alright! ♪ >> good morning, everyone. i am kate james. chair of the vital voices board. [applause] it's a great audience. i am delighted to welcome you all officially tightly vital voices global headquarters for women's leadership. that sounds great. and i want to thank you all for coming here, for what will

be many conversations. in its incredible -- in this incredible and still evolving space. you will hear from some brilliant thinkers, courageous activists, talking about some of the world's most pressing issues. from claimant justice claimant justice, to the crises and you clean -- from claimant justice to the crisis in ukraine and afghanistan. bringing genius approaches to some of the most enduring problems, from domestic violence, to economic inequality. i am incredibly proud to have been involved with vital voices now for more than 10 years. and i was thrilled to take on the board chair. my timing might've been a little bit off.

because as you all know, the end of 2019, the world changed. this could have been a catastrophic moment for vital voices. no doubt. it could have been a stop on our programming. on our support. most importantly, on our ambition. but actually, thanks to the amazing team at vital voices it was quite the opposite. we moved forward. we increased our programmatic offering, responding to new and emerging needs. we increased our emergency funding. we forged new partnerships, in terms of crisis response. vital voices really is an extraordinary organization. this makes me incredibly proud. that the team adopted this new business model to ensure it could work during covid. also during that incredibly difficult time, they stepped back and worked on their culture. as they continue to do so, to

increase our diversity and inclusion. to set us up for success. but most importantly to make us a better organization. vital voices. this is what i love about it. is relentless and the pursuit of creating a gender equal world. we look all the time for new w ays and approaches to improve the impact and reach of our model. investing in the catalyst, the catalyst to bring about change, to bring about positive program. investing in women leaders. [applause] all of that work would not be possible without partnership. look around you today. this amazing building is proof indeed that partnership is what matters. before i handed over, i want to take a moment to thank the

incredible group of dedicated partners, who right from the get-go were brave enough to believe in the amazing vision of this organization. and provided us the support that was so needed. and also to thank many of you here today. the incredible board, further dedicated service. most of all, just for your passionate advocacy. and for the fact that you never, ever stopped believing. thank you. [applause] and i also want to acknowledge my predecessors. to thank them, susan davis, of course, the amazing my lens of your. and others, so much a part of the board. thank you. most of all, just an incredible thank you to the team of vital voices.

who are truly amazing, incredibly hard-working. endlessly cheery. a massive thank you. last but not least, i have the great pleasure to introduce our inspirational leader who will have the honor to work with week in, week out, elise is our president, co-founder, and all around superwoman. [applause] >> i have the privilege of working with this phenomenal woman. thank you. i'm going to get this party started with our very first panel. please welcome back to this stage for the very first discussion in our new global embassy for women leaders iconic

fashion designer, philanthropist diane falkenberg. the great and former presidential candidate, head of the people's party. [applause] human rights leader and newly minted extraordinary tech ceo, founder and ceo of moss, amira y. [applause] and finally the woman who inspired it all. secretary hillary clinton. [applause]

all right. so, secretary clinton. we are of course going to start with you off the bed. we are obviously in the midst of a time of extraordinary upheaval. we have had a global pandemic. we know it did not help promote or advance women and girls. it disproportionately set women back to the tune of an entire generation of progress. but i feel as though both you and i have something in common. and that is that we see the challenges but we see the opportunities. and i wonder even in this time of difficulty and setback, the world is also seeing that difference is needed. where do you see the opportunity? how do we take the challenges of

what we have seen over the last two years and shift them, to leapfrog forward? >> well, elise, i think that you are right. that in any time of great challenge and apparent setbacks, you have to be willing to find that light and that opportunity, to continue to advocate for, create change, and support others doing so. in an ironic way, certainly not i'm sure intended, i think the events in our own country of the last week, certainly the impact of the pandemic on women and girls, which was disproportionate, the horrific attack, by putin's russia on a neighboring country, and the

impact that's had on so many lives and those of us who are trying to be supportive is a call to action. and that, to me, is it something that we have to be not only aware of, but figure out how best to take advantage. and it is drilling for me, after 25 years, for me to be here in this building and to know the stories of the thousands of women who have been impacted by the voices, by the programming, every walk of life. and know that many of them overcame terrible odds. had every reason to give up or give in and did not. so, one thing that vital voices itself can do is to keep all the rest of us going, too. [applause]

and i think that is a huge gift. so, yes, my great friend had this line, madeleine albright, how would you describe yourself? she would say, i am an optimist who worries a lot. [laughter] i think we should all be optimists, who worry, and then get to work. that is what i see the opportunity as. >> thank you. [applause] >> and that is so true. vital voices was started in so many ways by powerful women like you who gave voice and power to other women. who maybe didn't have a strong a voice. but i think we have seen over the past 25 years of doing this work that the women we work with are deeply powerful. they may not have necessarily formal power. but they are having massive impact around the globe.

