because the laying down of that scroll is another way of saying the center of the world is not here. and it cannot be fixed here. it will be fixed in the communities where our people come from and where the meaning of america is passed on to the next generation. and all of you who will soon have the chance to go back into government and those of us who will be cheering you on the outside as you take on that important executive branch calling, your jobs are not chiefly about the policy outcomes when you serve your new president. your job is about the administration of justice because the checks and balances that you believed in two weeks ago and that fedsoc was founded about 35 years ago are not just your new callings when you take the oath, but you have a special new opportunity. when people stand up against power and they disagreed with that power, no one is surprised. they all expected that.

what is glorious is when people believe in limited government and restraint, when we are the ones in power. and we now have the opportunity -- [applause] -- to model that restraint. thank you. [applause] >> president-ele trump continues to meet with several pea people this weekend in new jersey. today is visitors have included billionaire investor wilbur ross being considered for treasury secretary and rudy giuliani, a possible choice for secretary of state. >> [indiscernible] >> commerce secretary is what we are looking for.

donald trump: thank you. >> do you have heaters? can i come over? >> [indiscernible] out am trying to figure which way the wind is blowing.

>> [indiscernible] trump: and other things. [indiscernible] >> [indiscernible] donald trump: terrible, terrible. >> [indiscernible] follow the transition of government on c-span as donald trump becomes the 45th president of the united states and republicans maintain control of the u.s. house and senate. we will take you to key events events as they happen without interruption. watch live on c-span. orch on-demand at c-span.org

listen on our free c-span radio app. >> thank you very much. the author talks about the life of the warmer federal reserve chair in his book. by the seniorwed fellow of economic studies. >> alan greenspan had an unusual in theing being raised 1930's as the child of a single mother. his father left when he was only three and was a distant figure, unreliable, who would sometimes say would come and see his son and not show up. i think that reinforced the tendency he had to live inside his own head. >> tonight at 9:00 eastern on "afterwards." go to c-span.org for the complete schedule. >> hillary clinton was honored

this past week by the children's defense fund at a ceremony in washington, d.c. her first public appearance since conceding the presidential race to donald trump. this is 20 minutes. [cheers and applause] hillary clinton: thank you, thank you. here so wonderful to be with all of you on behalf of the children's defense fund. i was listening backstage as marion went through the 45 years

we have known each other. it even reminded me of some things i had not recalled, namely that this event was the very first event my husband and i went to after he was elected resident. it is especially poignant and meaningful to me to be here again with all of you. i want to start by congratulating the terrific young people we are celebrating tonight. [applause] clinton: you will hear more about each of them because each has faced painful challenges, violence, poverty, abandonment. but they never gave up. they never stopped reaching, never stopped dreaming. and yes they have beaten the , odds. they call troy the little poet who could. he is an artist on the

basketball court and a flourishing writer in the classroom and he dreams of becoming a filmmaker. bethany lived in one foster home after another but with the help of a wonderful teacher and her own determination, she is thriving and hopes to become a doctor so she can care for others. carlos left a difficult childhood in guatemala, made it to america all by himself. then he took a second journey, making it all the way to college where he is studying to become an engineer. janet's secret weapon is her beautiful voice and her musical talent. music has helped her overcome every obstacle that life has thrown in her path. and she persevered through the

rest of bullying at school and found her voice producing a student television show at school, and now she has set her sights on becoming a journalist. generous,less, openhearted, determined young people represent a rising generation that should give us all much hope for the future. and they represent the continuing commitment of the children's defense fund and marian wright edelman. now i will admit, coming here tonight wasn't the easiest thing for me. there have been a few times this past week when all i wanted to do was just to curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again. but, if there is anyone who knows how to pick yourself up and get back on your feet and get to work, it is marian. [applause]

hillary clinton: she has been doing it all her life and she has been helping the rest of us do it too. i am as inspired by marian today as i was the first time i met her 45 years ago. and she told the story, i was a young law student, i had lots of hopes and expectations about what a law degree would enable me to do. i had the words of my methodist faith ringing in my ears to all the good you can from the people you can in all the ways you can whenever you can. she was the crusading legal activist, also a graduate of yale law school and she was translating her faith into a life devoted to children, service, and social justice. observing that, eating part of that is one of the greatest , gifts anyone has ever given me.

i often thought about marian's journey, about the stony road she walked, and how she never lost her faith and kept her eyes on the prize. i think of her taking the bar exam in mississippi, the first black woman ever to do so and then opening offices for the naacp and a head start program for children who desperately needed it. i think of her with robert kennedy in a tiny shack in the delta opening his eyes to the realities of poverty in america. i think of her with dr. martin luther king jr. starting the poor people's campaign and dreaming of an america of equality and opportunity. you have to look at marian's life and ask, how did she beat the odds when so many gave up the hopes of those early days?

for marian, it has always been about children and families. that's what matters and that's what has kept her going, helping to open public schools to children with disabilities in the 1970's, an effort i was honored to be part of, working to expand medicaid and the 1980s to cover more pregnant women and more children in need. standing with me and others in standing with me and others in the 1990s to create the children's health insurance program, improve foster care and create early head start, fighting in recent years to build a bipartisan movement to dismantle the schools to prison pipeline and reform our criminal justice system especially for juveniles and spending countless hours mentoring and training the next generation of leaders and activists. under marian's leadership the children's defense fund works to give every child a healthy start a head start, a fair start, a

