the university. let's give them a big hand. we want to thank the xavier williams and at&t. at&t has been a strong supporter of the national golden league. it is the second year in the row. let's give at&t -- [applause] i want to thank tonya who works very closely but us. let me say how stimulating, how powerful it has spent this week with urban leaguers to have been here on capitol hill.

with the department of education and development. services carrying the message of empowerment. board members and young professionals, give yourselves a big round of applause. [applause] since 1976, the national urban league has anually presented the state a black america. this report began when former president vernon jordan watched president ford present his state of the union in the mid- 1970's. in that state of the union address, he did not mention urban. he did not mention black, poor people or there concerns even once.

so vernon jordan said if he will not do it, he will. we have presented this report which is called the state of black america. friends and colleagues, when we talk about the state of black america, we are talking about the state of the nation. [applause]

as black america and urban communities go, so goes this nation. we are indispensable a and inextricably wound in bound together as a single nation here in the 21st century. each share we ask what is the stake of black america? i must report that the state of black america is that we are under attack. we are the quality of education. how is the quality of education under attack? when tens of thousands of

schoolteachers are laid off in school district after school district, in cities across the nation, and the quality of education is under attack. when 10% of the people control 2/3rds of the net worth, when unemployment has skyrocketed to nearly 14%, 15%, economic equality is under attack. in 2012, the right to vote is under attack. democracy is under attack. why is democracy under attack? let us walk back to 1890. poll taxes, literacy tests, and comprehension tests were launched in an effort to keep newly freed slaves from participating fully in the election process.

the grandfather clause, when these were taken together, a state that in the 1880s had a black governor, there were only 750 black men on the voting rolls. indeed, i spoke to my mother. 1953, she returned to new orleans a graduate of boston university. she had been a classmate of dr. martin luther king. she went down to the voter registration office.

[phone ringing] [laughter] mother. she went down to the voter registration office to present herself to register to vote. the registrar looked at her registration card and said what color are your eyes? she said, as she had placed, "my eyes are brown." the registrar looked at her and said "no, your eyes are black." she said "no my eyes are brown." my mother refused to leave. the registrar return 15 minutes later and she was allowed to

register to vote. the point is, the indignity and the harassment, the gamesmanship and the difficulty place in the way of people prior to the voting at this something we must be reminded of. in 2012 we are witnesses to an avalanche of new voting laws in 34 states across the nation. new voting laws would seek strict but no identification requirements, restrict early voting. new laws that make it difficult for people to carry out voter registration.

we ask a simple question "why and why now?" why and why now is there this new avalanche? we say it is an attack on democracy. we say that these new voters oppression loss is something we must collectively recess. -- laws is something we must collectively resist. we believe they can impact the voter registration of 5 million voters across the nation. recently, i am proud that a circuit court judge in wisconsin signed an injection of earlier this week to prevent the

wisconsin voter i.d. law from taking effect. just yesterday. [applause] he paid someone to drive him to the polls. when here bribes comment he took out his veterans identification card -- when he arrived, he took out his veteran identification card and was turned away by the pull commissioner there who said that the veterans identification card did not meet the new stricter requirements of ohio law.

ladies and gentlemen and colleagues, this a voter suppression law is going to affect african-americans. it will affect senior citizens of all races. young people of all races. case in point, in the state of texas, led the voter i.d. law allows one to use a gun ownership permit as proper identification but says that and id by the university of texas is insufficient. what message does that say to young people? what message does that send? a voter suppression, there is a

chain of evidence. bob ehrlich, a former governor of maryland, said that suppression of boats is a desired outcome. we want to create confusion, frustration, and dampen enthusiasm. tom corbett, at the governor of pennsylvania, said we must keep the boat in philadelphia below 50 -- vote in philadelphia below 50%. later on, he had cut $860 million from the budget for public education. ladies and gentlemen comment that is why tonight the national urban league is announcing our occupied the vote campaign. [applause]

if we're going to have a voice on education in schools and teachers, we must vote. if we're going to have a voice on economic equality, jobs, policy, workforce policy, we must vote. if we're going to have a voice on this new discussion about what the plan for america is going to be to build a 21st century economy, we must vote. not only must we vote, we must resist efforts in 2012 to enact these voter suppression laws. 7 states have enacted these voters oppression laws. i am proud that the attorney general and the division as several rights refused to pre- clear south carolina's both your id log -- voter id law.

we will join in encouraging that the department of justice refused to pre-clear any voter id law enacted by any state. our voice must be strong and unyielding. we must occupy the vote not to vote because it is the right thing to do, but because we want a voice. college students at howard university are facing increasing costs, increasing challenges to affordability. young people who are fishing colleges are finding difficulty in jobs -- who are finishing

colleges are finding difficulty and jobs. we must occupied the vote so we have a voice. the urban league is launching its on-line election center. this on-line election center that you see on the screen will be a comprehensive place where you will be able to learn about the boating laws in your state. tonight before we start the

panel, i want to introduce your to several people. i want to introduce you to these people who have been helped by the urban league affiliates across the nation. we have to be those that connect the dots. this is some cases with private dollars. this is good for investing in people. i am proud to introduce someone he met during lunch, and jasmine griffon. she joined the digital connectors program last fall

before she enrolled in those problem. she is going to be a businesswoman and an entrepreneurs. put your hands together for jasmine griffon. our next speaker was homeless when he joined the program. that program helped him

identify scholarship opportunities, financial a document, and determines the college in programs that best matched his interest and career aspirations. he is now a student at the delaware state university. [applause] he was a centennial youth speaker in 2010 right here in

washington. where is deborah? is she in the audience? we are going to give them a big hand for making a difference. thank you. finally, we have carol perkins. carol perkins is a graduate of the mature workers program at the urban league of essex county in the work, and new jersey. i am happy to report that because of the workers program, carol found at a filling full- time job after nearly four years of unemployment. through the program, she was able to refine her job skills and learn new skills that resulted in a brand new career opportunity.

she is here with the president and ceo of the urban league of essex county. let's give them a big round of applause. jasmine and carol are what the urban league movement is all about. some people and organizations talk a big game. they are talk tanks. some produce fancy position papers. i respect fancy position papers. but they produce fancy position papers and we call them think tanks. then the urban league is on the ground, in the community, it beat in the street, and helping people like jason, raykwan and carol. we are a "do tank." let's put our hands together for the doers, the achievers. we are going to give you a round of applauce. -- of applause.

colleagues, before we began, we must occupy the vote. it is time for us to say not now, not on our watch will we allow the hands of time to be racheted back. not on our watch are we going to allow the gains made to expand democracy to be rolled back. not now and not on our what are we going to allow a nation that has spent $1 trillion trying to promote democracy abroad erect fences and barries to democracy here at home.

not now and not on our watch are we going to be pushed a way from the decision making tables when it comes to jobs and economic policy. not on our watch and not now. we must occupy the vote. are you ready? we are going to take a short break and then i am going to come back. 30 seconds.

this is a townhall. this is a townhall discussion. we are live on the webcast. c-span is taping us tonight. we want to thank all of the social media, twitter followers. let's give them a hand. if you will, do not leave. stand at ease for 30 seconds. we must occupy the vote. let me very proudly ask you to put your hands together for mr. jeff johnson. jeff johnson, raise your hand.

he is our floor moderator. we are proud that he is back with us for yet the second year in a row. it is my honor to introduce our panelists. first, the blogger me keli goff. she is on msnbc every monday. give her a hand. the activist and writer, mr. kevin powell. the president and ceo of the urban league of greater new orleans, our host for the 2012 urban league's annual conference, and nolan rollins.

the dean of the school of education right here at howard university, dr. leslie. the activist and a radio host, at the truth stare, war and -- the truth sayer, warren ballentine. i will have to do this by memory. the leader of the hip hip action caucus, reverend lennox yearwood. a professor here, dr. gregory carr.

and very proudly, the winner of our student essay context an alumnus of the urban league, miss desiree lockee. so, let's give our panel a big round of applause. [applause] i want to start desiree with you and kevil powell and pose the same question. you heard the conversation about voter suppression.

you know that young people play to this incredible role in the 2008 election cycle. what does 2000 and 12 hold -- 2012 hold when it comes to young people and voting? >> i believe that 2012 is very important for young voters. we are in a position where we are looking at candidates across the board and people who will represent our best interest as people who were going out into the professional field for the first time. we are definitely looking at the economy and to be will believe will be the best in terms of providing jobs and making sure the economy is sustainable in our careers. that is very important. in terms of voter suppression,

as it young people, and this is the first time they're voting in college. for a lot of us, we have not been exposed to the political process on a personal level until now. it is really important to find us information we need so we can be educated voters doing what is best for our future. >> thank you. >> good evening. is this on? is it on? it is on. good evening. i just spent the last two months visiting 15 different schools. this generation in the audience, you are the most brilliant, why is generation will ever produce an american history in my opinion. you all have got to take the leadership. it is so critical that you understand what you did in 2008, even if you are not 18. it was the. that put a barack obama into the presidency. -- it was that . that the barack obama into the

presidency. when i was a college student, this was the work we did, making sure we register people to vote. i hope you'll take seriously the need around the country. you all have to play a role in the agenda for the next four years. i hope it will be the same person. i cannot say that here perce. you have to be active in saying this. it is really in your hands. >> you all talked to lots of people all the time. you also listened to a lot of people all the time.