kah, you wind i talk a lot about power. i would hear women see -- say again and again, i don't want power, because it is corrupt and dirty, i want to have impact, i want to change lives. and you tell women, no, we need power. and we need to redefine it. >> yes. absolutely. this is such a tremendous moment, to be here. [laughter] [applause] yes. this is so amazing. and absolutely. i think, in this moment especially, where our world is really shaken to the core, in terms of the principles and values that we feel like we had in common, which are really being put to the test, we, as women, have to step into

power. we have a lot of informal power. in fact, we use our power to pick up the slack, where governments fail. that is the reality. i am an african woman. in africa, the women are doing health care, they are taking care of the children, they are picking up the economy, in situations where government has utterly failed. that is good, and we have learned a lot, and we have become very powerful, through that process, but we must step into formal power. becauset= -- because that is what makes a difference for the million of women around the world. and i think in this moment, let's not sit on resilience. we are very resilient, as women,

and resilience is fantastic, however we have to be careful with it, that we do not sit in a place where we are allowing governments, people who rule the world, to be slack and we pick up their slack. no, we must get into power and do it right. and we cannot trust the people who have built the current power infrastructure to transform it. [applause] these women here need to step in and transform it. elise, you know that to me, i work every day to become the president of cameroon. and that will happen. [laughter] [applause] but it also means stepping into space at the world bank, at the imf. not just as women, not just have

women there, but to try to transform it. when i was coming here, i held a meeting with 15 cameroonian women who do amazing work on the ground. i said i'm going to washington, what you want me to sing -- what do you want me to say? their message was very clear, we need to put the human being back at the center of power. and that is what we do at vital voices women. and we need to step into these institutions. the world is redefining itself now. let's not setback -- sit back. let's not wait for an invitation. let's step into the conversation to transform power. [applause] >> diane, i feel like knowing the mother you came from, you had no choice but to be a powerful woman. in so many ways, you have

defined, reclaimed power, you have shown that you can be powerful, you can be feminine at the same time, right? and that women julie differently and that is completely fine -- do lead differently and that is completely fine. you have talked about this being your third act. [laughter] why have you dedicated so much to women's power? and actually, one of my favorite things about diane is, every day when she gets up, the first thing she does is she does something good for someone else. she sends an e-mail on someone's behalf, she makes a call before she things about herself, she does something for someone else. and i know that this is true, because i know the people she is calling, sometimes it is me. i know the people she has doing favors for. often it is me or women across a network. -- the network. why do you use your power to

empower women in particular? >> before i answer, i want to share something with you. because sometimes you wake up, and before you actually get up, you really feel like a loser. we all feel like a losers. only losers don't feel like losers. [laughter] [applause] and so, i will share with you what i do. and my trick. it is a really good one. it is a quote, from a french writer. this is what he says. "when you. your power -- when you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt." and please remember that,

because it really works. and we don't have the time to give power to our doubt. we have to act. we have to show, it's not about being equal -- because truly, i'm sorry to say that, women are superior. [laughter] we just pretend we are not. [laughter] but we are. i mean, you know, we can argue so much more -- i would like to see men have their period every month. i mean, it's like -- so, we just have to -- [laughter] we have to be proud to be who we are. we have to do it in all kinds of ways. we have to remember that the most important thing is to neutralize. you have someone in front of

you. you know all the negative they think about you. bring it forward. if you bring it forward, you neutralize it. you have to use all the tricks. all the tricks that women know have accumulated over the years. but remember, we have to take our power. we will all go to her inauguration. [applause] and actually, you know, kah, i'm sure the first stop when you make your state visit will be this building. to give that big speech. >> absolutely. absolutely. you remember when we were thinking and talking about it for so long, and i said, one of the reasons it is important for us to have a building is that they should come to us. you come to our home. [laughter] >> oh, wow.