safe start and a moral start in life. i cannot think of a more noble or necessary mission. no matter what the setbacks, she has always believed in the words of dr. king often repeated by president obama, and the arc of the moral universe is long but it tends toward justice. now sometimes it can feel awfully long, believe me i know, but i also know it does then. it bends towards justice because people like marian in so many of you, and their people in this audience i've had the privilege of working with and admire for so many decades, and you refuse to stop pushing and when you get knocked down, you get back up. i often quote bears her when she says that service is the rent we pay for living. you don't get to stop paying

rent just because things don't go your way. i know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. i am too, more than i can ever express but as i said last week, our campaign was never about one person or even one election. it was about the country we love and about doubling an america that is hopeful, inclusive and -- i didn't get into public service to hold high office. [applause] 45 years ago that would have seemed an absolute incredibly long headed view but i did decide to be an activist and use my law degree to help kids. every child deserves to have the opportunity to live up to his or her god-given potential and i

believe the measure of any society is how we treat our children. as we move forward into a new and in many ways uncertain future, i think that must be the task for america and ourselves. despite the progress, and we have made progress under president obama, more than 31 million children still live at or near poverty in america. and i hoped to have had the opportunity to build on the progress that president obama has made because i know that we are stronger together when we are lifting each other up. let's be clear, when i talk about children in or near poverty, this isn't someone else's problem. these aren't someone else's children. this is america's problem because they are america's children. child poverty isn't just an

urban challenge or a black or latino challenge, although children of color continue to suffer disproportionately from high rates of poverty, but make no mistake, there are poor children of every race and ethnicity. three out of every 10 white children in america are at or near poverty. that is more than 11 million kids. when you add in 11 million latino children, more than 6 million black children, 1.5 million asian and american indian children, nearly 2 million children of two or more races the scope and scale of this challenge becomes clear. poor children live in every state and in every congressional district, so they deserve the attention and efforts of everyone of our representatives

and leaders. the measure of success must be how many children and families climb out of poverty and reach the middle class? we know what works to support kids and give them opportunities to succeed. parents need good-paying jobs, affordable quality health care and childcare, to have helped daunting the demands of work and family. communities need investments that let families up, not neglect them and let them fall further behind. there are millions of children who will go to school tomorrow in classrooms with crumbling ceilings, empty bookshelves and walls covered with mold. there are children in places like flint, michigan drinking water poisoned by lead and children all over our country face the daily danger of gun violence. we have to ask ourselves, what are we doing to give them the

safe and healthy lives they deserve? there are also children who are afraid today like the little girl i met in nevada who started to cry when she told me how scared she was that her parents would be taken away from her and be deported. no child should have to live with fear like that. no child should be afraid to go to school because they are latino or african-american or muslim or because they have a disability. we should protect our children and help them love themselves and love others. [applause] so there is a lot of work to do as long as any child in america lives in poverty, as any child child -- as long as any child in america lives in fear, as long as any child, not just here but in the world faces these challenges, there is work to do. girls as well as boys in every country on every continent deserve that chance to fulfill their own potential.

and it is going to take all of us doing our part. i wrote a book 20 years ago called it takes a village. a lot of people asked, what the heck do you mean by back? i meant what was understood from the beginning, none of us can raise a family, build a business, he'll peel a community or lift the country by ourselves. we have to do it together. [applause] so i urge you please don't give up on the values we share. look at the young people we are honoring tonight. if they can persevere, so must all of us and if marian has taught us anything, it is there are so many ways to make a difference. organizations like cdf have never been more important. businesses, philanthropists, foundations, congregations of

every faith to step up too as there is work to be done in every community, debates to be joined in city halls and state capitols and even if it may not seem like it right now, there is common ground to build on. a lot of governors and legislators and mayors are pioneering new ways to support parents and provide children with early learning in red states as well as blue states. many of our most important accomplishments for the well-being of children and families have come from both parties working together like the children's health insurance program. that could never have happened without republican leaders. now it covers eight alien kids and even in this presidential campaign, for the first time ever a broad consensus emerged about the importance of affordable quality childcare and

paid family leave. [applause] so we have work to do and for the sake of our children and our families and our country, i ask you to stay engaged, stay engaged on every level. we need you. america needs you. your energy, your ambitions and your talent. that's how we get through this. that's how we help to make our contributions to bend at the arc of the moral universe poured justice. i know this is an easy, i know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether america is the country we thought it was. the divisions laid there by this election run deep but please listen to me when i say this. america is worth it. our children are worth it. believe in our country, fight

for our values and never, ever give up because over the past two years i have met so many people who reaffirmed my faith in our country, all kinds of people. young people starting businesses, people working in every way they could to make the world a better place, police officers who put their lives on the line, members of community who work with the police to try to keep everybody safe, immigrants who worked so hard to become citizens and so many people who work long hours caring for children and elderly even when the pay is not enough to support their own families. i met and had the chance to work and travel with mothers who lost children and turned around and started a movement for peace and justice. a pastor in south carolina shared his bible with me open to first corinthians.

love never fails that tells us and i believe that. way back when i was in college, and they gave the commencement speech, i said to my classmates then that our goal should be to make what appears to be impossible, possible. i've made these older now, a mother and a grandmother. i have seen my share of ups and downs but i still believe that we can make the impossible possible. [applause] i will hope that the stories of the people we are honoring tonight, marian's story, although she is achieved, the children's defense -- defense fund has often made the impossible possible. and then finally as some of you heard me say during the campaign, i draw hope and sustenance from another person who influenced my life instilled those every day, my mother.