bartz together late gun people, young and -- particularly, young people and voters. what stimulates their interest? >> thank you for having me here. the hip-hop caucus is always a delight to have them working side-by-side with the urban league, fighting for our people. i think what i hear, is that this is not a game. our mothers are dying. our mothers are having foreclosures. our mothers are getting cancer. our kids are getting as much. this is not a game. right now the reality is ifrighe do not have it now, at this

point, then it will have catastrophic results going forward into the next year and next 10 years going forward. >> thank you. send them to hu. education is so important to this generation.

they can have a civil rights movement by facebook or twitter. they can literally start a movement overnight. education is a big piece of that. they want to have the opportunity. when i went to the not a job application, have you in the last five years ever been arrested.

we have to understand what is happening in this country when you talk about jobs. they go hand in hand. criminality goes in there too. we are getting locked up at high rates. even the college students are getting locked up at high rates. even when you get this not balanced federal charge, it is like a scarlet letter a. kids are saying what can we do if we go to school, get a degree? now the moment is not just about education. that is why the urban league is so important. you also have to be able to be

an entrepreneur and understand the system they operate in. >> the young people put president obama into office. it was not just be spirit of young people, it was the young people. he would not be in office without black women and young people. that is by the numbers. there is something like 5 million new voters and 2 million were under 30.

despite super pacs, you don't have to write a million-dollar check to make a difference. this is the first thing i wanted to say. the second thing i wanted to say in terms of issues is something that i have been writing a lot about. one of the issues we have been writing a lot is about the issue of the classifieds. i felt particularly passionate about this. my grandparents were from the cotton belt. my parents went to segregated schools. the idea that they can have a child grow up and go to a place like nyu.

she said she never really thought about it. that is the world to his growing up in. when we look at this country and how far i have come compared to where my grandparents were, to think that my knees may not be able to cut as far as i have because of the -- niece may not be able to come as far as i have because of affordability, something that just happened in january that speaks to some of the issues i have been writing about, i get students from e- mails is and what to do what you have done. it pays me to think that. it pains me to think this one i get the e-mails. i do not know that it still be impossible for you to do its. even though i don't come from a

rich background, i was able to have a little bit of help from people who care about me to get back initial foot in the door and have a little bit of a leg up. at this point the leg up the people needed, that like is being kicked out from under the chair. the chair is collapsing on this generation. we have all been conned into believing this issue is about race. the real injustice when it comes to admission and graduate schools is really about class. rick santorum and the national review have agreed with what i have to say. he has cosigned the studies

that have proven that america has officially been designated one of the least upper the mobile first world countries on the planet. what does that mean in english terms that it means that according to five different studies which conservatives have agreed with comment that countries like england, where they have a queen and a queen, it is easier to move up class lives than it is in america. that is what i am hearing from everyone in this room is smart enough to see this. that is why we're seeing an activist movements. [applause] >> we have the dean of the school of education.

question for both of you all, it is this generation of young people different? the same? how? what is an important piece of counsel and vice you get your students for trying to achieve success? >> one of the things that concerns me is that they have not had access to african- american teachers. we are not teaching our own as the where one or two generations ago. previous panelist spoke about their parents that spoke at segregated schools. the value was that you had models with intellectual authority. if you have black teachers teaching black students, relating cultural truths, and credentialed people speaking in a variety of circumstances. today in 2011, 73% of the inner

city teachers are white. if the go outside of the inner cities, at 91% of teachers are white. 69% of principals are white. we know the majority of students are african-american, hispanic, and latino. this is a travesty. we know that there are academic and social benefits that apply to african-american and hispanic children. they're less likely to be referred to special education, gifted education, suspended and expelled, and more likely to graduate high school in four years. this country need to diversify its teaching force. [applause]

when you asked how is this generation different, it it has not been cultivated by black educational leadership. >> thank you. >> we were talking backstage. i think that this generation is different in the same respect that every generation is different from previous generations. to the impact of technology on this generation is probably less different than it was on previous generations. it is probably close to the same. this generation is challenged with image literacy. what it does is it creates a

situation where learning has to reflect that new literacy. the teachers we have at howard medical school are embraced with different technologies. they have a different learning curve. it is the only literacy they know. the second question you asked was interesting. what advice can i give students that the united states -- give student? of the united states has ceased to exist as the organizational core of how people move. the fundamental question of a black citizenship, it does not seem to be a black citizenship. the question of class but surely the question of race.

my advice to students is very similar to the vice houston gave his students. you have to understand where you are. his thing was social class has to be linked to a right to a job, the right to a living standard. that challenges the fundamental principles. this is the type of education that takes place at acu behind got the back. once you take the united states of america as organizational principle, the conversation gets diluted before it can get

concentrated. we have to take this very seriously. i know we do that at howard university. what we will come back to after i pose a question to in nolan rollins. nolan is one of 97 distinguished, well educated, a smart and passionate men and women who lead urban affiliate's across the nation. areaffiliate's leaders economic first responders. they are in the community responding to the economic crisis. nolan, in your work as president of the urban league of greater new orleans, this

recession has no doubt impacted people. it is there anything that you have seen with respect to the recession as a pride issue? >> it is interesting. what is happening is we're beginning to do is destabilize norms that were there. we think about prosperity, there is always this underserved group of people that existed. they're all these programs that were developed, ways to help them move from one economic ladder to the next. what is interesting is that as our economy starts to contract and we start to destabilize these things, we're having a bit of an economic darwinism that is existing. it is existing in an unfair way. you're competing with someone who started.

further ahead. you are just learning where the field was. you are having to compete with someone that started on third base. we're going to quickly see what we're seeing now. we're going to see this gap in the haves and the haves not. if the nation were interested in being able to compete globally, it would not allow its communities to be destabilized. what we have to do as urban leaders is we have to figure out what smart policies exist to take this market-based approach that everyone is so loving and make it a public good. we keep industry going.

how do we keep community going tax while industry is going, how do we keep community going? if we are really smart about how we utilize them and actually use what they are supposed to do, i think we're going to help the economy. you have to be smarter. >> let's give him a hand. [applause] >> we are such an amazing people. we have had every moment that you can think about except the economy and our communities. we think of it in two ways, big money are no money at all. i used to think about money like that until i realized something. i grew up in the projects of chicago. i drew up with the kids in the

store. where my friend took over for his father, i called him one day. i said how much do you make a year? he told me $12 million. i said you make $12 million a year in the projects of chicago? then i really started to think about it. there are 30,000 families that live within the project. it just 10,000 families spent $100 a month in the store, that is a million dollars a month. imagine if they knew what they were putting into the store that was leaving the community every day. we do this every day. we say we do not have money to support the urban league. then get on facebook [unintelligible] you bought gucci shoes, but you don't have $20 for the urban league.

we are holding up of the dam. we will not put our money together to make a movement happen. but americans aren't broke. we are not broke. we have plenty of money in the hood. we are just foolish with our money. that is the problem. we have had every economic movement. i have to piggyback on the good brother about not being a citizen in this country. i am going to tell you as an attorney, you are free -- look, look. he can be free because of the emancipation proclamation unless you have been locked up. >> in the 14th amendment, your right to vote is there. >> they take that away from me. >> come on, brother.

come on. i am going to get back on top of it and tell the truth. it is all about economics. if you are laughing at me. i tell the truth. one thing that is going to happen to everybody is that we're all going to die. if you die, you can leave something for it children in family. the second thing is the urban elite. we have got to support people who support us. if we sit here and i do not have money, you are disgracing your ethnicity. you are going out in your spending $20 on a hair cut. you're buying gucci purses. when i write a check for gucci shoes, i write a check for the urban league at the same time.

