First Lady Michelle Obama to Travel to Liberia and Morocco

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the First Lady
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2016

First Lady Michelle Obama to Travel to the Republic of Liberia, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Spain for Let Girls Learn

As part of the Let Girls Learn initiative, the First Lady will make stops outside Monrovia and in Marrakech to highlight the US Government’s work to help adolescent girls go to school and stay in school; in Madrid, the First Lady will speak to girls and young women about the power of education and urge them to do their part to help girls worldwide fulfill their promise.

As part of Let Girls Learn, the First Lady – joined by Malia and Sasha Obama and Mrs. Marian Robinson – will visit Margibi County, Liberia; Marrakech, Morocco; and Madrid, Spain from June 27- July 1, 2016. The First Lady and her family will return to Washington, D.C. on July 1.

In Liberia, the First Lady will visit a Peace Corps Training Facility in Kakata, where she will meet with girls and young women participating in a GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Camp. Her visit will highlight both the Peace Corps’ work to help girls in underserved communities build self-confidence, communication, and other leadership skills and new programming from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) aimed at improving access to quality education and life skills for adolescent girls across Liberia.

Also in Liberia, the First Lady will visit a school in Unification Town for a discussion with adolescent girls who have faced serious obstacles in attaining an education. This discussion will be moderated by actress Freida Pinto, an advocate for girls’ education. The conversation will highlight both the educational barriers girls face as Liberia moves beyond the Ebola epidemic, and the U.S.
Government’s efforts to continue to address those barriers and provide adolescent girls with equitable access to safe and quality education. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will join Mrs. Obama during her visit. The First Lady’s events in Liberia will take place on June 27.

In Morocco, the First Lady—joined by Meryl Streep, also an advocate for girls’ education, and Freida Pinto—will participate in a conversation with adolescent girls moderated by CNN’s Isha Sesay. In the discussion, participants will discuss the challenges many girls in the region face in getting a quality education. The First Lady’s visit will also highlight commitments made by the U.S. Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation and USAID in partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco to help adolescent girls in Morocco go to school and stay in school. The First Lady will be in Morocco on June 28 and 29.

In Madrid, the First Lady will deliver a speech on Let Girls Learn to girls and young women, sharing the stories of girls she has met in Liberia and Morocco – and her prior travels – and highlighting new commitments to support Let Girls Learn. Mrs. Obama will encourage the audience to value their own educational opportunities, continue to strive for progress for girls and young women in their country, and take action to help the more than 62 million girls around the world who are out of school. This event will take place on June 30. While in Spain, the First Lady will also meet with Her Majesty Queen Letizia.