i have talked about her difficult childhood. she was abandoned by her parents when she was just eight years old. they put her on a train to california all by herself in charge of her little sister who was three years younger. she ended up in california where she was mistreated by her grandparents, ended up on her own working as a housemaid. she beat the odds. she found a way to offer me the boundless love and support she never received herself. i think about her every day and sometimes i think about her on that train. i wish i could walk down the aisle and find the little wooden seat where she sat, holding tight to her younger sister all alone and terrified. she doesn't yet know how much

more she will have to face and even suffer. she doesn't yet know she will find the strength to escape that suffering. that is still years off. her whole future is unknown, as it is for all of us as she stares out at the vast country moving past her. and that dream if going up to her and sitting next to her and taking her in my arms and saying look, look at me and listen. you will survive, you will have a family of your own, three children, and as hard as it might be to imagined, your daughter will grow up to be a united states senator who represents our country as secretary of state and win more than 62 million votes for president of the united states. [applause]

now i can't and you can't go back in time and hug all those children that preceded us but we can do that now. we can reach out to make sure every child has a champion because i am as sure of this is anything i have ever known. america is still the greatest country in the world. this is still the place where anyone can beat the odds. it's up to each and every one of us to keep working to make america a better and stronger and fairer. thank you. god bless you and god bless the work of the children's defense fund. [applause]

c-span, were history unfolds daily. we were created as a public service by america's cable television companies. it's brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> president obama is in peru this weekend, along with several other world leaders, for the economic summit. this is the last stop on his final overseas trip as president. he's scheduled to hold a news conference later today before traveling back to the u.s. we'll bring it to you live, around 6:30 p.m. eastern the president spent part of the day yesterday in peru holding down the town hall with students. he was asked about the results of the u.s. election and his thoughts on global affairs. this is an hour and 15 minutes. >> [cheers and applause]

>> we shouldn't waste our time waiting for someone to do something.we should do it ourselves . follow his example of service to others. mr. president, thank you for being a dreamer that believes in people and provides big opportunities like the american initiative. [applause] >> so -- please join me in welcoming to the stage mr. president.

[applause] [cheers] president obama: thank you. hola, peru! muchas gracias. thank you so much. everybody, please have a seat. thank you, cynthia feher kind words and your great work in peru and bringing people across generations to meet challenges. please give cynthia a round of applause. [applause] president obama: it is wonderful to be here and i want to thank everybody at catholic university for hosting us. [applause] president obama: i want to thank the government and the beautiful people of this country for your

hospitality. >> i love you. president obama: i love you too. [applause] president obama: while i am here i am hoping to enjoy some good food. [speaking spanish] [cheers] president obama: but i will not be attending the [speaking spanish] because i usually leave the dancing to my wife. i want to thank you for being here, the young leaders of america, for being here and representing every country in latin america and the caribbean. this is my final stop on my final trip abroad.

as president of the united states. and i have had the usual meetings with world leaders and we have done important business, but whenever i travel, one thing i have been trying to do is to meet with young people. first of all, young people are more fun than old people. second, because today more than half of the world population is 30 or younger. and that means your generation will determine the course of our future. as individual nations and as a global community. the good news is, because i have had a chance to meet so many young people it has made me very optimistic to know that you will be in charge. that is why i wanted my last public event abroad to be with you. i often say the young people in my own country, if you had to be born at any time in history, it

would be right now. if you think about all the progress made, not just in your life, but in the last few years. fewer people than ever live in extreme poverty, there are more children going to school, more girls in particular. and people across the world are securing their human rights and technology has reshaped the world, because you can't tell what everybody with their phones. at a time where the earth is more populated with cell phones man people, you have power to connect across borders, across nations, you have the tools to solve problems that we could not even imagine when i was your age. even as we make all of these

important strides in advancing the rights of more people, even as technology brings us closer together, this unprecedented change also brings challenges. we see it in the widening gap between rich and poor, we see it in the forces of extremism and division that too often tear communities apart. so the question for all of us is, how can we make sure in this changing world, that nobody is left behind and all of us are stronger and more prosperous? over the last eight years i have worked to strengthen our relationship with the americas, we are more than neighbors, we are linked by trade and culture and family and values. our students study in each other's countries come are tourists travel back and forth

and we've moved beyond the old arguments to create a new vision, one that your generation, which is liberated, can lead. during my presidency we committed ourselves to the region and to the partnerships with your country with mutual respect and we increased trade and a stood up for democracy and human rights, fought against corruption, we have promoted clean energy and led the global fight against climate change. we opened a new relationship with cuba. i strongly believe that this work has to be done with governments, but it is more important that it is done by people. because government is important, but it cannot solve every problem. we had to work together at the people level, teachers, doctors, students, entrepreneurs, and

religious leaders, all all trying to find ways in which we can find it is values of dignity, humanity, and respect that so often -- that is why we developed this young leaders initiative. our goal is to find the most innovative and energetic civil society leaders and help empower you with training and tools and connections come as a you can make a difference in your communities and your countries. this network already has 20,000 people and this fall we welcome the first class of fellows to the united states. [applause] president obama: this is just 100 of them. they are from every country

across the americas. [applause] president obama: so, we want to help you and at this generation with grants, skills training. today i am announcing the longevity latin american and caribbean society innovation hub, a way to connect civil society organizations across the nation so you can support each other. we are investing $40 million into the young people across the caribbean, to help you start your own businesses and we are helping with the global exchange, so you can showcase your new enterprise to people around the world. and that way you can connect and hopefully get resources that you otherwise did not have. and we are moving ahead with partnerships, like the 100,000

strong in the americas. by the end of the decade, we want 100,000 u.s. students studying in the americas and 100,000 from the americas study and in the u.s. [applause] president obama: and we are announcing a partnership between the united states and the development banks to fund a competition exclusively between peruvian and u.s. colleges and universities, so students can come together to work on climate change and environmental science. [applause] president obama: we are focused on the hemisphere and the region, but it is more than just north america, south america, you are part of a global network

