consuls within my presidency. one of them is setting up the consul for the anti-corruption. my country has a lot of perception about the organized crime and the corruption. and this is a continuous burning which is also an obstacle for the progress forward for our country. but having a woman leading that process of fighting the organized crime and the corruption has been very well accepted by the community. but at the same time, community has more trust on the womens because the only answer they say is they are less corrupt. they have not corrupt. they do it what they meant to do it, and they do it with a full of the commitment. so those are the values that can be found only within the womens. and they are more mobilized within their environment.

and they maintain the network. and the network of the womens, and particularly dealing with the gender phenomena. in today's globalized challenges, the gender issue is not only a problem for one country or one state, now it's becoming a global phenomena. in order to address that, we need a global response. and how we bestially do it is if the proper network, particularly of the womens in the leadership role, that how to best share the experience and expertise and how to address some of the issues within the country and outside. >> and you're saying especially gender issues. it's remarkable to be able to get directly the perspectives of these leaders who are dealing with this every single day. president mary robinson, you've had the chance to think about this a lot. you've certainly spoken about it

a lot. with the benefit of hindsight, how do you see how being a woman changes one ace ability to lead? >> i have -- i have thought about it a great deal. it's not that women are better than men or whatever. we need balance, obviously. but women lead in a different way. it's less hierarchical. it's more nurturing. it's all the things we've been hearing. it was important when i was elected president against the odds, breaking, you know, the mold of it, i thanked the women of ireland who had been rocking the cradle for now rocking the system. and it was very important for me to be a president who was -- a woman president, proud to be a woman, and that it was an advantage to be a woman, even though, you know, i had broken a kind of mold there. in 1996, i joined with a number of others in establishing

something called the counsel of women leaders, which in fact we're all members of. and you mentioned there are eight women presidents at the moment. and we have three of them here, as you said. but in the council, which is directly elected presidents or prime ministers, either current or former, and the only one that i know of who declined to join this club was margaret thatcher. she wasn't interested in joining this club of women. but we now have over 40 women who are either in office or have been in office as president or prime minister. so what interests me is we have a critical mass of women, not just at the top level, but as ministers, as leaders of trade unions, as leaders in business, et cetera. and i think it has to begin to make more of a difference. and a number of us are involved in ways of linking women in the way that women naturally

network. in my own foundation, we have a network called the troika plus of women leaders on climate, because climate is undermining poverty. so they're huge gender dimensions. and women's leadership tends to be more intergenerational, tends to be more aware that we have to address this and put people at the center of the issue. so we've established a top-down troika plus linking with grassroots women's organization and those already working on women and gender change. it's a platform of women leadership. and the nobel women are a good example. when you have several women -- we have a very distinguished nobel prize winner among us now. but when the nobel peace women, when there were enough of them, four or five, they got together. and it's now an institution. men had been nobel prize winners, peace prize winners for a long time. it wasn't part of their thinking that they would actually get together and network for good as the nobel women's initiative does. and i think this is where women can be more creative.

>> prime minister clark, now administrator clark, you have also had the benefit of some time to think about this. you've obviously been asked about it a lot. what would you add to this conversation? >> well, firstly, we have all been the first to be elected by the people to the positions we held. so we're acutely aware of what the barriers and hurdles were to getting there. the chief of them being that the public actually has to envisage a woman in the role. when there has never been a woman this the role, that's a glass ceiling that has to be broken. and one could talk at great length about that. i think we have to be frank and say that not every woman lead they're has ever been has been a saint, and not everyone has been caring and sharing. mary has reminded us. >> just the ones here today. >> just the ones here. in general i think there is a material difference. but i suppose a lot of people

have seen meryl streep's brilliant performance in "the iron lady." so we're reminded of not everyone being caring and sharing. [ laughter ] as a matter of principle, women should be equally represented in positions of power. women's civil society should hold us to account to ensure that we actually deliver for women when we're there and not pull the ladder up after us. but in the end i think women have a fundamental connection with society which is not shared to the same extent as men. and that is whatever our societies, in the end, women end up taking more responsibility for the care of children, older and frail relatives, and being very connected with the needs of people. how does the health system work? how does social protection work? have my kids got a job.

