(applause)
Mrs. Obama: Thank
you so much.
(applause)
Oh,
warm welcome indeed.
Well, hello, everyone.
I want to thank Dr.
Ogden for that wonderful
introduction and for her
outstanding leadership at
this school.
I also want to thank all of
the teachers, the staff who
create such an amazing
environment for these
young women.
This is truly a model, and
it's been a privilege to
spend time here.
I also want to thank
Secretary Greening for her
poignant remarks.
And I also want to recognize
your Secretary of State for
Education, Nicky Morgan,
who participated in the
roundtable with me earlier
today, as well as -- to our
American Ambassador to the
United Kingdom, Matthew
Barzun, who is here.
Thank you so much,
Matt, for all you do.
It's such a pleasure to
arrive here in the United
Kingdom as the world
celebrated the 800th Magna
Carta anniversary, and the
impact that document has
made on not just your
country, but on my country
and all across the globe.
But before I begin, I want
to say a special hello to
everyone who I know is
watching this event online
and on TV all
around the world.
I want to thank everybody
out there for joining us and
for paying careful attention
to this important issue.
And finally, most
importantly, I want to thank
all of the students here
-- the smart, powerful,
creative, accomplished young
women of Mulberry School for Girls.
You all are beautiful.
And your welcome
was touching.
(applause)
And I'm not just
talking about the girls here
in the room.
I also know -- I'm sending
my love out to all of the
girls watching from the
Sports Hall -- hey.
(laughter)
We love you.
Now, I imagine that some
of you might be wondering,
well, why would the First
Lady of the United States
come here to Tower Hamlets?
Why would she choose this
community and this school
when she could be anywhere
in this city or in this
entire country?
And the answer is simple:
I'm here because of you.
I'm here because girls like
you inspire me and impress
me every single day.
I am so proud of your
passion, your diligence; as
Dr. Ogden said, your
grit, your determination.
And I am beyond thrilled
that you are working so hard
to complete your education.
It is so important.
And I'm here because when
I look out at all of these
young women, I see myself.
I may come from a country
that's an ocean away, but --
I'm a bit older
than you all.
(laughter)
Yes, I am.
I know I don't look it.
(laughter)
But I'm
just a little older.
But in so many ways,
your story is my story.
For those of you who may
not know much about my
background, I grew up in a
working-class neighborhood
on the South Side of Chicago
-- a neighborhood a lot like
this one, where people work
hard to make ends meet, but
where families are
tight-knit with strong values.
My dad worked as a pump
operator at the city water
plant, and my mom stayed
home to take care of me and
my big brother Craig.
We lived in a really
small apartment.
And my brother and I shared
a bedroom that was divided
in half by a wooden
partition, giving us each
our own little, tiny rooms
that fit just a twin bed and
a small desk.
So we didn't have much
space, but we had a whole
lot of love.
And, perhaps like a lot of
you, we grew up surrounded
by our extended family.
I had grandparents, aunts
and uncles and cousins
living just blocks away from
my family's apartment, and
my great aunt and uncle
actually lived one floor
below in the same
apartment house.
So our home was often busy
with family coming and going.
And because our apartment
was so small, there wasn't
much privacy.
I can remember how hard it
was to concentrate on my
homework because someone was
always talking or watching
TV right next to you.
I often woke up at 4:00 in
the morning when the house
was finally quiet just so
that I could concentrate on
and finish my schoolwork.
I remember just dreaming of
having a space of my own,
away from all the family
obligations that were always
popping up.
As my great aunt and uncle
grew older, my parents took
charge of caring for them.
My dad would help my uncle
shave and get dressed each
morning, and my mom would
dash downstairs in the
middle of the night to make
sure that my aunt was okay.
So we constantly felt the
struggle to balance our
family responsibilities
and the schoolwork, the
activities, and the goals
that we had for ourselves.
And through it all, my
parents fully expected us to
do both -- to achieve our
dreams, and be there for
our family.
