. U.S. environmental policy is something that I care deeply about. As some of you know,
I grew up in Hawaii, one of the most beautiful
places on Earth. And as a child, I was just
taught to treasure what the Earth gives us and to make sure
that we leave it for the next generation. And obviously in a
country like South Africa, with incredible beauty
and natural resources, that same mentality about
conserving the Earth and nurturing it to pass on to
future generations, I think, applies here just as much as
it does in the United States. The biggest challenge we have
environmentally -- and it is an international challenge that we
cannot solve alone -- is the issue of climate change. There are other issues:
dirty water, dirty air. But the truth is, is that we've
made enormous progress over the last several years, over the
last several decades in the United States. And if you come to
the United States, environmental quality
is pretty good. And internationally, we've
promoted policies around how mercury is released
into the environment, and how other poisons are
released in the environment, and how businesses have to be
held to international standards in terms of worker safety. Those are areas where the
United States have been at the forefront. We've been at the
front of the line, not the back of the line when
it comes to those issues. But the existential challenge
that we face has to do with a warming planet. And your generation is the one
that's going to be the most severely affected. Now, the United States and
other highly industrialized, developed countries
over the last 50, 100 years have been pumping
up carbon emissions into the atmosphere. And slowly, this has been
building up and it is warming the planet, and we may be
reaching a tipping point in which if we do not
solve this problem soon, it will spin out of control and
change weather patterns in ways that we can't anticipate,
with drought, floods, much more severe
natural disasters. And unfortunately, in those
situations it's often poorer countries that are affected the
most by these changing climate patterns. So I just gave a speech this
past week on what the United States is going to do on our
next phase of reducing our carbon emissions. The United States actually
reduced our carbon emissions more than any other country
since I came into office. I just want to make that point. (applause) We doubled
fuel-efficiency standards on cars. We're investing in clean
energy like solar and wind. And we actually want to
share that technology, because we think that all
countries need to benefit. And part of the opportunity
for Africa is to see if we can leapfrog some of the polluting
practices of America or Europe, and go straight to the clean
energy strategies that will allow you to advance
economic growth, but not corrupt the planet. So we've made progress,
but we haven't done enough. And what I did was to say I
challenge the United States. I said we've got to do more. We're going to start regulating
our power plants more efficiently. We're going to make sure that we
redouble our efforts to reduce our carbon emissions, and we're
setting a goal to meet the agreements that we had both in
Copenhagen and in Durban for advanced countries that
have a big carbon footprint. But let me make one last point:
The United States cannot do it by itself. And the biggest emitter of
carbon right now is China. They still have a much lower
carbon footprint per person than the United States, but because
they have so many people, it's going up rapidly. And Chinese leaders
understand this. The same thing that's sending
all the carbon into the atmosphere is also making it
difficult to breathe in Beijing. So they recognize they've got to
come up with a new development model. India is going to have to come
up with new development models -- Africa. We're going to all have to work
together to find ways in which collectively, we reduce carbon
but we make sure that there's some differentiation so that
countries that are very wealthy are expected to do more, and
countries that are still developing, obviously they
shouldn't be resigned to poverty simply because the West and
Europe and America got there first. That wouldn't be fair. But everybody is going
to have to do something. Everybody is going to have to
make some important choices here. And I expect that it's going to
be your generation that helps lead this, because if we don't,
it's going to be your generation that suffers the most. Ultimately, if you think about
all the youth that everybody has mentioned here in Africa, if
everybody is raising living standards to the point where
everybody has got a car and everybody has got
air conditioning, and everybody has got
a big house, well, the planet will boil over --
unless we find new ways of producing energy. And tomorrow, or the next
day, when I visit Tanzania, I'm actually going to be going
to a power plant to focus on the need for electrification,
but the need to do it in an environmentally sound way. So let me just close by saying
this has been an unbelievable conversation. I had a lot of faith in all
of you before I came here; now I have even
more faith in you. You guys are all going
to do great things. I'll be retired by
the time you do them, and so I'll just sit back and
watch -- (laughter) -- and I'll be proud of you. But what I promise you is that
the United States government and the American people are going to
want to be your partner for the duration of your careers. And I hope all of you, again,
apply for the Young African Leaders Initiative. We want to hear from you about
how we can work even more effectively with
this great continent, because we see a
bright future ahead. I hope you've enjoyed it. Thank you, everybody. God bless you. Thank you. (applause)