>> before you go there, i want warren to follow up. there is a great deal of excitement but there is more than you are doing a run the whole issue of black banking. from an illusion standpoint, -- solution standpoint, what are some things you're asking your viewers to do? >> i am asking them to open up accounts for the black man. we have churches that do $300,000 a weekend. these are the things that we need to be talking about as far as economic development in our communities. the government is not going to save us. this country is not going to save us. the only people who are going to save us is us. if we do not realize that we need to come together and work

together, my thing is this. we talk about we need to do this for a education. there to things i have learned. politicians only know one thing, numbers and money. if you have numbers on the wall coming they will listen. if you have money to back it up, and they will listen. right now we're putting our money with everybody else. i am not talking about tearing black america away. this is the same thing the jewish community does, the arabic community does. we just need to have that same thought process. if everybody in this world signed on together, instead of having $5 i would have $5,000. that is the way we need to think. i'm asking people to open up black banks. i just cut a big deal with nationwide. i want to put something back in the community.

this is important to me. we need to do the model are jewish and latino brothers are doing. we can change what is going on in our community and be able to fund housing programs, and national urban league programs, those are getting locked up illegally. there is so much going on. there too many things to deal with. the one thing that has the community, we can have what we need to change. >> great. great. kevin and then jeff. >> i was glad to say something different but i was struck by the conversation. history is important. history is the people's memory. i want to change some of the way we describe our situation. i happen to disagree that we

should criticize our people and let racism off the hook. we have to do both. never let racism off the hook. we are reacting. we have internalized the racism. i did not know any of this black history we talked about. we have this level of compassion for our people. we have to put into context why the behavior exist in the first place. it is one thing to say we do not spend money. if you look at the last 50 years of our history, there was a classified. what dr. king was talking about, he had an essay called a black power redefined." what happened, they have to move and completely abandon the masses of our people. >> i can vouch for this.

i'm clear about this. i felt like sometimes what we do is we bring into the 21st century the fate conversations. it is not enough to say this. their leadership -- let's talk about this. crack cocaine in the 1980's. there didn't even think viable. i am not finished. i hear this everywhere. it is that even call to me to

say let's look at what other communities are doing. let's look at the example of our history of economic empowerment. i do not want to go outside any more. >> the problem with that is back. the reason we're in this shape is because no one taught the history. >> it is our job to teach the history. if the go back in history and talk about black wall street and the reconstruction area, it had to do with the economic movements. he did this. people are willing to spend

money. >> let me interject for a moment. >> but this important mission that this is not a heated discussion. >> this is a discussion that is taking place about where we are what we need to be doing. i am encouraged by it. i think it needs to go beyond the rhetoric to what the strategic moments that we make to honor what i think both of you are saying. i have a question. let me say this.

from facebook, its of how to make get young people so that we engaged? i wanted it that a step further and began to talk about it. so much of what we're talking about has to deal with digital space. especially if we're following what he talked about. it is where young people are. if we are not utilizing corporate relationships to be able to not just gain access to broader broadband been able to utilize technology to educate people, it is a by way of black wall street. it should be accessible to a generation of than people that are not going to open a book. it is easier for young people to talk about where they are partying rather where they're educated. it is not just talking about

civic engagement but education, employment, and empowerment. >> the problem makes us all look illiterate when it comes to dealing with that. the i do not want us to move from the important content mastery. it is really not unique. we need to be able to stream its. the question of how you deal with leadership, how the deal with that? me to talk about the school. people who work at the highest levels of google and apple, they send their children up to high school. one thing is not allowed in the early grades, computers. we have to be very clear about the importance of mastering reading.

we cannot have a move from oral literacy to print based literacy. when you move from morality to literacy, and the people who deal with morality get shut out of what happened next pit we run the risk of losing our content mastery. everything is not on the internet. you cannot do this with touch. they spent minutes trying to figure out how to turn it on. they had already been a hard wired to that. this is a mind that is no longer going to be thinking about the deeper implications. this is something to the independent on.

you have to help me with the. in the classroom, you almost have to shake your teaching styles to address that. and everybody, just settle down. but you've got to help me. we struggle with this every day. young people can help us with that. >> i would say that part of the thing that we mentioned before was the difference between our generation and previous generations because of the influence of technology and easy access of twitter and facebook. we're also very much a generation of instant gratification. we want change to happen instantly. if we are going to try to enact social change using social media network and everything, we need to make sure that we can have tangible goals quickly that people can see everyone on twitter can make a training have it.

that is something where we see an issue going global and people are really getting involved either through retweeting it or using social media. when we are doing that, we have to make sure that as a generation cannot change takes time -- we have to make sure that we understand that as a generation happens, change takes time [unintelligible] used social media in a positive way. >> the technology provides us accent's -- access to information. information, you can pull that up on the computer screen in a second.

knowledge is a process, and some -- and an understanding that you gain from an educative process. social media are consumer uses, but the larger issue of thinking and gaining understanding and knowledge are educative process is that we need not abandon for the corporate profit margin. we need to be mindful of that as a community. >> the syria, egypt, those all get on the covers as models for the changing the story. but the first story that did that was actually the jenna sex. the reason that story broke, and i want every person who does not know this to know this, because it should be on the same wikipedia page with syria and egypt and iran and all of the other places social media gets credit for the story breaking.

the only reason anybody knows about it is because a bunch of john black bloggers conducted a blog-in -- young black blotters conducted a blog-in that drew attention to it on the same day. the point that i was making before was something that i was very uncomfortable with. that is, the american community as well as our nation at large discussing the issue of class. sasha and melia, will have advantages that some of us only dream about. the reason we call that a distraction is because people are willing to go to court.

that is what i mean by race being a distraction. people want to talk about race because it is something that they can seat. the fact that there was an entrance and i could not have because i could not afford to work, there is an advantage. all of these things are set up an entire system were those of us who are not born into privilege, not only are we trying to find the seal, but we do not even know what the sport is. [applause]

>> we have to understand that, whether it be the populist movement of the 1890's, whether it be the refusal of poor whites to move with blacks in the union movement in the 1920's and 1930's, whether it be the classism that emerged out of civil rights, the question of race has always been used to defy the glasses. people are against legacy in court because they'd think that combined with privilege, they will set up -- they will one day have access. [unintelligible] >> let's give our panelists a big round of applause. [applause] >> my name is randy richards. i am the president of the national league professionals. representing 5000 members nationwide. we are a training ground for

leaders. once you leave college, 21-40, and you are starting in your profession, we provide leadership training and wraparound skills to help you become more proficient at your profession. we see people come to us who maybe -- may be a truck driver or in various professions. we want to help them with that -- those wraparound skills. what advice do you have for people that may not have gone to college, may not have had that opportunity? what advice would you give them and what is available for them? >> first, i want to commend the yp's. [applause]

and this is kind of piggybacking on what joe just said. -- jeff just said. we can approach our people in the spirit of charity. the power of our movement only comes when we have our family members in our movement. but in regards to what we can do in connecting -- culture is a very important piece to that so that we can connect with people where they are. i know we have occupy but it is kind of hard not to pay homage to the occupied movement. they use technology and twitter. it is so profound and that process. there is an effort to move forward, to connect, to unify our people. mad love to you in boston. i had a good time with you in boston. i would recommend two things. at first, i think you should have for people that you like at all times.

and i do not care if you are talking about as a professional or what you are doing. have the elder you can talk to can give you a bit of advice in the field you want to participate in then you have that cat that is your same age. it may not have the same backfield, but you are going through life together.

mad love to you in boston. i had a good time with you in boston. i would recommend two things. at first, i think you should have for people that you like at all times. and i do not care if you are talking about as a professional or what you are doing. have the elder you can talk to can give you a bit of advicen the field you want to participate in then you have that cat that is your same age. itay not have the same backfield, but you are going through life together. then i have my cousin who, i g five babyt he's mas and everything. i can't quit because i don't want to be like him.

en i have the kids that i mentor. i go around the country and i do things with that. and secondly, i think we need to have a conversation honestly about the realities of the workplace it is a white privilege. cism is real. white privilege is real. rush limbaugh called president obama in monkey and talked about michelle obama. [applause] in corporate america it you have too in there knowing -- hopefully it will not always the like this, but you have to work twice as hard as somebody who does not look like you to adjust how to be real about it. >> one of the things i heard randy say, though, and correct me if i'm wrong, is the training component.

those young leaders that came before. reverend talked about it being a lunch counter movement. but nobody could march without being trained. it was not enough to be passionate, but you have to go through a training run apparatus. one of the things i'm interested in that randy asked was, where are some ofhe organizations and institutions and provisions that are providing the training. >> part of this is an eight- point plan. if you read the plan, there are specifics about job training for

disadvantaged youths. what do we mean? people who did not finish high school on time. people who want to get their life together. and we have to recognizehat when a high school system is in graduating 3% to 4% of african- american youngsters, they are often locked out and left out. they cannot go to even a community college. one of the things we do well as an urban league. at one of -- what i think the affiliate's do better than anything else is training people for civic activism. to train people for his third activism is important, but -- civic activism is important, but for young people that maybe have

an arrest or did not finish high school on time, we say in our report is that if this nation can spend a trillion dollars on a war in iraq,e can spend a couple billion dollars helping disconnected youths find work and priorities. [applause] >> part of the conversation that was happening right here is the classic conversation. it is the voice -- dubois, b30 booker t. part of what comes with those problems is the creation of the solution. what i would say from the training standpoint is having this conversation is extremely important, but what do we do

with it. how do we define the problem and stay here is the solion to the problem? how do we make sure that the person who may not fit in this room with us, how do we make sure that person has access to opportunity? it will take us to define the problem, to define the solution and create a pathway for counities to be stronger. it is our lunch counter moment. it is systematic approaches to solving very difficult problems. and we should not be afraid to be smart about it. let's be intelligent about how we get it done. >> as i have a facebook question. olli two states have xtra to write the laws that have passed. what changed, and what do we

need to do to address it? e literally980's got on buses. i went to school at howard university and we literally went to the south and reorganize people to challenge those unfair laws. you all have got to find some th you are going to organize, not just at howard university and campuses around the country, but also in the communities of washington d.c. you have to engage the work on a regular basis. [applause] the other thing i want to say really quickly is that i respectfully disagree tt we cannot learn from social networks. i have written 11 books in my life.