And they also knew that
a good education was the
ultimate key to our success.
My parents told me every day
I could do anything -- I
could grow up to be a
doctor, a lawyer, a
scientist, whatever -- but
only if I worked as hard as
I could to
succeed in school.
I imagine that many of you
have parents who give you
the exact same advice.
And like you, I didn't want
to let my parents down.
So I worked hard in school.
I read everything I
could get my hands on.
I did my absolute very best
on every single assignment.
I did everything in my
power to be a good student.
I dreamed of one day
going to one of the best
universities in America.
But despite my efforts,
there were still people in
my life who told me that I
was setting my sights too
high; that a girl like me
couldn't get into an
elite university.
It was like these folks were
trying to put me in a little
box -- a box that fit their
constrained expectations of me.
And after a while, I started
to wonder, well, maybe I was
dreaming too big.
What if these
folks were right?
See, back then, I didn't
know what my future held.
I didn't know that I'd
be accepted to a top university.
I didn't know that I'd go
on to get a law degree and
become an NGO director, and
a hospital executive, and,
eventually, First Lady
of the United States.
Those kinds of achievements
seemed totally out of reach
when I was your age.
I was just a working-class
kid from a good community
with limited resources.
Neither of my parents
and hardly anyone in my
neighborhood went
to university.
And I wasn't even sure if
my family could
afford the tuition.
I didn't have anyone to help
me study for entrance exams.
And the fact that I was a
girl and that I was black --
well, that certainly didn't
help things, either.
When I was growing up, there
were very few black women at
high levels in business, or
politics, or science, on TV,
so I didn't have many
professional role models to
look up to.
And I have a feeling that
my experience might feel
similar or familiar
to some of you.
Maybe you look at the
leaders in your businesses
and laboratories and
government and wonder
whether there's a place
for someone like you.
Maybe you've heard about the
kinds of tutors and prep
courses and other advantages
that wealthier students can
afford, and you wonder how
you ever will compete.
Maybe you feel like no one's
paying attention to you,
like you're lost in the
shuffle at home or in this
huge city, and you wonder
whether it's worth it to
even aspire to be
something great.
And maybe you read the news
and hear what folks are
saying about your religion,
and you wonder if people
will ever see beyond your
headscarf to who you really
are -- instead of being
blinded by the fears and
misperceptions in
their own minds.
And I know how painful and
how frustrating all of that
can be.
I know how angry and
exhausted it can make you feel.
But here's the thing --
with an education from this
amazing school, you all have
everything -- everything --
you need to rise above all
of the noise and fulfill
every last one
of your dreams.
And it is so important that
you do that, not just for
yourselves, but
for all of us.
Because you all have
a unique perspective.
You have a unique voice to
add to the conversation.
You know what it's like when
a family struggles to make
ends meet.
You know what it's like
to be overlooked and
underestimated because of
who you are or what you
believe in or where
you come from.
And the world needs more
girls like you growing up to
lead our parliaments and
our board rooms and our
courtrooms and
our universities.
We need you.
We need people like you
tackling the pressing
problems we face -- climate
change and poverty, violent
extremism, disease.
And while all of that might
sound a little daunting, I
just want you to remember
that you don't have to do
this alone.
There are millions of people
like me and my husband,
Dr. Ogden, and so many
leaders here in the United
Kingdom and all around the
world who are standing with you.
We are doing everything
we can to break down the
barriers that
stand in your way.
We want to make sure that
every door is open to girls
like you, and not just here
in England, not just in
America, but in every
corner of the globe.
And that starts with making
sure that every girl on this
planet has the kinds of
opportunities you all have
to get the education
and to succeed.
As you've heard, right now
there are more than 62
million girls around the
world who are not in school
-- girls whose families
don't think they're worthy
of an education, or
they can't afford it.
Girls who live too far away
from the nearest school and
have no transportation.
Girls like Malala Yousafzai
who are assaulted,
kidnapped, or killed just
for trying to learn.
