Video - Opening Remarks

Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
First Lady Laura Bush

Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to join you here today. It is our mission to help all men and women to share the power of the written word.

When we promote literacy, we build the foundations of human progress and freedom. It is our hope to build societies where all individuals can achieve the full extent of their liberty.

Education gives individuals this chance to succeed. There is an independence of spirit that can only come from education because when you can read it opens up a world of limitless horizons and nobody can take the from you.

I personally know the transformative power of education because of stories of my grandparents who were so determined to educate themselves and to educate their children. I want to tell you, in particular, the story of my paternal grandfather.

Granddaddy Rice was a sharecropper's son in Ewtah, that's E-w-t-a-h, Alabama. And despite that, all he had to endure, including poverty, and segregation, he understood that education is a privilege, and he understood that the opportunity of education could be provided to him and to his family. And it was a commitment that made him so strong that he found a way to get a college education, college learning, "book learning" as he called it, at the beginning of the 20th century in Alabama.

He passed that commitment on to my family. And it was a commitment that was shared by my parents. And they passed it on to me. And so, as someone whose life was transformed by education, I have been proud to be an educator myself because I have no doubt that education is the single greatest force for equality in the world.

I know that not all people have the great benefit of parents and of grandparents like mine, and so someone has to step in and help. I know that you all share this belief, and I want to thank you for your commitment to the international fight to eradicate illiteracy and promote education, and to give children, and indeed, if necessary, adults, a chance to read.

I am very proud that we have had two First Ladies in the United States of America so devoted to reading and to literacy. And thank you, Mrs. Barbara Bush, for your commitment, too.

(Applause.)

Our current First Lady is someone who has devoted her life to helping others reach their full potential. That our First Lady dedicates her energy to promoting education comes as no surprise to those who know her. As a mother, and a public school teacher, and a former librarian, Mrs. Laura Bush has a wealth of experience in promoting her commitment to literacy and learning.

And now, as First Lady and honorary ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade, she is sharing her belief in the importance of literacy with people around the world. Indeed, the First Lady has helped to highlight some of the most important issues that we will discuss at this conference.

In Tanzania she stressed the connection between a literate society and a healthy society, that knowledge is the single best weapon in the fight against disease. And in Costa Rica, the First Lady helped promote the powerful connection between literacy and economic independence with Costa Rican educators and children in grade schools. In Afghanistan, Mrs. Bush visited the Women's Teacher Training Institute that she helped to establish in Kabul, where she saw Afghan women gaining the skills and education that had been denied to them by the Taliban.

This is just the beginning of what Mrs. Bush has helped to accomplish. Her great passion, her hard word, is helping many around the world to change their own lives. Now and for many years to come I know that she's going to continue to work tirelessly to help millions of people around the world change their own lives.

Through the development of this campaign to achieve literacy for all, I have been privileged to witness the First Lady's expertise, her energy, and her effectiveness. And I know that we have all been moved by the strength of her spirit, the depth of her generosity, and the power of her decency.

This morning then, it is my great honor to introduce to you a great friend of literacy, a great friend of mine, and a great friend and advocate for all people who desire a better future, the host of this Inaugural White House Conference on Global Literacy, the First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush.

(Applause.)

MRS. BUSH: Thank you all so much. Thank you, Dr. Rice. Thanks everybody.

Thank you, Secretary Rice, for your very kind introduction, including the interesting story about your life and your grandparents.

I want to recognize the Secretary General of UNESCO, Dr. Matsuura. Thank you very much.

This is a today's conference is a project of UNESCO's and the United States Department of Education, and the State Department, so I want to thank you very much for everything you've done to facilitate today's conference.

Secretary Margaret Spellings, who is the United States Secretary of Education, you'll be hearing from her later or have they already heard from you? She's great, and the Department of Education has been very important to this event as well.

The head of USAID, Ambassador Randall Tobias is here; Dr. Gregorian, who you heard from, the chairman of the Carnegie Foundation; Gerri Elliot, who is the corporate vice president of Microsoft and will be one of our panel moderators; Dr. Paul LeClerc, the president and chief executive officer of the New York Public Library; and Catie Marron, the chair of the Board of Trustees at the New York Public Library; thank you all very much for this perfect venue to talk about education.

First Ladies, Ministers of Education, and distinguished guests, welcome to the White House Conference on Global Literacy.

My special guests today are people I love to share books with, my mother Jenna Welch (applause), my mother in law Barbara Bush,(applause), and my daughter Barbara. (Applause.)

We represent three generations of women who love to read. Reading, in fact, is so important to us, is such a part of our lives that our lives have been built around it. My mother loved to read, and she taught me to love reading. I liked reading so much that I made it into my career by becoming a teacher and a librarian.

Reading is so important to my mother in law, Barbara Bush, that she made literacy her focus when her husband was President and all the years since with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The Barbara Bush Foundation supports programs around the United States that provide literacy instruction to children and their parents.