i think in the end we see women much more attentive to these kinds of issues and services because of that personal connection. >> good. for the last question, i want to bring it back to the subject of this conference, at least a big part of it. and that of course is development. and i want to ask each one of you what it is you see that whether it's the west, the usaid, the other agencies, both government and nongovernment agencies, ngos that think about and work on development. what do you want them to know? what do you most need, most want in terms of development? what do they need to know about your country and your people that would make it just a much more efficient, effective process? start with you. president johnson-sirleaf? >> to recognize that our people,

particularly those in rural areas are intelligent if not educated, that they know what their needs are, they know what best will help them to change their lives. we ought to -- we as governments, those as partners should listen to them and should construct our programs to meet their needs as they see it, as they identify it. that brings the best results. >> has that not always been the case? >> that has not always been the case, but it's changing. i think today the ownership factor is being recognized by all, and the evolution of harmonization established by

governments, meaning in consultation with their own people is the order of the day. we haven't reached a level where we've seen full compliance with this principle. but as i say, it's moving in that direction, and we encourage everyone to move it at an even faster pace. >> before i come to the other two heads of state, i'm going to come back to prime minister clark, administrator clark. what is it that the west -- i mean is that a message that the development communities, the development organizations hear? >> i think the important thing for development partners is to invest for the long-term. we see quite a lot of preoccupation among partners at the moment of wanting results. the results of the work that these incredible leaders and leaders in so many countries are looking for are going to be seen

not tomorrow, not next year, but in a generation's time. so i think that for development assistance, which is a relatively small amount now of the total resources that goes into development, it needs to focus on capacities, on institutions, on building resilience, backing well-founded national strategies, and be prepared to explain that to the stakeholders in the donor country, that the most worthwhile things will take time to achieve. the quick results may not be sustainable at all. so, you know, have faith in these leaders and invest in them and their capacity to change their countries. >> president jahjaga, from your perspective, being in office a little over a year, what is it that the west that the development community, what do they need to know about your

country and what you need, what you want, where you want to go? >> i think that now we are coming to the stage that we need to invest on the frontiers for the future. we are the frontiers of the current date. but we need to identify now the frontiers for the future. we need to invest on the future. we continue building up the relationship between the other countries, particularly into the western of achieving the long-term goals. of the countries individually. and that can be done. the best investment is in individuals, is within the country. we have to develop today the leaders for tomorrow. this is if you're really going

to save one country, you need to invest on the people, on the education, on the training, on the capacity building. there you give them the right tools of moving forward on the direction that they need. so it is the time today that we need to identify and develop the frontiers for the future. >> president robinson, again, as someone who has spent a lot of time thinking about these areas, are these messages, these kinds of messages the international aid community, development community is hearing? >> i'm not sure that it is being heard enough, but these are the messages. and i have no doubt about that. and i think if those messages are heard, the response to them also has to be beyond frontiers, innovative. and as i was saying at the beginning, i think this is beginning to happen. european countries are cutting their aid budgets, unfortunately because of the eurozone crisis.

i don't think -- i think as senator lugar was saying, the united states budget is going to increase dramatically over the next few years. so it's less money now, i think, than real partners. let me give you an example. i happen to be officially designated an elder now from nelson mandela's, a group of elders. we wanted to tackle issues of discrimination against the girl child and women. it's a huge area. we've talked a little bit about it. how could ten elders do something? we decided to look at the way religion can sometimes be distorted or traditional practices to subjugate women, to have harmful practices. and we moved from that to tackling child marriage. and we realized the extent of it. 10 million girls a year are marry way before they are ready physically or emotionally. it affects their health. it affects their maternal -- they die giving birth, et cetera, et cetera. but in fact what we did was we

looked to see that in fact in every region there were people working locally on this issue, but they had never been able to come together. so we were able to create an umbrella organization called girls not brides. and now there is a global partnership tackling this issue. and i think we need more of these innovative global partnerships. they include philanthropists. they include ngos. governments are extremely important. i remember president ellen here in washington meeting with donors for the first year a few years ago where you told them i welcome you in my country, but i want to know what you're doing and it has to be my priorities. then you met with the ngos, the nongovernmental orgtss. that has been the problem in development. sometimes presidents don't know what ngos are doing in their country. they come in with good will to do something on health or something on education. it doesn't have to be government-controlled. but there has to be a leadership, bottom up, and for the community that is represented by a good democratic