one thing i am clear about what i am on facebook and twitter every day, this is a very different time not just for young people. is want to stop marginalizing and saying it is just young people. i think we all have a responsibility. that is why i have been trading for the last three days nonstop -- tweeting for the last three days of nonstop. my hope is that they will take the stuff and run with it and sa how can i go deeper within -- with this thing. in brooklyn, new york, there is an organization called families united for racial and economic equality. their work with people in the housg projects of brooklyn, n.y., and they literally help the people to stand. you are a leader. it does not matter if you are on welfare or have -- do not have a ged. you can transform your housing

situation. i love the urban league professionals. i said in st. louis a couple of weeks ago, that we have a responsibility as folks with skill sets and resources and educational backgrounds to go intohese communities and show people how to be self empowered. [applause] i believe the role of a leader is to make yourself as capable as possible. a leader should do one of three things. one, the leader should change the direction of the conversation. number two, if you are a leader, create an institution, an organization, or a business that supports -- or an organization that supports the committee. you have to know the people and love the people and understand the history of the people.

it is our responsibility in 2012 to make it as a digestible as possible. me the people where you are in -- where they are. that is why the urban league is important [applause] >> to answer your question, though, what changed is that presidt oba 1. -- won. there were 5 million new voters in 2008 and most of them voted for president obama.

>> being that we are from -- remove from a generation that is not see the issues [unintelligible] how do we educate others on these issues because they are not being broadcast right now. >> how do we reach those folks that are not in contact with folks on a regular basis? we seem to be coming down to some basic point. it is a question of love, compassion for your people, and

culture. next week, howard students are leading the alternative spring break initiative here. [applause] there are going to be students -- and this is important -- you start young. this question is education. new model it. if a young person is not at an hbcu or isn't with the urban league, if they are not at a black church, if they are not at one of those places, you can go out as a representative of those places. just like over spring break, they are going to be in chicago, detroit, atlanta, haiti. as individuals, you can inrvene in the life of a 6 or 7-year-old.

and she models u. and that sparked can lead to an infectious moment. an educational moment is infectious. that child will never be the same. the answer to that question is that each onef oz kendeigh rep to go out and affect -- each one of us can be a representative to go out and affect those places. >> what did you say your name is? >> ms. morgan. >> you are 19? when i was your age, i came home for christmas break. i got into a car because i did not want to drink and drive by pulled over the car. the police pull us over and ran our names. i was the on the o who had not been arrested. i did not want to drink and drive. these two white cops said all four guns belong to me. i sat in jail for s months. i lost my scholarship,

everything. could not afford no attorney. by theime an attorney took my case, she said, did you pray to god? that night i prayed and monday, my mother came to see me. she was in there quietly. i said, what is wrong? she said, i found an attorney that will take the case for $500. it was a 15,000. whene went to court, the judge apogized to me because the cops live. at the end of the case, the attorney look at me andaid, what do you think? i said, i got to repay you. and he said, if you want to do something, do something with your life. at that moment, i decided i wanted to be a lawyer. [applause] true story. i went to law school. while i was an undergrad they started to come to visit me and

they started seeing me, how much i wasaving as an undergrad. so they went and got their ged so they could come to undergrad with me. these same three boys after i graduated from undergrad and went to law school started seeing me in moscow and seeing my experience. next thing i know, these same three books -- these the same three boys came after me in a master's program. one is a law school. i start working in my field and the next thing i know i'm going to a graduation for those same three boys for master's degrees at law school. never in my mind that i think inviting them to college would ange their lives. and as i grew and became older and older, that is when i

realized i'm not here to just affecting me. i'm affecting everybody i come into contact with. how do you change and reach out to these other people who are not here? you change by showing them the example that you are. [applause] >> let's give jeff johnson a big round of applause. [applause] please join me in thanking does array, the winner of the howard lake award. and we want to thank her for her important work in helping desiree along the way. it's onmore time for desiree. [applause] [cheers] let's thank dr. gregory for her insightful -- her inside.

and reverend schear of the pop caucus. warren valentine, who you can hear on the radio every day. dossers -- dr. leslie fenwfg, dean of the school of education right here. our colleague, no one rollins -- nolan rollins, president of the school in new orleans. and writer and active as, calvin polland. and blogger and commentator, kelly goff. [applause] i would also like you to know the state of black america, if you want to read it online, is available for free. if you would rather get a hard copy, you can get a hard copy for a small cost. you can get it hardbound or online.

so many important articles. i also want y to join me in a very special thanks to politics 365. jeff is with politics 365, for all th they've done [applause] i want to thank the urban league staff and the staff of the urban league policy institute. let's give them a big round of applause. [applause] dr. and doctor, dr. and mrs. sidney rabon and his wife. stand up one more time. [applause] we want to thank again at&t for being our sponsor this year. let's give them a big, big hand. [applause] also, to all of theyp's, you

came out in large numbers, you set a record. and i want to thank the entire audience and encourage you to look at tonight as just the beginning of this conversation about occupying the vote. the important conversation of what we have to do in 2012. i hope you leave tonight informed, educated, inspired, and empowered, empowered to go back to your local communities. take this message of during the challenging work and helping people in sustainable economic communities. i hope you will go back and spread the good word of the urban league movement, the urban

league movement, the civil rights organization of the 21st century. i've got an ipad. this thing is nice. and we had a promotion and the winner of the texting promotion ipad winner -- can i get a drumroll? leah casselberry. [applause] give it up for lea casselberry. [applause] again, ladies and gentlemen, i want to encourage you. the webcast of the state of

blk america will be available at iamempowered.com. we want to thank c-span for being involved. we have the meeting in the morning, the mark and a monument and a special briefing that i know aot of you are all going to attend. -- the meeting in the morning at the martin luther king monument and the special briefing that i know all of you are going to attend. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, thanks for being with us. good night. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cablsatellite corp. 2012]

>> a symposium on the evolution of a global terrorist organizations. then a discussion on u.s. and european such strategies. then robert zelnick on his 10- share developments. >> >> osama bin laden was a relevant communicator. i have to confess that i had insider knowledge. i worked in afghanistan.

he knew osama bin laden personally was involved in communications to try to corral this. he we knew he was making out reach. we knew he was involved in these types of things. we knew he was there. as a consequence, osama bin laden was relevant. >> how this change since the death of osama bin laden. officials and other members continue to weigh in. see what they have to say at the c-span video library. >> this weekend, said jones of documents the war against al qaeda since 9/11 in hunting in the shadows. he is interviewed by kimberly dozsier.

this is every weekend on c- span2. >> one year after the break killing osama bin laden, daniel benjamin said al qaeda is on the path of decline that will be difficult to reverse. he spoke about the fight against al qaeda. after his remarks, they will examine global terrorism, focus on the television and the united nations people movement. this is about 1.5 hours. >> please come and take your seat. >> will be introducing our keynote speaker this afternoon, the president of the marine corps university, general murray. he will be leaving us this summer and take over education command and be in charge of all of marine corps education. i can see why.

i want to thank him publicly for having been a commander who believes in michigan type orders, who gives guidance, but allows so ordnance to carry it out and giving them trust and support. that is very important and i'm sure he will take that to his next command as well. general murray. [applause] >> i kind of thought you were just trying to get rid of me quickly there at the beginning when you started out. thanks to everyone as we start out the afternoon session, for coming here today and taking part in this discussion. i encourage you to continue to do so this afternoon because you have a lot of experience and expertise. that is why we have asked you to come here with us today.

