Inside the 2011 Ambassador Andrew Young Lecture Series
May 03, 2011
06:48 PM EDT
Last week, the Africa Society of The National Summit on Africa, in partnership with the Embassy of Ghana, hosted me and Michael Blake as the featured speakers for the second installment of the 2011 Ambassador Andrew Young Lecture Series entitled, “Youth, The Vanguard for Change.” In view of the political activism of young people that is taking place on the African continent and around the world, the event focused on the power of youth to influence positive change both here in the United States and abroad.
The event began with the remarks from His Excellency Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Ambassador of Ghana to the United States, and Bernadette Paolo, President & CEO of the Africa Society. Michael and I were then introduced by student leaders from the School Without Walls. We spoke before an audience comprised of government officials, students, non-governmental organizations, and members of the diplomatic corps.
My remarks focused on the power of youth, particularly those in other countries, to lead their countries into new directions of prosperity and democracy. I acknowledged the contributions of young people in the recent political revolutions occurring in North Africa and the Middle East. As President Obama discussed in his July 2009 speech to Ghana's parliament, it is now up to the younger generations to help realize the vision of a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous future in their respective countries.
I also discussed this theme in the context of the President’s Young African Leaders Forum (YALF), which was held in the East Room of the White House in August 2010. At this Forum, the President reiterated that it will be the young people, brimming with talent and energy and hope, who can claim the future that so many in previous generations never found.
This lecture was significant inasmuch as it brought together established and budding leaders of all ages, and encouraged them to harness to forge new paths of national growth and innovation. It is especially timely because youth populations are at the center of this change that is significantly altering the trajectory and landscape of this country and the world.
If the talented youth that we met during this event are any reflection of the potential of youth globally, then I am hopeful about what our world can become. I am hopeful that these high school students and young scholars would be the leaders to solve some of the most complex challenges facing the United States and countries world-wide.