government. but we can be more innovative because the money is not going to come in the same amounts, and therefore we need better partners. >> president banda is our newest leader. i'm going to give you the last word on what is it that you want the west to know, the united states to know, the international aid community. what do they need to know about the needs of your country as you see them? >> i think first and foremost is to say that to call upon the international community to recognize those countries on the continent of africa, and in particular at this point in time malawi that have come out and demonstrated that they're prepared to follow democratic and governance, to correct their governance record, their human rights record, to recover their economy.

we have taken steps. i'm selling my plane. and just a request that the international community must move at the same pace and meet us halfway. i say this because just last week i toured the country of malawi from one corner to the other. and everywhere i went, people came out to greet joyce banda. and my husband said oh, i'm overwhelmed by this kind of support that you have. i said no, honey. close your eyes and imagine those as stones being thrown at me 12 months down the line. [ laughter ] and so this is just an appeal to say as we make those strides and we make those bold decisions, the international community has to recognize them and come over and meet us halfway so that we don't disappoint the people that are ready for change, that are

ready to do something about their situation. by the way, malawians are not just sit back, waiting for handouts. they looking for partnership. finally, i don't think i can leave this podium without thanking the usaid. because i'm sitting here because of the usaid. five years ago i walked into the usaid office in malawi and say i want to do something about fellow women. i came from an abusive marriage, and i know that some are still locked up there because they don't have the courage to walk out. and i know that the only thing i can do for them is economic empowerment. the partnership we forged that day has lasted this long, and they've given me support all along to this level. and so i finish by saying it is imperative for not only malawi, but the whole africa to support women's participation in leadership. women must get into leadership

positions, particularly go to parliament. when i was minister of gender in parliament, i championed the passing of the domestic violence bureau. we were only 27 women. we worked throughout the night and had to bring trucks and trucks of women from the villages into parliament to make sure their member of parliament says no to this view, they're there and watching. we finally busted that view. it is very important to have women sitting where the laws are made. for that to happen, those of us who are leaders shall need support. and thank you very much for the support that i have received this far. thank you. [ applause ]

>> from my perspective, it has been a remarkable discussion, a remarkable conversation with these extraordinary -- five extraordinary leaders. and i would ask as you go to a break, which is what i understand is next in the program that you join me in thanking each one of them. the president of malawi, joyce banda, the president of liberia, ellen johnson-sirleaf, the president of kosovo atifete jahjaga, the former president of ireland mary robinson, the former prime minister of new zealand, now the administrator of the u.n. development program helen clark. let's thank them all. [ applause ] >> that was very good. ♪

on "washington journal "tomorrow morning, our guests include national review" senior editor. he'll look at politics, the economy and next week's house committee vote on whether to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt of congress. "our divided political heart: the battle for the american idea in an age of discontent." gary gensler will take your questions about the role of his agency. "washington journal" live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. nato's supreme allied commander for europe and special assistant to president obama also spoke at the u.s. aid conference. they discussed nato challenges in libya, somalia, and afghanistan such as the balance of military power and

development work, famine, and the rise of social networks and activism. this is a little over an hour. >> good afternoon, everybody. i'd like to first start by reminding everybody that in your folders you have those crowd hall cards. and we welcome people going online to browse the panels, submit your questions, and vote for your favorites. look for the cards in your folders. great to see everybody here this morning and it is my great pleasure to introduce our next speaker. the first time that i met admiral james steverides at a dinner, his first question is whether i read prous or not. which is how i knew he truly

embodied the idea of a soldier-schooler and statesman. he has decades of experience leading both direct combat missions in theaters across the globe. haiti, bosnia, some of the places we heard about in the earlier panel. and also in guiding our military strategy at the highest levels. he now has what is probably the coolest title on the planet, which is the nato supreme allied commander of europe, as well as the commander of our european command. he has been a leading force in the government and the military and a big thinker on a lot of the topics that we're wrestling with over these three days. we could not think of a more fitting candidate to be here with us today to talk about the importance of collectively tackling these issues of development and security and doing so in a way that really moves us thoughtfully forward. so please join me in welcoming