please, focus our participation this afternoon and again. thank you very much. i would like you to thank the support for this conference this afternoon. our keynote speaker for today, ambassador daniel benjamin. he is currently ambassador at large and is with the state department as the coordinator of counter-terrorism. a very unique background, a combination that we do not often see. i think it would be beneficial to us this afternoon. in government and private- sector media and as well in academia, and aside from his current position in government, he has also served with the

clinton administration as the director of counter-terrorism and in the office of multinational threats. he has also served as a speechwriter on foreign policy and a special adviser to president clinton. in the media realm, he has been a correspondent for "time" magazine as well as "wall street journal." and has served as a senior fellow at the brookings institution in academia, and also has degrees from harvard and oxford where he serves as a marshall scholar. a great background and very honored to have you with us this afternoon. please welcome the ambassador. [applause] >> thank you very much, general. and thank you for reminding me of the difficulty i have had in holding a job. [laughter] i have to say that if you are really going to be education

command, i envy you that title greatly. that sounds terrific. it is a real pleasure to be back at quantico, and particularly to be here today on this anniversary day. i cannot think of a better place to be that at one of the nation's centers of innovation, thinking, and training about dealing with the threats that we face, a place that has played such an important role in the advances that have brought us so far in the struggle against terrorism. i would like to thank minerva for inviting me to this conference. as far as addressing the question of how terrorist and radical groups and, it is certainly timely and provocative one. anniversaries provide us a good time to take stock and assess where we are. we find ourselves as we get the one-year mark of the death of osama bin laden. that mission's success, of

course, was the result of extraordinary courage and intelligence. and i mean intelligence not only in the sense of the information we had about what was going on, but intelligence about how to conduct, such an operation. it was moreover, a real testament to the american resolve, and it built on the work and determination of countless intelligence analyst, collectors, military specialists and operators as well as a host of counter-terrorism professionals across the government and across many years. over the last week or so, we have seen a variety of opinions expressed in the media and various public fora to take stock in the -- to take stock of where we are in the world before -- concerning al qaeda. many of the questions that you are going to examine in this conference about how terrorist groups and are, i'm happy to

say, is a bit beyond my purview. but i do want to start the discussion with looking at where we are regarding al qaeda, what the environment is in which that network operates, and then to offer some thoughts on what more we need to do to achieve the common goal of reducing the danger from this group. let me begin by giving you an assessment of the threat of landscape. i will start with the court and work my way out word. -- the core and work my way out work. as all of you know, the death of bin laden was a landmark. he was the sole commander and founder for 22 years, and iconic leader and some of his personal story had a profound attraction for violent extremists.

and we should also not forget that he predicated the group's focus on america as the qassam terrorist target. -- as the group's terrorist target. we know that he had to manage all contact with -- when he was not organizing contact, he was directly involved in organizing a strategy more so than we had thought. and as many of you are undoubtedly aware, he was not the only top al qaeda corr leader who departed in 2011. also one of the most dangerous and cable vault operatives in south asia -- capable operatives in south asia left. and the senior operational commander, both of those were killed. in pakistan and in our tiny and -- in mayra taneytown, -- in pakistan. and in mauritania another was arrested last year. u.s. stronghold in much of the

tribal areas have -- has degraded the ability of the group. al qaeda is losing badly, and bin laden knew it. in documents he talked of disaster after disaster. he even urged tribal leaders to go to places away from air photography and bombardment. and in addition to the significant -- leadership losses, they also found themselves having difficulty with getting money, training of recruits and attacks in the region. i think we ought to acknowledge

with getting money, training of recruits and attacks in the region. i think we ought to acknowledge the al qaeda core remains a threat and we recognize that at any given time it could carry out strikes at u.s. interests at home and abroad. but al qaeda is on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse. of course, its core is not the

environment they are drawn to. some are tempted to exploit the situation. the extent to which this is working remains unclear. the opposition may not be aware

that they are even aware. in east africa, this reminds a primary driver. in february, they announced a merger of? despite this, we know most of this of the foot soldiers are focused on events. they have demonstrated an ability to conduct this elsewhere as a solid the 2010 bombing in you gotta and the stream -- you've gone dead. with the assistance, they have

made to the vacant gains in degrading the capability. this is a very important good news story, and probably a better news story than many of us have probably expected after years of frustration in somalia. the death of key leaders and organizations and popularity is a result of its failure to address a basic need during the humanitarian crisis. it continues still to pose a threat to civilians, humanitarian workers and government structures there. alassane has been the historic weakest affiliate. m.o. has been a kidnapping for ransom, or kfr. they have garnered millions of dollars through kfr. these new crown resources, together with the advantage of taking -- with the ability to

take advantage of the instability in the region have strengthen them. while there are recent efforts of the torrid -- tuaregs to distance themselves. boko haram is not an official affiliate, but it leaves the organized group of militants and extremists. they are focused on internal nigerian issues and exporting -- exploiting the grievances in the northern part of the country. they launched attacks across northern nigeria, including one in august against the u.n. headquarters in abuja that signaled its capability to attack non-nigerian targets. despite having suffered shattering setbacks on a number

of occasions, most recently in 2009, a lack of progress in resolving an emmy and grievances, combined with the heavy-handed tactics and has led to the group's resurgence. despite their weak organization, its brand of violent extremism is gaining ground and cannot be overlooked. we remain concerned by a report of communications trainings and weapons links to our shebaa and al qaeda in the arabian -- al- shabab and al qaeda in the brianne peninsula.

-- arabian peninsula. finally, remain concerned about threats to the homeland. in the last several years cannot individuals who have been trained by aq and its affiliates have operated within the u.s. borders. and while they are so-called loan will terrace, they also pose a threat -- lone wolf terrorists, they pose a threat. as a result of its weakened status, al qaeda and especially its affiliate, is pursuing people to conduct individual acts of violence. that has become one of the main thrust of the group at the moment. the last case in toulouse and nabhan represent -- and montalban represents the challenges we face.

at this point, i would like to turn to turn to the larger historical circumstances shaping the battle. over the last year in the middle east, a number of events have greatly discredited the extremist argument that only violence can bring about change. that is physically an aq argument. al qaeda's single-minded focus on terrorism as an instrument of change can be severely de- legitimize it. basic human freedoms is something all of us should support because it is profound in its own right. but from a person -- security perspective we also have a great deal to gain. democracy can give people a

stake in their governance, and thereby weaken those who call for violence. we have no illusions that this process will be painless or quick. revolutionary transformation undoubtedly, paired with the many bonds in the road. we are not blind to the perils. terrorists can cause significant disruptions for states undergoing challenging democratic transitions, and those states are often themselves distracted, weakened, or otherwise by the lack the capacity in their ability to deal with terrorist groups. for example, the philippine revolution profoundly affected some of the poorest families on earth. exiled fighters returning has significantly changed the situation in somalia and nigeria and chad and mauritania.

it has created a vacuum and the north of the country that has provided aqim with greater freedom of movement. while history appears broadly to be going in the right direction, we obviously cannot count on it going in the right place everywhere all the time, as we see -- i should also add, in nigeria. it what more do we need to do to defeat or reduce the terrorist challenge? what the same terrorist groups are financing is below of new recruits. to put al qaeda and like-minded extremists on a permanent path to defeat, these groups will

have to lose their ability to recruit new members. how do we stop that inflow of new recruits and prevent those that do take up arms up from achieving their goals? our counter-terrorism successes in the last few years are attributable in large part to the extraordinary amount of international cooperation we've seen over the last 10 years. and although we have not been able to prevent all attacks, we have disrupted dangerous conspiracies and taken bad actors off the streets and disruptive highly cable networks. there is much to be a product as a global network. we have become exceptionally adept at effectively counter terror -- countering terrorism. we have to undercut the ideological and rhetorical underpinnings that maybe extremist world view attractive to some individuals and groups pa also addressing local grievances and other drivers.

we also have an opportunity to build with our global partners to deliver a strategic blow to al qaeda and it's dangerous ideology and put this organization on at half to oblivion. to be truly successful, we have to focus our efforts on its affiliates and also working to make inroads against terrorist recruitment. therefore, working with our colleagues, our focus is on two major lines of effort. first, building are neighbors capacity.

second, countering the ideology and blunting the drivers of extremism. we know that when there is a recognition of the need on the part of other states and the political will to address that need, we can help with programs to build the capacity of our partners. and we can develop the stability of partners with their law enforcement institutions to do a better job of tracking and incarcerating terrorists. you in the military are fully engaged in this effort, particularly through the many training programs that you undertake in countries are on the world. the flagship capacity building effort remains the anti- terrorist assistance program. one of our goals is to build a pleasure trip partner countries, and with law enforcement in particular, and the atf is able to effectively provide advanced training. this formula -- formulate program has been successful in turkey, indonesia, some

countries in northern africa, and jordan. it is important to note that we are also working to put the capacity building effort atop the international agenda. particularly the international global terrorism form. it is a new counterterrorism body with 39 countries and was launched by secretary clinton on september 22 last year in new york with her counterparts from most of the founding members. it's initiative is a major part of the obama administration's broader effort to deal with 20% 3 threats. its primary focus is on capacity building and relevant areas. it will increase the number of countries dealing with terrorism within their border regions. this will help north african countries undergoing transitions to engage with the u.s. and other western countries on politically sensitive issues. this can be how the western partners can best support the transition away from oppressive regimes to roulade law foundation based on counter- terrorism. -- rule of law foundation's based on counter-terrorism. these meetings offer a wide -- an ideal platform for its efforts.