amira, you were threatened, surveilled in tunisia. your car was tailed. you were even exiled for a while. you went back to tunisia. during the arab spring, he really leveraged the power of technology, very early on, to show its benefit. to create transparency, to mobilize people. but now, of course, you are in silicon valley. mobilizing in a different way. but talk about that power of technology. because i think all of us probably in this room would agree that we don't as women mobilize it as much as we need to. >> yeah. first of all, i am very emotional, being here. very, very, very -- i was thinking about my fellow awardee. who was assassinated in libya,

for using her power to change libya. she is in our hearts, obviously, all of us, and it is just so beautiful to be in this place. because vital voices was so supported of her -- supportive of her. [indiscernible] it is -- now i live in silicon valley, as you know. we talk about it as this place where you were supposed to find outliers and invest in them early and get rich. i was nobody, when i got to america. i was nobody. a lot of past

[applause] >> let's talk about power. how many of you would disagree with this statement. every single device you have in your hand has been an idea to men. but here is what is more powerful. when i open it, the first cap use is -- app we use are made by

men. this is the tool that defines your life. i know you know the power of technology. the problem is we are already too much behind. we are still behind. democracy has been built by men and it has defined a lot of our rights. i cannot believe we are debating the rights of abortion in 2022. it is shocking and disgusting. i come from africa.

i have a daughter and when you have a daughter with a u.s. passport, you think she will always have something to protect her. technology is being defined by men. how we govern ourselves as being defined only by men. and we are users. what is it to be a user? we define it as letting other people decide for us.

[indiscernible] what i am doing today is actually h that what i'm doing today is actually harder. it is harder on the daily. i forget that i can be in the room are so many women actually. i haven't seen this many women in the five years i've been in silicon valley ever. like never. i will raise and i will pitch investors and i will only meet the epa's. i would never, ever, ever -- it's very, there's something happening in the other post that needs to be fixed. we may need to be in silicon valley. we need to make sure that girls

are not just users, that they are builders. that is a lot of work that needs to happen. [applause] >> secretary clinton, coming back to you. you are one of the most brilliant strategist and thinking about the future and women's issues. i think a lot of people are wondering, okay, what are you going to do next? particularly after that incredible, incredible dedication at secretary albright's memorial. man, if you saw it. the power. the power that you brought to that stage following two presidents. i remember sitting there and thinking, one, how proud your co-founder vital voices, and to be your partner so early on -- secretary albright would have

been listening to you talk about her. how you guys got in there and championed women as a foreign policy issue long before is popular. long before we had the research to say, actually, this is right. then as i thought more, i thought, why is she going to do next? i'm sure everybody is wondering that. of course, i would love for you to lean and even more so. , as a nearest as, we have huge challenges. did you ever think we would be and this position where their rights, your generation, before fought for having rolled back? >> well, no. let me say, it goes to what's our three other speakers have said. i think it's really important to understand how the deck is

stacked against women's progress. against human rights. it's gotten more sophisticated, amira, think you are talking about technology. as someone who has tried to sound the alarm about what technology is doing to us, it's really quite frightening. as we think about that landscape, the people making the decisions, you say man, it's a very small number of men. they have the same kind of thinking and mindset and worldview. they are literally determining how we communicate, how we understand, how we think of ourselves. they are responsible, to go to diane's great point, of

instilling a lot of doubts in us. you look at what's happening to young people, particularly young women, they are becoming quite impacted by what they see on those phones that they are glued to. and what it is doing to their own sense of autonomy and agency. and yes, power. i think we all, obviously i, include myself. we have to get smarter and more creative about how we are going to address the imbalance of power. unfortunately, the imbalance is getting greater. this is a non partisan organization. what i will say implies to the entire world not just to this country. the forces arrayed against human progress, particularly women's roles and rights and

responsibilities. it is really gaining in power. it is aided and abetted by technology and by a certain kind of autocratic leadership. dahlia, who is here with us, was the president of her country, lithuania, for a number -- ten years, for ten years! when i was secretary of state, i would meet with her, she was so clear eyed about the threat from russia. nobody wanted to hear it. we all wanted to believe that, you know, we made so much progress. it is just impossible to think that one man, one autocrat, with threaten the freedom of the baltic states or ukraine,

or somewhere else. what we are upwe have to be hopeful, optimistic, but dead eyed realistic about what we're up against. i guess to answer your question, alyse, that is what i feel like is my mission. we have to bring people to gather as vital voices does, this, many other settings, to say, okay, women without power are women without their rights. those rights are so dependent upon who wields power in their societies we know it were up against. we have to get smarter and better focused about how we're going to take it on. this book, if you have not seen it, i took it out, it is a beautiful book. it highlights 100 women.