from africa, southeast asia, europe and the americas, that are doing amazing work. and while my time as u.s. president is coming to an end, this is just beginning. we need you to stay connected, work together, learn from each other, so we can build the next generation that can take on challenges like climate change and poverty and help grow our economies. make sure women get opportunities. [applause] president obama: make sure that every child, wherever they live, has a chance to build something, to build a good life. i will give you some examples of the amazing people that are involved in this process. we need leaders like dr. valerie. as a young doctor, she saw

firsthand how issues like a cute -- acute malnutrition and hunger hurt the children in this country. so he and a team of social workers started a team called a diagnostic group, focused on health care for abandoned children at the largest pediatric hospital in haiti. the goal is for the group to become the standard for pediatric care. and expand to reach even more children across haiti. so thank you for the great work you are doing. [applause] president obama: we need leaders like abigail of ghana. are you here? [applause]

president obama: after struggling to find her own grandfather home care, she realized that it was a problem for some many other families so she started an agency for home care. she started it as a service for families to take care of their loved ones, but now it is a social movement that provides job opportunities for women in the health care industry. so thank you for the great work you are doing. [applause] president obama: you already heard the great work that cynthia is doing in peru, across the world and across the americas, young people taking the lead. they are seeing problems, and they are finding ways to take

action. the main message i want you to know is that you have a partner in me and in the united states government. and we will work together. [applause] [cheers] president obama: we are going to work together. we expect the fellowship to continue, but i want you to know that i will continue to be involved, even after i am president, because i want to make sure that we continue to invest in your success. if you succeed, the world succeeds. i am very excited to see the great things you will do. let's take some questions. i am going to take off my jacket, because it is a little hot. [cheers] president obama: so. i was not trying to get a cheer out of that. here, canceled the grab this? thank you.

we will start with a question from the gentleman right here. please introduce yourself. hold on, the microphone is not working. not yet. do we have a second one? testing. hold on, here is the technical expert. here we go. there is another one. not yet. uh-oh. here we go. we will try this one. one of these will work. >> testing. president obama: there you go. >> good afternoon. i am from venezuala. we are working on a platform for latin america and i am a proud

member of the fellows. i am here to read a question from our network. there were 200 questions on facebook. so carlos asks, in our country, there is a debate on what matters most -- how can we create a world where we do not have to choose between them? both are important. president obama: that is a great question and a timely question, because i think that after a decade in which we have seen more and more countries adopt democratic practices, you are now starting to see some of those gains reversed. you are seeing countries going backwards, rather than forward in terms of freedom of the

press, freedom of the internet, in terms of respecting political opposition and civil society. and there are those that argue that democracy is incompatible with development, because you need order, you need somebody from the top to tell people what to do in order to achieve. i would suggest that you look at the evidence over the last 20-40 years. those countries that person to -- pursue democracy, transparency, where the leaders are held accountable, those are the countries that are doing best.

those countries that are repressive, that do not respect democracy, that silences critics, they go backwards economically. it makes sense, because in this time that we live in, development is based on knowledge and innovation and education and new thinking and sharing of ideas. it is not based on how much land you have, the natural resources, it is based on people. in a democracy what we are able to do is through the freedom people enjoy, they are able to create and to start businesses, start organizations, solve problems. what is also true is they are able to hold the government

accountable, so when the government does not deliver where the people, they engage in corruption. if policies only benefit if you -- a few, people can react and overtime they will get better policies from the government. look at what has happened on the coast here in latin america. you look at chile, peru, colombia -- all of them are doing better and going faster because of a new openness in the democracy that exists. what is true here is true around the world. the one thing i have to say is, democracy is more than just elections. democracy is also a free press,

it is also freedom of religion, it is making sure that the rights of minorities are protected, not just the majority. it is rule of law. and an independent judiciary. it is a matter of all of these elements coming together. but the main thing we have learned is that in this knowledge-based economy, this society, you can maintain order for a while with a nondemocratic government, but it will rot from within. over time, those governments fail and those economies fail, because when they make mistakes they tried to hide them instead of solving them. when somebody has a legitimate criticism of a problem, it can

be ignored because politicians do not have to answer. and eventually those societies will do much worse, often times by increasing repression as people get more and more dissatisfied and the society breaks down. it is true that nondemocratic countries are likely to get into wars with other countries. democracies try to solve problems through to diplomacy and dialogue. not only is there a contradiction, it is my belief that in order in this new economy for development to be successful, you need democracy. i will say one last thing.

democracy can be frustrating, you do not always get 100% of what you want. it means sometimes you have to compromise and it means that the outcomes of elections do not always turn out the way you hope. then, and we are going through that in the u.s. and i am doing everything i can to facilitate a successful transition with the president elect, but as long as we keep our democratic systems open, then the society has a chance to try something new and you can make a decision and correct problems they face in the future and progress continues. alright. let's see. [applause] president obama: you?

let's get a microphone to you. introduce yourself. i apologize, my spanish is just ok. we are doing this in english, but hopefully i am being clear. go ahead. >> i am very glad you are here in my country. for me, my question is, what do you think about the european union coming together to promote military integration in defense after the victory of donald trump? do you think we have global paranoia or created by the media or is it real?