I suspect that I can safely say that everyone here today is here because reading and the love of good books and ideas is a central part of their lives.

Three years ago in this very library UNESCO launched its Decade of Literacy, a 10 year initiative to extend the benefits of reading everywhere, especially to those of the world's poorest and most marginalized communities.

Across the globe, more than 800 million people are illiterate. 100 million children are not in school, which means they are not learning to read. And of the 771 million adults who cannot read a simple book, more than two thirds of them are women.

To meet the Literacy Decade's goal of teaching all these men, women, and children how to read, UNESCO started its Literacy Initiative For Empowerment. Eighty five percent of the people who cannot read live in just 35 countries, and UNESCO, through its LIFE program works with the governments of these nations to develop effective local literacy programs for their people.

But ending illiteracy is a challenge for every country, and every government must do its part by investing in the education of its people: men, women, and children; rich and poor. The investment, no matter how significant, is always worthwhile because investing in literacy and education helps governments meet their fundamental obligations by improving opportunities for children and families, by strengthening their economies, and by keeping their citizens in good health.

By investing in literacy instruction for women and girls now, governments ensure that future generations will enjoy the benefits of reading. Women who can read are much more likely to be advocates for their children's education.

Educating women and children requires textbooks and teachers, and in many countries, governments are working with the private sector to provide these resources. In Ghana, I visited the Accra Teacher Training College, which participates in the Textbooks and Learning Materials Program. As part of the program, six American Universities have partnered with six governments of African countries to produce and distribute 15 million primary school textbooks for African children.

The program is part of President Bush's African Education Initiative, a $600 million commitment that's already helped train more than 400,000 teachers in sub Saharan African.

By investing in literacy and education, governments build their economies. When people read they are more likely to participate in business and trade, which leads to greater economic development. And literacy helps both men and women provide for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Countries prosper with an educated workforce. The connection between literacy and economic growth can be seen in Arzu, Inc. Arzu sells traditional rugs woven by Afghan women, providing them with a job so they can support themselves and their families. Arzu also requires that weavers and their husbands sign a contract promising that all women in the household will attend literacy classes.

As the women learn to read and count, they learn to manage their income and budget it wisely, and they become informed consumers. Arzu weavers also pledge to enroll their sons and daughters in school.

One of Arzu's directors, Tooba Mayel says, and this I quote, "Now people have a short vision for their lives. They're in survival mode, looking for a day to day living, but these children won't have to worry about day to day living. They're seeing that there's a whole future out there for them." Tooba Mayel is here in the audience.

(Applause.)

By investing in education, governments increase their citizens' health literacy. People who can read can understand the label on a food container. They know how to follow instructions on the bottle of medicine. They're also able to make informed decisions about their lives that will keep them and their families healthy.

Education is saving lives in South Africa through the Mothers to Mothers To Be Program. At Mothers centers, HIV infected women receive information and support to keep their unborn children from contracting the disease. Women who have successfully delivered HIV negative babies can serve as mentors to other mothers.

The program trains women in beading and other crafts and then sells their crafts internationally, offering these women an independent source of income and greater control over their health.

I've met many of these mothers, including a young woman named Gloria. Gloria had always wanted to be a nurse, but she had to leave school at age 16 when she was forced into an arranged marriage. Years later, when Gloria discovered she was pregnant with her second child and HIV positive, she found Mothers to Mothers.

In addition to helping Gloria and her baby stay healthy, the program trained Gloria as a mentor mother, and she eventually became site coordinator at the largest Mothers center.

The education Gloria received through Mothers to Mothers helped revive her dream of becoming a nurse. Now Gloria is teaching nurses about HIV/AIDS, showing how investing in the education of one woman can help keep many other women and their families in good health. Gloria.

(Applause.)

Investing in literacy benefits everyone, and so I urge every government and also private sector organizations to dedicate your resources to this cause. Knowing how to direct these resources requires knowing where they're needed, so today I am privileged to announce that the American people are contributing a million dollars to support UNESCO's Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Program.

Through LAMP, many countries are working to determine which people in their countries cannot read, where people live who cannot read, and why people can't read. This information will help remove obstacles to reading everywhere.

For LAMP to be truly successful, it requires broad participation. I encourage all countries to join.

Today, as we discuss how to improve educational opportunities around the world, it is important to remember that we're all teachers. A person who has never stood by a blackboard still teaches by example. By demonstrating our commitment to literacy, we can let millions of people know that reading and writing are important and we can help build a healthier, more prosperous, and more hopeful world.

Thank you all for coming today. Thanks especially to the panelists who have traveled from around the world to be here with us today. We're looking forward to your presentations.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank my staff, who work so hard to bring everyone together to address this important issue.

And thanks to each and every one of you who have come today. Thank you for your commitment to literacy, and thank you for everything you do in your home countries. Thank you so very much.