amanda gorman has a poem in the beginning. i just want to read a little tiny bit of its, alyse. it goes right into what our challenge is. i can't read like amanda gorman, however. today, everyone's eyes are on us as we rise, today is the day women are paving the way, speaking our truth to power. in this hour, it is our duty to find the brave beauty in rooting for other women so they to know we are not victims, we are victors, the greatest predictors of progress we. press for change. that is what i am going to be doing. >> yes. for those of you who don't know, the phenomenal portrait on the outside of the building is

amanda gorman. she has been part of the vital voices network for seven years. just as we have been proud to watch her rise and rise, we watched so many women rise and rise. i think what is beautiful about this network is that they always come back. they always look to bring back and support the network and truly use their power to impact -- we talk about power and obviously money is critical. we can talk about power without talking about money. we know that so little of it is in the hands of women, whether it be those, amira, but you talk about, at the decision-making table. deciding where they're going to put their money, and others money. our philanthropy, right? i mean, you know, we all know that the world can move forward if half the population is left behind. you said this 27 some years ago. yet so little money is invested in women. we can't solve the sustainable

development goals if women don't have equality. we don't have a chance, right? diane, the way you think about this, you think about investments. amira talk about what we do at vital voices, we are venture capitalists, right? we find the brilliant leaders. we don't tell them, here is what you need to do. we basically say, we know and believe that what you're doing already, you see the problems, you see the solutions. we just need to get behind. you see that as well. i think it's important, diane. seven people look and tap heads. they think, okay, how many people did i invest in? right? how many? how many? how many thousands of people did i tap? it's so much more than that. it's about going deep and supporting leaders for the long

run in a holistic way. is that how you think about it? how do we convince more people that it's not just one ended and tap ahead. it's not about that. it's not about a mile wide and an inch deep. it's about going deep and supporting these leaders on their journey. >> what is your question? >> how do we convince -- >> i'm so impressed that hillary can read without glasses. [laughs] -- we are the same age. >> [laughs] diane, say whatever you want. [applause] >> i think that, oh

i, don't know. i tend to look. listen, when you wake up the morning, you hear, you know, what's going on. it's so depressing it's so dark. yet we have to get up. we have to move on. how do you do it other than looking in the mirror and saying, -- i think that there is a lot of, i, mean we have more women prime minister and presidents today than ever before. . . we need mrs. merkel so badly right now. we have to look at the light, look at the positive, look at this global network that is

these women. when you say women's -- these women are not prime ministers. these women work in their field. they fight against domestic violence. they build this incredible refugee for women. and then they get acid thrown at them. and then they start again and again. these women in these network, the reason i said -- not because i want people -- because they are. these women are role models. they are a lot of women role models right now. we just have to give them the voice. we have to use whatever voice we all have. we have to use our voice. we have to use experience, our knowledge, our connections, our resources in order for making it better. it's an emergency.

women have to take power. you don't say it all out like that. that is what each one of us have to say. you have generations of little girls now. they are way better, we just have to look for the positive and just build it and build it. you seduction. use whatever, flattering, you know, flatter these men, make them feel like they're so big. who cares? . yes, you're so good, you're so inspiring. meanwhile, you do what you got to do. that is what i want us to do.

>> speaking of redefining things for the future, i know that's what you are doing all over africa and starting with your country, camera. when i heard from diane is that it's an emergency. women have to get into power. i think in this moment, we have to do it so many women in this network are really excellent at, grassroots to global. i think one of the major differences in the way women lead is what i did when i was coming to this event. you go to ground. you immediately go to the people that you're supposed to represent. you say, what do you want? what message do you want? what are the things that you need to be put up front?

i want to speak to this idea of money. the money is definitely out there. there is so much money out there. the question is, where we are spending it with, as amira pointed out. who is making the decisions? how are we allowing them to make the decisions. last year during covid, my country, cameroon, got over $300 million to fight against covid. my government, which is extremely corrupt, they just -- the money just disappeared while people are dying. cameroonian's were dying, they did not have masks, people were dying because we didn't have oxygen, and so on. they carried out an audit per the imf's requirement.