president obama: what is your name? [indiscernible] president obama: nice to meet you. you are a student? >> yes. [cheers] president obama: you have some classmates here. the united states is such a big country that after an election people are uncertain. i think it will be important for everybody around the world to not make immediate judgments, but give the new president elect a chance to examine issues, to determine whether policies will be -- what their policies will

be, because what i have said is the way that you campaign is not the way you will govern. we are trying to stir up passions, but when you govern you have reality in front of you and you have to decide, how will i make this work. the alliance between the u.s. and europe through nato is very strong. and the president elect, donald trump, has already reaffirmed our commitment to nato. we have been asking for europe to carry more of the burden of defense spending than they have been doing, because the united states spends a lot more than some of our partners. and they recognize the need for them to spend more resources on

that. with respect to latin america, i do not anticipate major changes in policy from the new administration. i think the work we have done has been successful in establishing the strongest relationships between the united states and latin america in modern history. the friendships we have established with peru, the reopening of diplomatic relations with cuba, the investments we are making in trade and environmental policy and so forth, all of those i expect to continue. there are going to be tensions that arise come up probably around trade more than anything else. because the president elect campaigned on looking at every

trade policy into potentially reversing some of those policies. but once they look at how it is working, i think they will determine it is good for the united states and its partners. there may need to be modifications, i have called for modifications and elements of our trading policy. when we established the free trade agreement, one of the requirements was for peru to strengthen their protection of labor rights, and we did that in part because with all of our trading partners, we do not want to be disadvantaged because we are dealing with labor that has no right and so they get the lowest wages. we didn't also because -- did it also because it will lift the

wages and protections that workers here enjoy. because ultimately, that is good for everybody. one thing i really believe is when you pay workers well, ordinary people getting a decent wage and benefits and protections, then they have more money and they go out and spend that money, which is good for business and everybody is better off. that is the kind of attitude we want to promote in the years going forward. my hope is that that policy will continue. my main message to you and what i delivered in europe is, do not assume the worst. wait until the administration is in place and is actually putting policies together and then he

can make your judgment as to whether or not it is consistent with the international community's interest in living in peace and prosperity together. [applause] president obama: alright. ok. so, what i am doing is i am going boy, girl, so everybody gets a fair chance. right here in the purple shirt. [cheers] >> thank you very much. i want to say thank you for being such a great world leader. i truly think you have done your best in making the world a better place. president obama: i appreciate that. thank you. where are you from? >> i am from the bahamas.

i am the son of two haitian immigrants and i am a human rights activist. i do advocacy work on the radio, because it is a great form of communication. you spoke about youth and us shaping the future and to the direction of the world and what it will be. but i will give you a quick example of what i experienced, that can apply to all of us as young people. as a person being born to haitian parent immigrants, there is a section on you not being a native. governments have set on overtime. the average individual that you would come into contact with, they would see you [indiscernible] so the opportunities to help your country are diminished. some for example, i am trying to bridge the gap between haitians and others in the bahamas.

they say, you are fighting for haitians to take over the bahamas. i want them to live in peace. if you have the opportunity to have all of the prime ministers and presidents in one room, and you had one word of advice you could have given those leaders in regards to young people and especially millennials, what would you say to those leaders? president obama: i have had that opportunity a number of times. they don't always follow my advice. but to your broader point, look, we live in a world that is smaller than ever before because of the internet, because of modern travel. your generation gets ideas and culture and your politics from everywhere.

you are listening to everything from rolling stones to, you know, kendrick lamar to, you know, salas, reggae, so what is true music, what is true food is also true in politics and ideas. the great thing about young people is that has made your identities both national but also international. people here are peruvian, but you are also people who care about what happens around this continent and around the world. it means that you can be both proud of your haitian heritage

and live in the bahamas, and also be concerned about what happens in africa or what is happening in myanmar. that is a good thing. i will be honest with you, older people are threatened than younger people by this convergence. now that i have gray hair, i see what happens as you get older. you get set in your ways. you are afraid of things that are new. and often times, politicians can feed into that sense that everything is changing so fast, let's go back to our old identities. identities of race or tribe or nationality.

and my main advice, not just to world leaders but world citizens, to citizens around the world, if you are finding -- defining yourself by what you are not, just by the color of your skin or where you were born, then you are not fully appreciating what will give you a strong identity and meaning in your life and what will lead to prosperity and security for everyone. that is the values and ideals that we should all promote, that we respect everybody regardless of what they look like, that we give everybody opportunity no matter or they were born, whether they were born for or

-- poor or they were born rich. we have laws that everybody has to observe, not just laws for one set of people and then laws for a different set of people. the problem with that approach, a very narrow way of thinking about yourself, is that means you have to be in conflict with somebody else. the most important thing about you is that you are an american, if that is the one thing that defines you, then you may end up being threatened by people from other places when in fact you might have a lot in common and miss other opportunities. i am a very proud american, and my job as president of the united states is to look out for american interests, but my

argument to the american people is the best way to look up for american interests is also to care about what is happening in our neighborhood, because in their house is burning down, eventually my house will burn down. the best way for my daughters to be secure as americans is to make sure that people in el salvador or guatemala are also feeling somewhat security, because if not, that may spill over the borders to us. and some of the challenges that we face today are one's that no single group can solve. you look at something like climate change, that knows no borders. if there is pollution in china, it affects you here. if we are going to make sure the oceans don't rise so suddenly all the streets around lima are

two feet underwater, then it will require everybody taking the kind of collective action we talked about in the paris agreements. so i think that we should all have the capacity, and governments should reflect this capacity, to be proud of our particular circumstance, be proud that, you know, you are haitian, be proud you are in the bahamas. be proud you are young black men. be proud of your particular identity, but also see what you have in common with people who don't look like you or don't come from the same places you do. because if we see what we have in common, then we will be able to work together, and that is good for all of us. if all we see is differences, then we are automatically going to be in competition. in order for me to do well, i