at the september launch, we saw two major accomplishments that demonstrated the reaction- oriented nature of the gctf. its members mobilized some $100 million to support the training of prosecutors, judges, police and officials to help move away from oppressive tactics of terrorism. this is one of the most hopeful signs that we can blunt one of the key drivers of radicalization. these programs will assist countries in their transition as they draft a new counter-

terrorism legislation and train the key officials necessary to apply laws in keeping with universal human rights. on the counter in violent extremism side, there is a group working to do precisely that. the united arab emirates is going to step up and host the first conference ever on fighting violent extremism. its target audiences will include government policy makers, police, educators, media, online communicators, and other religious and community leaders from around the world. indeed, countering a violent extremism, this second prong of what we call the strategic counter-terrorism agenda, is at the core of our policy and about interrupting the flow of new recruits.

we are working to address the drivers of radicalization that lead people to accept al qaeda's ideology. we are working to ameliorate the conditions that make it attractive. we know that it thrives where there is alienation or perceived or real threat of deprivation. we need to address the underlying conditions and we need to do more to improve the ability of moderates to strengthen their views in opposition to violence. to counter the violent extremist propaganda, we will push back against aq's online and media activities. the center is housed at the state department, but its mission will be to use public

communication to reduce radicalization by al qaeda and its affiliates in the interest of national security of the u.s. it also leads the on-line efforts through the digital outreach team, which challenges the extremists by engaging on line in arabic or somali through text video and other forms of communication. we know that it involves more than messaging. such as encouraging their use of social media. we're also working to support their skill building and minting efforts. we are looking to the use of empowerment a purchase that have a crack -- track record of this.

lastly, we must build our partners capacity. this is going to be the key to the sustainability of this effort. we are sponsoring an effort on reintegration. it is led by the research institute.

. .

the eu will continue. since the cyber threat is a global threat, we need global corporation. we need to find out how the you

can reach out to the partners. the work in this regard is a good example. instead of focusing on institutional set up, we have built upon the budapest confusion and tightened if i complete actions to make citizens and businesses safe. i am convinced that in the coming months, we will be able to report back on many successful joint operations between the fbi reports. we have found some good work. it is impressive. we should be proud of ourselves. we have to be honest. the bad guys have the upper hand. the only way to change the game

and our favorite is for us to act quickly and act together. i am hopeful that we can win the debate. i am hopeful we can win the battle. i am looking for good suggestions, discussions, and the beginning of an even bigger partnership. thank you. [applause] >> good morning. during the introduction you mentioned homeland's security was the third largest department with over 270,000 employees. someon leaned over to me and said "that is luxembourg." [laughter]

i want to thank partners for giving us the opportunity to speak with our european colleagues, which is something we are doing with increasing frequency. my colleagues and i had just concluded in negotiation with sylvia and her colleagues on a major data exchange. it is an instructive experience. not least in giving us a deep and abiding insight into the new europe. i was at a meeting where i was confused about the views. she was puzzled. one of her colleagues said she met the former soviets.

this young woman looked at me and said that is not new europe. new europe is all of us, post- lisbon. that is the new europe that we need to learn and understand. it has been an extraordinary experience for us to get to know the commission, at the council, the parliament in great did tell and capital as they are adjusting to life post- lisbon with highly invigorated and responsible institutions. cyber security is why we are here to talk about. not only our partnership but the problems in cyber security generally. this has a key role for the united states. i find that when i talk about the role of common security, it

is almost as important to talk first about not just the cyber role but as, and security more generally. we have great brand name recognition. we have something less than great brand name understanding of what it means. we do. what are we trying to do in this department in this endeavor that we call home and security? i will talk a little bit about that in touch on our strategy. we will embrace the theme of international partnership and what we're trying to do with the europeans around the world in the area of cyber security. common security has the core mission of a helping to create a safe and resilience place. this is our motivation. that is our touchstone. we think in order to do this we must prevent terrorism,

certainly. this is job one. secure our borders. not only do we need to keep out people or goods that might be dangerous, but we need to expedite legitimate trade and travel. we need to do both things. we need to manage immigration. what is this about? it is about capable communities and responsive federal system. i spent most of my career in national security. it is coomon to think of -- common to think of homeland

security as just a piece of homeland security. it is different. it is different than the national security in ways that matter for cyber security. national security is centralized in a strategic. homeland's security is a decentralized and bottom driven. it is driven by municipalities of this country. this is animated in the first instance by the means of the municipalities and states and of all the american people. if national security is about all of us, homeland security is about each of us. no single department can do all that needed doing when it comes to any aspect of common security. in the case of cyber security,

no single government can do all that needs doing as well. it is an important difference to understand this. it animates how we approach all of our tasks. be called out cyber security and the importance of a safe and secure cyberspace as a core mission, because we believe that cyberspace is the and a skeleton of modern life. it is the endoskeleton of modern society. it is impossible to imagine a resilient place for the united states and americans and for our global partners around the world. what do i mean by that that's what does it take to ensure cyber security? insuring the fidelity and reliability of our information and the security of our

identities in exchanging information. the rest is commentary. how do we secure those two things? we have a strategy for cyber security. we think we need to do two basic things, protect the critical infrastructure and build a healthy resilience cyber ecosystem. how do we protect critical infrastructure? 90% of the critical infrastructure rests and private-sector hands. we operate in homeland's security with the principle of nothing about you without you. we were close with the private sector with addressing the needs of cyber security for these critical infrastructures as well. we need to establish situational awareness.

what is happening tax how do we reduce the risks and exposures to that exposure? how do we build and resilience to the infrastructures so they can withstand challenges that they face the ax when it comes to building a cyber ecosystem, we focus on empowering individuals. we need smart individuals and smart machines. we need to build out individual organizations that are responsive. we need to promote services, products, and architecture is. we need to build fundamentally collaborative communities and how they can operate together. it is fair to say that when it comes to cyber security, there

is a significant misperception out there. there's a significant opportunity. what is the misperception? when it comes to cyber security, the role of government is clear. that is a misperception. it is not clear. what is the problem? the problem is the view of the role of government is polarized. there is a great debate going on among those who are paying attention. this might be characterized as follows. there are those that believe the government has no meaningful role to play in cyber security. it certainly has grown and expanded and generated the new walt that it has, representing the dynamic force that it is in

a way that was largely a result of market driven forces. the government should have no role in intruding in this space in the name of cyber security. on the other hand are those that think it is a war zone and that it is so dangerous and so urgent that government must come and forcefully to establish his scenes of cyber rig established regimes of cyber security. in our view, this is not acceptable. government do have a role to play. they must play a role here. cecilia mentioned the dialogue going on with the eu institutions and how to think through the appropriate role to play when it comes to balancing freedom and openness and access

to the internet with security. how do we build that openness and that access any way that also insurers resilience? how do we understand the role of the private sector when there are so critical to the very functioning of the internet? how do we inshore global cooperation for building cyber security? the policy identifies a number of priorities for the country and approaching international standards, innovation, and the role of the internet. we want to protect our economic livelihood. we think standards and innovative market ensure this. we want to protect our networks. we want to strengthen the hand of law enforcement and extent collaboration to enhance confidence in cyberspace. we also know that when it comes

to internet governance that it is a multi stakeholder model and it is the right approach. we believe in a strongly. we believe in the power of the internet for international development. what does this mean at the end of the day? we will continue our responsibilities to safeguard the infrastructure and to build up this ecosystem we believe is imperative. networks are supported by intelligent protocols and what the federal engagement is responses and appropriately positioned.

none of this can be done alone. there is no more important partner than our partner in the european union. i mentioned that my colleagues and i have just concluded in negotiation on this major exchange. at the heart of this negotiation which took 18 months, it actually took nine years. i need a chair. i am pleased to say that we successfully concluded on this agreement and hope we do not need another one for the next seven years. at the heart of this negotiation was the issue of privacy. how do we ensure cyber security? how do we ensure the privacy and protection of the exchange of information? this is at the heart of the cyber security debate as well.

we have different views of privacy. i and no american or european legal expert. there is a way to characterize the differences of views. from an american point of view, privacy is about limiting government from intruding in our lives. from the european point of view, it is about controlling one's information want to put it out there. these are two very different views. they're equally legitimate. the heart of our agreement was in recognizing the legitimacy of each other's point of views in terms that each other find important. we will succeed. i mentioned there was a misperception on the role of government. in the debate, it is dominated by extreme views. the opportunity exists in

partnerships such as we have with the european union to solve these problems in an inclusive way that helps creates a resilience cyberspace for us all. thank you very much. [applause] >> of a like to thank both of our speakers. they have a somewhat packed schedule. we have a few minutes for questions. if i could ask you if you have a question to raise your hand,

identify yourself, and get the microphone. john, are you kidding? do you have a question? [laughter] it is okay with me. i can identify you. >> it is best to see you both. secretary lute articulated the multistate colder model. i would be interested in the european perspective on that. you mentioned the plot to take over the internet. what is this from the european perspective? >> that is a short question to a long answer. i know you have debate on internet governance. the truth is that this is part of the work i was alluding to. i am doing it to formulate a joint cyber strategy. these issues will be dumped upon as well. we have to make sure that all the 27 countries are on board. some have their own strategies. some are not as advanced.

