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The First Lady: Good morning.
I want to start by thanking my dear friend
Ambassador Russell for that very kind
introduction and for her phenomenal work as our
ambassador for global women's issues.
And while I know how disappointed Secretary
Kerry is to miss this event -- by the way, in
his busy schedule he tried to call me five times to
apologize.
(Laughter.) And finally I had to tell him, I know
why you can't make it -- (laughter) -- stop
calling, just do your job.
I know how heartbroken he is, but we all know that
he is doing vitally important work right now
in Ukraine, and we are all so grateful for his
outstanding service as our Secretary of State.
And in his absence, we are thrilled to have Deputy
Secretary Heather Higginbottom and
Dr. Vanessa Kerry.
And I also want to recognize their efforts,
and I am thrilled that they are here today.
And finally, I want to thank all of you for
joining us today for the International Women of
Courage Awards.
This is the sixth time that I've had the pleasure
of attending this event, and it is one of the
highlights of my year because I always walk away
feeling inspired by these women, determined to
reflect their courage in my own life.
And I know I'm not alone in that feeling because
every day, with every life they touch and every
spirit they raise, these women are creating ripples
that stretch across the globe.
They teach us that if a woman can fight torture
and oppression and get her name on the ballot in
Tajikistan; if she can break a glass ceiling and
advocate for equality and tolerance as a bishop in
Georgia; if she can go door to door, police
station to police station, court to court to combat
domestic and child abuse in Saudi Arabia -- if
these women can do all of that, then surely we can
summon a fraction of their bravery in our own lives
and communities -- whether that means ending wage
discrimination in the workplace, or fighting
*** violence on college campuses, or confronting
any of the small injustices that we see
every day.
That is what this day is about.
It's about understanding that while our
circumstances may be different, in so many
ways, the solutions to our struggles are the same.
So when we see these women raise their voices and
move their feet and empower others to create
change, we need to realize that each of us has that
same power and that same obligation.
And as I learned about this year's honorees, and
I thought about how we could support their work,
I realized that for most of these women, there is a
common foundation for their efforts: it's a
foundation of education.
On stage today, we have doctors and lawyers, we
have a bishop, even a classically trained
musician.
These women have spent years in schools and
universities equipping themselves with the
knowledge and skills they now use to tackle the
challenges before them.
And that's a story I can relate to because it's the
story of my life.
And that is the message I'm sharing with young
people across America, urging them to commit to
their education so that they, too, can write their
own destiny.
That's the core idea behind our White House
Leadership and Mentoring Program.
And we are so proud to have some of our mentees
here with us today.
I'm going to embarrass you all -- yes, you must stand
-- (laughter) -- so that we can see our young women
who are here today.
(applause) You know I'm always proud of you.
And it's important, as you know, for you to be at
this event to see what's happening around the
world.
So welcome.
And as I travel the world, whether I'm in Mexico City
or Johannesburg, Mumbai, or later this month when I
travel to China, I make it a priority to talk to
young people about the power of education to help
them achieve their aspirations.
I always tell them that getting a good education
isn't just about knowing what's going on in your
own community or even your own country.
Because no matter where we live, we all face so many
of the same struggles: fighting poverty, hunger,
and disease; ensuring our most basic rights and
freedoms; confronting threats like terrorism and
climate change.
And in order to solve these problems, we will
need to work with others around the world.
So our next generation will need exposure to
societies and languages and traditions that are
very different from their own.
That message of cultural exchange is the focus of
all of my international travel.
Because that connection -- the idea that a girl in
Dakar shares the same hopes and dreams as a girl
from Fiji or Ukraine or the South Side of Chicago
-- that reminds us that we're never alone in our
struggles.
And that's what must compel us to reach beyond
our own borders, whether that means getting on an
airplane, or picking up an iPad, or maybe simply
writing a letter.
There is too much work left to be done, too many
young people who can't go to school, too many
families struggling to put food on the table, too
many women and minorities who are excluded and
oppressed.
So none of us can afford to just go about our
business as usual.
We cannot just sit back and think, this is someone
else's problem.
As one of our honorees, Zimbabwe's Beatrice Mtetwa
-- as she once said about the fight for progress in
her home country, she said: "This has to be
done.
Somebody's got to do it, and why shouldn't it be
you?"
That is the courage we celebrate today -- that
willingness to not only ask that question but to
devote your soul -- your entire soul -- toward
finding an answer, that fearlessness to step
forward even though you don't know what lies
ahead, that audacity to believe that principles
like justice and equality can become a reality but
only if we're willing to sacrifice for it.
That is the courage that we all must challenge
ourselves to summon every single day in our own
families and our own communities.
And if we can do that, then we won't just be
making a difference for those closest to us, we'll
be creating a ripple effect of our own.
So I want to thank these honorees once again for
their tremendous bravery, for their efforts, for
their courage, for their work to make change in
their own lives and communities and throughout
the world.
I cannot wait to see the impact you will continue
to make in the years ahead.
God bless you all.
(applause)