have to put you down. which then makes you want to put me down. and everybody stays down here instead of everybody lifting each other up. the most important thing we can do. [applause] president obama: so it is a woman's turn. ok. everybody is pointing at this young lady. all of her friends are pointing at her because she has something important to say. [cheers] >> welcome to peru, mr. president. my name is sophia, and my friends and i are students. you have met mariana. marianna acosta? i am a student over there. we are so excited to get a job in tech, but there is so many

young people without our type of opportunity. so what do you recommend for more quality education or opportunity for people in latin america? president obama: the program you described is doing great work, and there is a lot of good work across latin america. one of the goals is to make sure that not only are we providing a great education for people at the younger stages, basic reading, arithmetic, all those things, but today, you also need to have some knowledge of technology. and what we are trying to do is to work with governments and ngos who expand access to the internet, to digital platforms, and what we also want to do then is help design curriculums and

programs through the internet so that online learning is accessible in places where previously there might not be opportunities. we are seeing some of those investments here in peru. that is part of the broader educational program that we have throughout latin america, that we can still do more. it is not just us. it is a public-private partnership also. in facebook, microsoft, google, other big companies who have an interest in an educated population because the more educated and the more wired they are, the more overtime customers are using their products and their platforms. what we want to do is to make sure that everybody, even in the

smallest village, has suddenly this library to the world and the best educational opportunities, even if there is not a big university in that small town. some of the learning that we can do, it doesn't have to be four years. sometimes a six-week program could teach people coding and computers, and suddenly right away that person has a job, and then they can learn more and ultimately go and get a four-year education. but what you need is that first step. we are doing this in the united states, by the way. it is not just in latin america. in the united states, one of the things we are finding is we need to expand computer science and literacy in the schools. we need to make sure also that we set up technical training systems where somebody who is

unemployed in a city where the used to be a big factory but now the factory is closed, or because of automation and robots, fewer people are working there, those people have lost their jobs, they might not be able to afford a four-year university. give them six weeks, eight weeks or 10 weeks of training. get them in a job right now, and then overtime, they can learn even more. so congratulations, you guys are doing great work. [applause] president obama: all right. ok. so this is a team effort now. it is good to see this swap ration. everybody is pointing at one person. this gentleman right here, right in the front. [applause] >> hello, mr. president. i am a student of this beautiful university with a gorgeous group of people.

i will give context to my question. the smartest man i know is my dad. my dad was born in cuba. he would to the united states to get an opportunity. he lived all of his life there from community college to doctorate, and he managed to do a lot of things because of the open arm policy towards him. today many immigrants can make the immigration, because there is still this open arm. but now they are saying they will have a closed-door policy. in your opinion, what do you think that today, the stand of the usa is for offshore innovators for people that want to go to harvard, m.i.t., yale, and what would be the consequences to this closed-door innovative?

president obama: thank you, thank you very much. [applause] president obama: first of all, i know your father is very proud you said he is the smartest man he ever knew. i hope that my daughters would say that. [laughter] president obama: america is a nation of immigrants. those of you who visited america, if you walk in an american city, not just new york or los angeles but st. louis or indianapolis or columbus, ohio, if you walk down the street, you see people that look like they can be from any place, because the fact is except for the native american population, everybody in america came from someplace else.

all of us are immigrants, and that has been our greatest strength because we have been able to attract talent from everywhere. i use this as an example. you notice united states did really well in the olympics. some of that is because we are a big country, a wealthy country, so we have all these training facilities and we can do all kinds of equipment, all of that is true. but you know what, i mean, china is a bigger country and spent a lot of money also. the big advantage america has if you look at our team, actually the big advantage america has if you look at our team, actually two big advantages, we have something called title ix. many years ago that requires women get the same opportunities in sports as men do, and that is why -- [applause]

president obama: one of the reasons the american team did so well is the women were amazing. and because they have got opportunities, right, which teaches us something about the need to make sure women and men, boys and girls get the same opportunities, because you do better when everybody has a chance, not just someone. but the second thing when you look at the u.s. olympic team, and there are all kinds of different sorts of people of all different shapes and sizes, and part of it is because we draw from a bigger genetic pool than anybody, right? we have the gymnasts that are like this big. better when everybody has a simone biles came by the white house, she is a tiny thing. amazing athletes. and we have michael phelps who is 6'8", and his shoulders are

this big, and that is good for swimming. he couldn't do gymnastics, but he is a good swimmer. the point is, when you have all these talent from all these different places, then you actually as a team do better, and that has been the great gift of america. now, what we have to do, not just in the united states but in all countries is to find a way to have an open, smart immigration policy, but it has to be orderly and lawful. i think the part of what has happened in the united states is that, even though the amount of illegal immigration that is happening has actually gone down while i have been president, the perception is that it has just gone up.

partly this is because it used to be that immigrants primarily stayed in texas and arizona and new mexico, border places and florida, now there are immigrants in parts of the country where they didn't used to be immigrants, and it makes them concerned. who are these people, and are they taking our jobs and opportunities and so forth? my argument has been that no country can have completely open borders, because if they did, then nationality and citizenship wouldn't mean anything. and obviously if we had completely open borders, then you would have tens of millions of people who was suddenly becoming into the united states, which by the way would not necessarily be good for the countries where they leave, because in some places like in

africa, you have doctors and nurses and scientists and engineers who would all try to leave, then you have a brain drain, and they are not developing their own countries. you have to have some rules, but my hope is that those rules are set up in a way that continues to invite talented young people to come in and contribute and to make a good life for themselves. that we also though have to do is to invest in countries that are sending migrants so that they can develop themselves. you mentioned cuba, for example, where your father fled. he left partly because they didn't feel there was enough opportunity there. part of the reason i said let's reopen diplomatic relations with cuba is to see if we could encourage greater opportunity and freedom in cuba.