admiral james steverides. admiral, welcome. approximate thank you for that. thank you very much. good morning, everybody. first of all, i want to thank the administrator for letting me come and take just a couple of minutes to set up what i think will be a terrific panel headed up by ray suarez and with some extraordinarily wide-ranging views to share. i am going to use a couple of slides. i know, generally speaking, people look and see a military guy from the pentagon with a power point presentation and that's created a fair amount of problems around the world. i assure you, this is a very easy presentation to get through and i'll do this in about ten minutes but i do like to use a couple of images. as i was saying to my very good friend, there is no part of the government in which the images frankly are more evocative than

in the world of development. and so what i'll do today is just show you some of the challenges of thinking about development in a conflictual situation. then i'll try and talk a little about some of the -- what i hope are relatively creative ways we're thinking about it at the department of defense. so if i could have the first image. this is libya, which many of the people in this room were involved in. and i would offer this as an example of attempting to do humanitarian work trending toward development in a zone of actual open, well-known conflict. very, very difficult. as many of the practitioners here know, we saw about 1 million refugees in this situation. in camps in tunis and egypt, niger, mali, and going to the north, to italy and to spain, as

well as to france and greece. so about one person in seven in libya becomes a refugee, is in need of international assistance, and yet we are in the midst of a very active combat campaign. very difficult. this, of course, is afghanistan. which is very much a place where i am engaged today, where we have the nato alliance, 28 nations, as well as 22 other nations. with troops on the ground and a total of 70 nations who are engaged in one level or another with development. here we see not only the complexity of the desperate needs of development, but we also see a very virulent insurgency compounded by this image, which of course is poppy. this is narcotics. so we add to this mix of challenges yet another dimension that we saw, for example, as

well in colomblom yeah colombia. so i offer these images to set the stage for what we all know is the extraordinary difficulty of doing the strategic mission of development that you are executing with the tactical work that we're trying to do to create some level of security so you can do your work. and your work is what in the end will determine success or failure in these places, and we get that. we want to support you. and if there's a single message i have for you today, it's the important of defense as trying to support development and diplomacy where we can. next, please. so i also think a lot about these two images. upper left are young boys and girls who are receiving aid.

bottom right is a child-soldier. this is a supply chain that we cannot allow to connect. both from a security perspective, from a humanitarian perspective, from a socio logic-development perspective. make sure those two images don't connect. and we heard a lot from the heads of state and government about the youth and the importance of youth. and i would underline it with this particular image. so -- next, please. what are we trying to do about it? let me give you some ideas that we're working on in the department of defense. the first one may or may not surprise you a bit. it's the idea of studying and learning languages and understanding the culture of these places in which we go to work. we take our example in this regard from a.i.d., from the department of state, from our diplomats and our developers. we're not very good at this in the department of defense.

only 8% of the department of defense speaks a second language, for example. i've chosen to put here the rosetta stone. we are working hard on this. we want to increase our ability to understand and to be able to communicate both directly and also to understand the culture, the history, the literature, all of the salient aspects of the cultures. because if we can do that, then we can far more effectively support you in your work. next, please. we're also doing some fairly creative things as we work with local security forces. now, these are afghan soldiers. and you should look at this photograph and you should say, well, that's an odd photo. because they're all holding books. and if you know anything about afghanistan, you know that, sadly, the literacy rate in this demographic, 20 to 30, is very low.

it's only about 15% to 20%. because the taliban withheld education throughout this demographic's opportunity to learn. so you should say, so why are afghan soldiers all holding books? and the answer is, because we are teaching them to read. we, nato. we, the nato training mission, afghanistan. we've taught 200,000 afghan soldiers and policemen to read. now, they're not going to go write a novel like marcel prous. but they are functionally litera literate. they are hungry for this knowledge. when you are a man or a woman in afghanistan and you can read, you put a pen in your pocket. and when the graduates of the reading course, again, 200,000 so far, about 70,000 in classes now, when they graduate, we give them a pen to put in their pocket. that is an extraordinary moment to watch a