we must make sure that everybody is aboard. we are having this discussion that this would be ready by the end of the year. i cannot tell you much about this. we are in the process of identifying our reviews. this is important. there is the commitment to the budapest convention. wherever we go, countries are implemented. it is very much at the heart of where we are parting from. we hope he can be clear. >> thank you. the question in the corner? >> thank you.

is this working? i am an ambassador. i would like to thank you for your presentations. my question is to both of you. only talk about corporations with the third countries, they are not paying attention to cyber security. in short, they do not see the advantage of cooperation in cyber security. what are the means to involve those countries into cyber security corporation? thank you. >> perhaps i will start. i met with their colleagues when i was recently in luxembourg.

there are big questions relating to cyber as well as other things. i was recently somewhere where the government is quite dazed with the importance of cyber security. this report a wonderful saying. by the third of fourth hand, you know longer properly attribute it. i believe that to him. he said there are two types of organizations in the world, those who have been hacked and those who do not know they have. some have to confront the reality of eight cyber attack intrusion and even disaster. surely we cannot wait for that to be the case. there the process, we believe a ecosystem for everyone is aware

of their responsibility. we think machines are users. can we create machines that are shipped with the cyber security capabilities already enabled so they do not have to be activated? that can provide part of the defense. users at all levels beginning with young children, understanding their vulnerability. it is outrageous that we live in a time 25 years after the creation and growing of the internet that there is not a single activity one can undertake in cyberspace confident that your identity would not be compromised. for some, you cannot even plug in your computer. that is unacceptable. we have to do better. this begins with a frank dialogue at every level. between governments, the public,

the vulnerable sen responsibilities. >> thank you. what to start by congratulating on the work. we like your professionalism. there's also the work of your president. it is very inspiring to many of us. we discussed the need of this cyber strategy. it can understand a country like estonia would be frustrated. this is what i was talking about. this is a very important challenge to make some countries who do not have this preparation and are much more vulnerable. did they do not have the infrastructure to deal with this. that we get them on board and that we get them into cooperation. i hope very much that the cyber center will speak this afternoon.

this can be a focal point to encourage, help, and encouraged. i mentioned the u.s.. that is an obvious part. the interval of setting up one in singapore. it is not in place yet. it has a few years yet to go. this could be a partner for us as well. this is the best tool we have. we need as many countries as possible to control the community. it is a struggle. it is difficult. we need to be very focused. the cyber criminals are further than we are. we have to make sure that we can make the internet a safe place or people are comfortable living there.

it is also going back to the individuals. >> we have two up here. >> and the washington correspondent for european politics. you mentioned your plans to do a new eu legislative proposal. i am wondering if you can tell us more about what kind of proposals you have in mind. has the u.s. signed up to that? >> on your first question, maybe it was a bit out there. it is already on the table. we proposed it two years ago. it is updating our current legislation on cyber. it has been outdated. it contains new elements on cyber crime and criminalizing the use of malware.

you will hear more about that. he is an expert. this has not been decided tomorrow. we're making good progress. >> another? >> george washington university. for the commissioner, they mentioned the intersection between cyber security in traditional types of questions. the european union does not have many confidences when it comes to military security. does that leave a vacuum there? how are people trying to fill

that? there have been discussions over the last few years about a possible blanket agreements calling all the variety of issues where homeland's security and privacy intersect with each other. what do you think the prospects of that are after the recent conclusions? >> you're absolutely right. when it comes to more military security, the european union as such does not have this. there are issues where they operate bilaterally. this is very high on the agenda. the mere fact of gathering of this center and having it on the agenda also creates platforms were people get the practices.

this hopefully will create a dynamism that also can be useful in that field. we do not count on building up any european union competency. we have enough to do that as it is. it can also be useful in that regard. there is a limited amount of people who work. they may need to disregard this as well. >> i am very bullish on the european cooperation. on an upswing, i will comment on the ongoing negotiations about the umbrella agreement. it is important that our dialogue is essential. at cannot imagine the united states proceeding in any area without being in close dialogue with our european partners. when we were in luxembourg, we had about 5 4/6 additional things that we want to put on

our agenda. we will. to your specific question, there is that ongoing conversation. i am optimistic that this dialogue will not only remain, but will develop an important if that is possible to imagine. they have lost the ability to say anything is impossible. everything is there for policy. >> i would like to say that some of the most innovative thinking between governments and multilateral institutions certainly in our own dialogue relfects, at least in my experience, some of the most innovative thinking and willingness to confront novel issues that i have ever seen.

some issues are as hard as they get. these problems occur against a backdrop of interesting developments. the rest of the world is not standing still. i recently talked to my colleagues about the world's 5 billion. there are five things that claimed the minds of people. being in india, of being chinese, being catholic, and being on facebook. there is the emerging importance of the internet. it holds for the world's population as we conduct and conclude our conversations across a range of issues. >> i think we have time for one more question. if not, it is great to seeing these together. if there are places that should

have shared values and could set a precedent, it is the cooperation between the u.s. and datthe eu. join me in thanking our speakers. [applause] if i could ask the members of the first panel to come on up. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> the heritage foundation focuses on veterans later today, hosting a panel to discuss the future of men and women who serve the country. veterans will speak with organizers about how americans can help service members and their families. joining us this morning at 10:00 eastern on c-span. >> this weekend nonbook tv, the

war against al qaeda since 9/11. he is interviewed by a reporter saturday night at kennecott eastern. and your questions and comments for tom brokaw. sunday at noon eastern. but tv, every weekend on c-span -- book tv, every weekend on c- span2. >> robert zoellick called on the u.s. to balance its budget and restore growth at home. he also was addressed to the financial crisis that happened during his term. this is about an hour. >> can you turn it up in the back? thank you. it is a great pleasure to welcome to the interaction

forum robert zoellick, the president of the world bank group. it is telling that during his tenure, i will address you as bob, that bob has not only led one of the major institutions of the world, but has done so in a manner that has been based on a significant recognition not only of the role in society but as a fundamental partner and critical player in the developed space. as you know, bob came from the private sector as the vice chairman of international for goldman sachs but also someone who has devoted years of public service, whether it has been as a deputy secretary of state or a

career in terms of time as the 13th u.s. trade representative. an individual who is perhaps the best of what they permit -- public servant is, with dedication, knowledge, and a vision for change. we are going to have a conversation to explore a number of topics before we go to our audience. there will be some microphones for that. perhaps the place to start, as you and a successful term antiworld bank, -- at the world bank, what have been the areas of accomplishment? we have had conversations about transparency, as you reflect back and look at where you

think you have left a mark, then we will turn it to the future. >> ok. first sam, let me thank you. you have been a great partner for the bank. i was reminded that i pinkeye participated in this forum, from london -- that i participated in this form from london. it was a great for a man you had a successful three days in terms of covering a wide variety of topics and from a brief exchange with sam, what you have been discussing, a similar aspect of what i have been trying to do at the bank, to see how the debate fits into a larger network or echoes system -- the bank fits into a larger network or ecosystem. sam has been helpful in many aspects.

thanks to you. i guess, when i reflect on my tenure at the bank, i tend to think of three phases. it has been a busy five years, that is for sure. the economy has been in turmoil. the first part was the institution faced its own troubles and there was an internal turnaround when had to focus on a. as a complement to the bank of's staff, my judgment was that the sooner we got people focused on the mission of the banks, the sooner they would move away from the gossip that occurs in every institution. i tried to focus people want strategic themes. that turned out to be right. they aren't challenging issues

but getting people focused was an important part -- are challenging issues but getting people focused was an important part. i came to the debate in 2007. later that year we were starting to get signs on food prices. i think we also talked to there was an article about nutrition being the underappreciated millenium development goal. so, we quickly had a sequence of food, fuel, and financial crisis. it was important for the bank not only to respond in a big way but more quickly. we had a quarter of a trillion dollars in financial support. as important as the money was that types of things we did with interaction, u.n. agencies in

the food area and the flexible support you need to offer four countries that are trading burgeon grounds and turns of the challenges they face. the third was, as we have a been able to focus more on it, which is to try to modernize the institution. one of the themes i have stressed is that need to modernize multilateralism. i often do things from a historical perspective because i have a love of history. i looked at the world bank as one of the institutions created for a set of functions. if you think about the issues that people were dealing with in those issues have not gone away. they have been transformed. the institutions have to change. some people feel that you should

do away with institutions. i believe that they play a critical role as an interconnecting tissue among sovereign states her. but you have to make them better. there is a lot of aspects. one was financial. we got the first capital increase in 22 years in. in the area for the 79 states, we are able to raise $90 billion to those countries. then, a second area is something that i know you feel strongly about, that tried to open up the institution. we created the first freedom of information act. equally or more important, we have opened up all of our data sources going back to the late