if you have people that could leave cuba and do really well in the united states, that means they should have enough talent that they could do well by staying at home in cuba. there are enormously talented people here. if they do, i don't want the people in peru to suddenly -- [applause] president obama: i don't want you to feel as if you have to go to new york in order to be successful. you should be able to be successful right here in lima. [applause] president obama: so this is true in the americas, it is true in europe where obviously they have been flooded, and is very controversial with migrants. some of them have been displaced from war in syria, but some are just coming for economic reasons in africa.

i just meeting -- left meetings with european leaders, and if we do invest more in those african countries and encouraging greater rule of law and less corruption and more opportunity in those countries, people are less likely to want to come to germany or italy for their futures, because they can feel they can make a future where they are. but this is an example of what i was saying earlier. if we think only about very narrow terms about the borders futures, because they can feel they can make a future where they are. and what is good for us and ignore what is happening

>> oh my god, thank you for this amazing opportunity. more than a question -- i have to introduce myself first. i am from venezuela. i just want to thank you for talking about the women's opportunity. i am the ceo of [indiscernible] it promotes values for mothers. i have a daughter. it is a little bit hard. you have been supporting of women empowerment. you supported a candidate who was a woman, hillary. you were supported by your wife, michelle. president obama: michelle is amazing. [cheers] [applause]

>> i am thrilled that you have a lot of support. some special advice for female [indiscernible] i want special advice for female entrepreneurs. for those who have to strike a little bit more, and should i be a mother or should i be some professional, i totally believe we can be both at the same time, but i would like to hear it from you. advice for all potential women who will become mothers, the opportunity. on behalf of all my fellows, thank you for this amazing opportunity. [indiscernible] there are more fellows looking because they could not come to peru, so thank you to all of the fellows watching us right now. president obama: great question.

[applause] president obama: michelle probably would have more to say about this because, you know, she has gone through it as a professional woman, but let me offer a few observations. first of all, the leaders and the men in every country need to understand that the countries that are most successful are going to be the countries that give opportunities to girls and women and not just boys and men. now that -- [applause] president obama: and if you look, if you look at which countries are doing best, most advanced, growth the fastest, it is partly because you can't have half the population uneducated, not working, out of the house, not in leadership positions and

expect to be as good as a country where 100 percent are getting a good education and having opportunities and can do amazing things, starting a business or entering into politics or what have you. so this is not just a problem for girls and women. men have to also recognize this is good for you. and if you are a strong man, you should not be threatened to that women are doing well. you should be proud that women are doing well, and families where women have opportunity, that means they will bring in more income, which means the family as a whole is going to do better. and let's be honest, sometimes that whole machismo attitude makes it harder for women to

succeed, and sometimes that is coming even from those who love them. so men, those of you who end up being fathers, you have got to lift up your daughters. just telling them they are pretty is not enough. you have got to tell them they are smart and tell them they are ambitious and give them opportunity. [applause] president obama: so once you have a whole country thinking in those terms, then you need to start having policies that can support women, and the most important thing in addition to making sure the girls from an early age are getting a good education, and that they are not being told, oh, you can only do certain things. engineering is a man's job or being a scientist, that is a man's job. no, no, girls can do everything.

you cannot -- you can be a teacher if you want, wonderful profession, but sometimes women are told there are a few things they can do, nurse, teacher, as opposed to anything. you cannot -- you can be a once you have done that, then you have to recognize the big conflict women have in the professional world has to do with family and childbearing. -- child rearing. with family and childbearing. for biological reasons, women have more of a burden than men do, but it is not just biology but also sociology. men's attitudes as well, i don't have to do as much. even in my marriage with michelle, i like to think of for biological reasons, women myself as a modern enlightened man, but i will admit it, michelle did more work than i did with sasha and melia. -- malia. so part of what society can do is they can help with having smart policies for childcare.

one of the hardest things for professional women, particularly when their children are still small and not yet in school is, who is going to take care of my baby when i am working? how do i make sure that they are safe? making sure that governments have policies in place that help, you know, having a mother-in-law who helps is also very useful. but not everybody has the option where, you know, they have family members who are close by. that is an example of something we have to really work on. then we have to put pressure on institutions to treat women equally when it comes to getting loans to start a business.

you know, up until maybe 20 years ago in some places, in the united states even, a husband had to find a loan document with a bank even notice for his -- even though it was his wife's business. even if the woman was the one making the money, it was her idea, her investment, she was doing all the work, because of these old stereotypes, that kind of mentality and discrimination still exists in a lot of institutions. so we have to fight against those. women who are successful, you have to then fight for the younger women who are coming behind you and make sure that you are changing some of these attitudes. if you are high up in a bank, you have got to make sure that these policies are good for

women. if you succeed in politics, if you have to help remote and -- promote and encourage women who are coming behind you. so the last thing i guess i would say would be -- i know that michelle says this to our daughters. you can be a wonderful mom and having a wonderful family and have a really successful career. you may have to kind of not try to do everything all at the same time exactly. you have to time things out a little bit and have a husband who supports taking turns a little bit. so it may be that when the child is very young, you are not doing something that is as hard, because having a really young child is already really hard, and you have to sleep sometimes. but then as the child gets

older, maybe that is when -- maybe your husband is doing something that gives him more time to support that child. there will have to be finding the right balance throughout your life in order to be successful, but congratulations on the good work you are doing. [applause] president obama: i have got time for -- i only have time for two more questions. i will call on that gentleman up there with the glasses. no, blue shirt. wait, wait, wait. let him ask his question. >> hello, mr. president. it is really an honor to ask you this question.