And this isn't just a
devastating loss for these
girls, it's a devastating
loss for all of us who are
missing out on
their promise.
One of these girls could
have the potential to cure
cancer, or start a business
that transforms an industry,
or become the next president
or prime minister who
inspires her country.
But if she never sets foot
in a classroom, chances are
she will never discover or
fulfill that potential.
And that's one of the
reasons why I've traveled
here to the UK -- because
for so long, this country
has been doing such
wonderful work to support
adolescent girls' education
around the world.
We've been working hard in
the United States as well,
and earlier this year, the
United States increased our
own efforts in this area by
launching, as you heard, our
new initiative called Let
Girls Learn to help girls in
developing countries
go to school, and, more
importantly, stay in school.
And I am so thrilled that
today, our two countries are
announcing a series of new
partnerships that total
nearly $200 million to help
girls like you all of you
get the education
they deserve.
We're going to be working
together to support young
people -- particularly
adolescent girls -- in areas
affected by conflict and
crisis, like the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Our universities and
development agencies are
going to team up to research
ways to improve education
for girls.
And American Peace Corps
volunteers and the UK's
Campaign for Female
Education are going to work
together with local
communities in developing
countries to lift up
adolescent girls' education
as well.
So I am very proud of the
work that we're doing together.
And I'm especially proud
to be announcing these new
commitments here in London,
because this city was the
first stop on my very first
international trip as
First Lady.
And during my time here, I
visited with the girls from
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
School -- a school a lot
like this one -- and I know
that there are some of the
students here today
-- yes, there you go.
(laughter)
And as I stood before that
roomful of girls six years
ago, all I could think about
was how much promise they
each had inside of them, how
much passion and hope and
intelligence each of them
could bring to our world.
And in many ways, those
girls were the inspiration
for so much of my work as
First Lady -- work to give
girls like them, and like
you, and like those 62
million girls around the
world the opportunities
you deserve.
And now, today, being back
here in London, looking out
at all of your faces, I'm
once again filled with the
same feeling I
had six years ago.
I see a roomful of business
leaders and surgeons
and barristers.
I see women who are going to
win elections, and science
competitions,
and arts awards.
I see leaders who will
inspire folks not just here
in Tower Hamlets, but all
across the country and all
around the world.
That's what I see.
Because I know what's inside
of girls like you and like me.
I know how hard we'll fight
for our families, how deeply
we care about our
communities, how much of a
difference we can make
for those around us.
And I have seen it again and
again and again that what
our parents told us really
is true -- that if we get
our education, we
can do anything.
We can lift up ourselves
to heights we could
never imagine.
We can pay forward all of
the love and support that
our families have
poured into us.
And we can truly be, as Dr.
Ogden says, "builders of
a new day."
That is your work.
That's my hope for you.
So I want to thank you all
for hosting me and making me
feel so loved.
I'm so proud of you.
So now, we're going
to talk, okay?
(laughter)
You guys ready
for some conversation?
Students: Yes.
Mrs. Obama: Yes?
Are you going to -- you're
not going to be shy?
Students: No.
Mrs. Obama: All right.
(laughter)
So I'm going to
invite Dr. Ogden to join me
back on stage.
And I also want to introduce
someone to you who has been
a leader for adolescent
girls all around the globe,
and that's Ms.
Julia Gillard.
Julia is the former Prime
Minister of Australia.
And today she serves as the
Board Chair for the Global
Partnership for Education,
which means she's working
with all sorts of countries
and organizations on
strategies and solutions to
help girls like you get the
education you deserve.
She is really the
expert on this issue.
And since we're just getting
started with Let Girls
Learn, my team, we want to
learn as much from folks
like her as we can so that
we can make the biggest
impact possible.
So it's a thrill to have
her here with us today.
And with that, I'm going to
take my seat and we're going
to start answering
your questions.
How about that?
I love you all.
Thank you.
(applause)