1940's. we continue to expand that. the idea is not only to make it available but to develop applications so people can tap into our household survey data, may be added to it in different aspects. this is important because not only does it force the institution to be open to a variety of voices, but it is part of a larger idea i have been suggesting about the need to democratize development, move it away from economists and universities and say thou shalt do this or that can work with people from the community to try to figure out how they perceive problems and how we can have an interactive process. this has huge potential. if you get on our website, you can find a country and find out

where our projects are and get the data. we want to be interactive so somebody with a morgue -- mobile device can say care is what we see is going on. this is transformative. it has an interconnection because as you think about civil society, these are groups second help you catch corruption, assess the performance of social services, help you determine what are the priorities in the community. it is a huge shift from the notion of a bagel, bureaucratic institution in washington to a much more network to system. there are other aspects of modernization. we are trying to figure out how to interact with aspects of the private sector, connect a trade agendas.

whether it is oceans or climate change or some of the other issues, how to connect those. what i would summarize is to say what i tried to do at the focus onto developing countries as clients as opposed to objects of policies. as opposed to saying, here is the develop the model we are going to show you, to go to clients and say let's understand your problems. let's try to figure out what we can bring to bear on those problems from our knowledge or, increasingly, from the experience of other countries. the other change, sam mentioned i was the trade representative, i have seen this in a trade and finance, the extraordinary changes on the world economy but

on other countries is something that has moved with rapidity. the system is still adapting. >> a rather impressive five years and during a difficult time. what was interesting was you gave a speech at the kirstin institute on an understanding of the role that societies play in development. both the democratization, how did you come to the conclusion of working beyond the nation state and what would be the challenge to play the most productive role as a partner in this effort? >> well, my background is multidisciplinary. whether it is history or

government or economics or diplomacy or other aspects, i sometimes a joke that political scientists like to come off with the structures that will simplify and portrays society. if you approach it through a historian, he tends to see the complexities. -- you tend to see the complexities. whatever the problem, we are so far beyond the idea of nation states as a billiard balls, you have to understand the society. one of the things i have tried to imbue was to save these are difficult economies issues. if there is a problem and we come up with the best textbook'' solution but it does not work, it does not work. we have not served the client.

how can we try to understand their institutions, the limitations, the witnesses that banks to barrett? -- the weaknesses and to bring things to bear? it certainly means the broader definition of civil society. witness what happened in the arab world. this is a sharp example of where you can have certain growth numbers, certain types of performance, but if you do not have inclusive growth, it runs through everything. if you think about any problem i have dealt with, if you are trying to get something done or to improve the, you have to have your partner own it. in development, you can bring money, expertise, all sorts of things but if the local people do not own it, it will not work.

civil society is a broad umbrella for different ways in which people participate in their future. >> one of the things that has been interesting was the role you have played as an advocate to focus on the world's poor. to work on change that impacts people. during your tenure, to what extent have we as a society been successful in dealing with poverty? and as you got a sense of the bank playing a role within that, to what extent have we made strides forward and where do we need to push our efforts? >> let me come back to that. i was reflecting on the question you asked before. it might be interesting to the

audience, remember i was a trade representative in 2001. trade is a fascinating topic because it is international and domestic. when i came into the office in 2001, there was literally blood on the walls because people were upset. whether it was anti- globalization or intellectual property rights, maybe it is both because my experience in a democratic society, my view has always been it is better to open up and have the dialogue in discourse. i have a preference for it being one where people are not yelling at each other. in that sense, i am an 18th- century enlightenment. that is the way i prefer to do it. you take life as it is. the more that you show you are willing to discuss, the other

side of it, you also have to say, if i disagree with you, i get the right to say it. i do not fall. if i have a view on energy development or people who do not dams, only 30% in sub-saharan africa have electricity. to have an analytical discourse about this. the reason i emphasize this is it is true in diplomacy as well. i was stunned the negotiator for the united states at the -- the lead negotiator for the united states which germany. what our initial read of the situation in late 1989, was said the people of east germany wanted what the west germans

had. there was a school of thought called the third way that said we are going to create our separate state. i was in eastern germany after the wall opened and i was visit whichutheran churches had an important role in the civil society, but what i could see was that this was not going to be a merger, it was going to be a taken over -- takeover. the whole momentum of the next 11 months was driven by the fact betti eastern germans were going to come one way or another. -- that the east germans were going to, one way or another. certainly in the world of trade, i underscore this because, to me, it is like so normal it is

obvious. how peopling gauge and of course, you have been part of this, -- people engaged, of course you have been part of this, some of thiem will be advocates. some will be the participants or opponents. the world needs room for all of that. you will have to decide how to engage and come back to this for the bank. this is interesting because the other lesson is governance is important. it is not just a question of the economics. we have 188 countries. you have different governments. they are not all democracies. what you can find is, part of my life is finding common ground to make a better good out of it.

you find a lot of countries with authoritarian systems understand the importance of reaching out to public opinion in having a sense of performance for their schools or health care. there is a way you can make better society is as part of this, better performance along the way. all of this fits within the concept of a the engagement of civil society and its richness to say nothing of the fact that makes for richer societies. i come from this and from the point of view that the state has the role but in my society the state is not the all-dominant role. it is a servant to the public. >> u.s. about the party issue. -- you asked about the poverty issue. in macro numbers, the first

millennium development goal of cutting poverty and half is one that will be reached and has already been reached before 2015. we have now seen progress across sub-saharan africa. there have been some significant achievements. on the other hand, if you look at the number of people living under $2 a day, there are billions and billions of people. they are starting to get a chance to have -- at those levels, the difference is whether it is subsistence or a better future. when we start to get in societies where you start to see that mothers and fathers can create a better chance for their children, then you start to get into possibilities. having said this, of course you

have to desegregate the world. another area i have tried to put focus on, the bank. i know it is called the bottom billion. living in society is where you either have conflict for post- conflict. none of it works. you have a downward spiral of a cap -- governance. leading to more violence. we are still at the start of that work and there is a lot of things the bank and others can do. as you think about poverty, one of the challenges for the world is to recognize that poverty is not only in the issue of what they as associate as the poorest countries, the 79.

that is a form of financial support people get grants or loans without interest. 70% of the people living under $2 of the day are in middle- income countries. part of the challenges is working with the middle income countries that many people think are doing well when they read the stories about indian or chinese growth but they do not recognize there are a lot of poor people. to connect the civil society with this, the good news is that countries do not have money to waste so when you are trying to learn more about how to have effective service delivery, people have looked at transfer models and safety nets, the feedback you get in communities is an important dimension of that. we are a long way from overcoming poverty but what i try to emphasize to people is

that if overcoming poverty were easy, somebody would have done it. this has been with us for a while. when you but that he strides, it is impressive and should motivate us to keep going. >> this broader issue of inclusive growth of states that are responsive to the citizenry, you have had an innovation with this social accountability fund. this concept that, is the world ready for this? to what extent does society need to mature as an actor helping states? and also manage their budgets in such a way that we are not seen corruption. -- seeing corruption.

>> at one level, i am trying to remember exact, the world bank provides $600 million a year to civil society groups. let me give you a practical example. when we worked with the government of afghanistan, the development of basic preventive health care. our ride is the government task to own it. one of the danger is it has no connection with the government and when they leave, it dies. our idea was to recognize that the health ministry could design something but it did not have the capacity. this basic services operated through civil society groups. it is outsourced. whether they are international or domestic, it has had a huge

effect on maternal health. basic medical services. affective societies realize you can -- what led to the creation of this fund was the idea that i thought i had seen a number of groups planning an important role on the social accountability side, trying to understand their performance, helpless with corruption, understand the service delivery aspect. you would combine this with transparency. one of my stories isthat, i learned of a project for somebody had the idea of putting on the door of the school that this project would provide 100 textbooks and teachers. only 50 showed up and one teacher. then you get the community to

say, where's the rest of this? how you can combine transparency, interaction with a more vibrant community. going back to the history of the world bank, we had an arm to help with the reconstruction of europe and japan. in the 1950's, we had our private sector arm. then you have ida in the 1960's. we need something to further support and find a civil society. -- fun civil society. this is not a slam dunk. i am always a little wary of government financing because, do they maintain their independence? we spend a lot of time talking to groups to say how could we do this in a way that helps find some of these organizations to

contribute to accountability, maintain independence, how far standards, and that is -- have high standards, and that is something we are doing. 25 members covering these countries because they are worried, are we creating groups that are going to attack the government? what we agreed is to start with countries that are willing to support this, see the benefit, and i hope that will demonstrate its benefits for others. even non-democratic countries can see the benefit of this. a country like to nietzsche -- tunisia, the have been supportive about their auditing tax, their openness. when we give them support, it

includes legislative changes. the last point is, you cannot take anything for granted. as i mentioned in our spring meetings when we met with civil society groups, people think this is important then you should speak up for it, too. we will get it going. we will get additional support of $20 million. we are also talking with foundations. some of them are interested in this and can support it in this context. one of the other lessons from the bank is, you have to build in feedback loops. nobody has the perfect idea. that should not be an excuse for stasis but learn and tried to use a transparent a figure to improve what you are doing. improve what you are doing.