and the audit said we stole the money basically. cameron went back to the imf, asked for 600 million dollar loan and got it. 20 cameroonian women, we said this is not happening, not on our watch. we wrote to the i am off, we said, we want you to do three things. one, at a time they had published the audit, one, published the audit, number two, the cameroon government must tell you what they're going to change in their public finance management system so that money doesn't get stolen. interesting idea, right? the third thing we asked them to do is that the people, the

audit is really clear. it says this person, this ministry, this amount of money. and it is gone. all those people are still sitting in their offices today managing money. that, now, when we, as cameroonian women, on the ground are fighting, and you know, i have been arrested numerous times. i have been water hosed. i have been kidnapped, because i'm asking my government to govern properly. when they're ally, because that is what it ends up being, it is the imf with a bottomless pit of money, i know that we as women have got to step into those power structures and transform them. for me, where we are today,

aside from our individual products is looking at how we build networks. when we did that as 20 cameroonian women, it was huge by the way. cameroon stopped for a few days, because we wrote this letter. we got coverage from bloomberg, from financial times, thank you vital voices. [laughs] we were really, and i do believe we shook up the imf internally as well. the tremendous thing about this network is that obviously kiss elite from nigeria who has also ran for president reached out to me and said, how do we do this for several african countries? so i think that that is where we need to be. it is using individual power that we all have built up going

to grassroots because we always -- if we want to have a chance we hat to mobilize massively. it is building the networks across what we have done. we cannot be afraid. we cannot be afraid. when we were writing to the imf, people were like, really? what? we wrote, we got a meeting. we were able to talk to them. the idea is transforming. holding people's feet to the fire even when they are when imf is run by now. [laughs] well it is not about the individual who is in power it is about the type of power that we want. the type of governance. if we do not do that, i think

secretary clinton for bringing out, the autocrats are forming wonderful alliances. people are asking me, why do you think russia is becoming so influential in africa? because you have been sleeping! i don't know if it was your op and that iran and in the economist but i do know that there was no, what i felt was the best piece after the invasion of ukraine. it said, you have been playing footsie with a dictator for a very long time. this is the price. when i can say is in africa the world has been playing footsie with african dictators for a very long time. that is why we are where we

are. it is a question of our collective survival. it is a question of all of us. women, and man -- it is still just a tiny sliver of men who are making these decisions. to question our collective roles to come together and put the human being. the well-being of human beings back at the center of global governance, national governments, city governments, otherwise we are not going to make it. >> wow, incredible. up [applause] this discussion can go on all day, absolutely all day. we have run out of time but i amira i want to give you the final word. in all of this, all the vital voices global partnership, the thousands of voices that we

have built up, i feel like that is the power of this organization. not, actually, all of us but the network. the network is the power. how do we use it in these next 25 years to solve some of these challenges? >> that's a tough question -- >> in like a minute. >> a minute. absolutely! one of my favorite books is another french writer he wrote it when he was 17 years old. i up [speaking french] the book is this course on servitude. this is a book i think everyone should read. it asked the question i, how come up 1 million people are shut up in front of one. what is -- how? you know? this is the reason why i decided to do everything that i have done in my life.

today, vital voices has 20,000 the world has three billion women. this country, with everything that is going on and i keep coming back to this abortion question because it is not nothing, it's huge! if this is one, a lot of other cards are going to go down. there is something i say that, if you start moving forward you go backwards. for women, if you stop trying to move slowly forward, you run backwards! that is how we are. going forwards very hard. going backwards, for us, is very easy. the whole world will push us backwards! one step for us, vital voices, and larger than vital voices it is all the building. the first embassy for women. the diplomatic thinking. the powerful global, 20,000

women in this place. they are just the tip of the iceberg of the billions of others. how do we get to those billions? we get there with two things, three things. one, believing in it. that you can, and i do. i heard your speech. we can touch three billion people. to, the tools! but tools are money and technology. those are the two tools that can get us to that level of impact. money will follow if we show the impact. technology, we need that to get in. we have been talking, i have been harassing you about this forever. forever! but like, here it is i am a human rights activist from tunisia. that is who i am, that is what i have done in my life. today i run a bank. i built a bank. why i built the bank? because that is the most powerful thing i can put.

because that is where it is. your power is in your money. i want to make you have access to that money, built by women. i think that we vital voices need to make this coming chapter the chapter of scale. 20, 000, that's amazing. now my next goal is the next billion, that is when i want to do. >> i can't imagine a better first conversation. thank you! [applause] so much more to come, i have a reception right now. i'm going to steal these women in this way -- [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ the pollen will testify on the president's 2023 budget request. and a report of -- the senate and energy heat on c-span 3. online at c-span.org. or watchful coverage on c-span now, our free video app.

maryland governor larry hogan talks about the direction of the republican party. warning that the gop will not win back the white house in 2024 by nominating donald trump. he shares his thoughts on how the party should move forward to gain more support from voters. from the reagan presidential library in simi valley, california. this is 35 minutes. >>