i am studying marketing. [cheers] >> and my question is about what advice will you give to peruvian students that they are starting to think different. what advice is will you give in a world where the bad is good and the good is bad? what advices would you give them to chase their dreams, make the country better, not peru, just worldwide? that would be my question. president obama: you are already doing so well, i don't know that i can give you the perfect advice, but i will tell you what i tell my young people who work in the white house and who i meet in the united states, because i think what is true in

the united states is what is true for you as well. we live in a time where you were always seeing bad news. bad news gets a lot of attention. but the truth is in so many ways, the world is better now than it was 20 years ago or 40 years ago or 100 years ago. people are healthier today, they are wealthier today, they are better educated today. the world, if you look over all, is less violent than it was. look at the 20th century. millions of people dying everywhere. look at latin america and the wars that were taking place everywhere across the continent. so you actually are living in a time of relative peace and historic prosperity. and i say that so that you

should feel optimistic about the future. you shouldn't feel pessimistic. you are always seeing bad news, but the truth is in a -- the world is in a place where the world can solve its problems and be even better 20 years from now or 50 years from now. we have to start with that hope, that optimism inside of you. if you don't feel that way, you don't bother to try to have an impact. you think, god, every politician is corrupt, all the governments are terrible. people are greedy, people are mean, so i have just going to look out for myself, and then nothing gets better. you have to start knowing things have gotten better and can continue to get better. number two, i always tell young people, and i don't know if this translates well in spanish, but

i say, worry more about what you want to do and not what you want to be. here is what i mean. i think a lot of people, they say to themselves, i want to be rich, or they say to themselves, i want to be powerful, or i want to be the president, or i want to be a ceo, or i want to be a rap star. so they say, they have this idea, but the people i know who are most successful usually they are successful because they found something that they really care about, and they worked at it and became really good at it, and over time, because they were so good at what they did, they

ended up being rich or they ended up being powerful and influential, but in the meantime, they were constantly doing what they enjoy doing and learning, and that is what made them successful. so what i would say to all of you is find something you care deeply about. if you care about poor children, then find a way right now that you can stop -- start helping. don't wait. don't say, someday when i am president of peru, i will help were children. -- poor children. no, go now and find an organization or create an organization that is helping poor kids learn or be exposed to new experiences. you care about the environment, don't wait. in addition to your studies, you can start having an impact right

now on trying to improve your local community or trying to be involved in some of the work being done around things like climate change. the point is that once you -- >> right now we take you live to lima, peru. president obama: peru is one of america's strongest partners in the americas. this summit has been a success thanks to the great work of our friends. muchaslf of all of us, gracias. this summit and my trip over the past week has occurred against a backdrop of the broader debate over globalization and trade.

as we've said over the decades, our little integrated economy is help to improve the lives of billions of people muchas gracias. round the world. at the same time, when johnson capital can move across borders, when workers have less leverage, when wealthy corporations and global elites too often seem to be playing by different set of rules, then workers and communities can be hit especially hard fromleveragy corporations and global elites too often seem to be playing by different set of rules, then workers and communities can be hit especially hard from gaps between the rich and everyone else grow wider. that can reverberate to our politics. that's why i firmly believe that one of our greatest challenges in the years ahead across our will be and within them to make sure that the benefits of the global economy are shared more people, and the negative impacts such as economic inequalities, are addressed by all nations.

when it comes to trade, i believe the answer is not to pull back or a wrecked barriers to trade -- erect barriers to trade. rather, the answer is to do trade right. making sure it has strong labor that it addresses workers andh ordinary people can benefit rather than be harmed by global workerstrade. all of this is the central work of aipec. debate moves forward in the united states, it's important to remember how vital the asia-pacific is to america's security print the 21 asia-pacific economies here represent nearly 3 billion people.

and the world's fastest-growing region. representountries commend is opportunity for the united states to sell our goods and support u.s. jobs straight that's why as part of the rebalance of our poor and -- foreign policy to the asia-pacific, we boost u.s. exports to the region by 50%. really 60% of our exports go to the region. of broader progress prayed with 95% of the world's customers beyond america's borders, i made it a priority to open up new markets overseas and during my ministration we have increased u.s. exports to the world by more than 40%. to record levels. these exports support more than 11 million american jobs. companies that export tend to grow fast and and paye employees,

their workers more than companies that do not export trade all of which is why exports of help to drive our economic recovery. it's one of the reasons why u.s. businesses have curated more than 50 million new jobs. it's a kind of progress that trade, when done right, can deliver. that's a kind of work we have tried to do here at the summit. we're continuing our work to make it easier to do business between our country so we are creating even more jobs. in the united states we are simplifying the process of starting a new business, increasing access to credit, all of which will help more ventures, especially small businesses, get up and running, and helping them to be able to ask as well so they can access if theyal market, even can't afford fancy lawyers and accountants and foreign offices. ed to increase our collective efforts against corruption by targeting the bribery that enriches elites at we expense of people, and

committed to making it easier to trade in services as well as goods. we also discussed the excess capacity that exists in certain sectors, such as steel and aluminum. even as i've argued that we cannot engage in protectionist measures, my administration has been at the forefront of cracking down hard on unfair trade practices and brought consistently cases under the wto against those who are engaging in unfair trading practices, and had a great track record of trade enforcement that has to be a part of this process. i've been very clear that excess capacity is not the result of market forces, it's the result of specific government policies and needs to be fixed. here at apec we have been taking steps as we were at the g20 to

start addressing these issues in a systematic way. with regard to the digital economy, we endorse rules to protect the privacy of personal information as it crosses borders. he discussed the importance of her mating the moratorium on custom duties for digital goods and givention, growing cyber threats, our 21 apec economies affirm that no one should conduct or support and given growing cyber threats, ourcyverf intellectual property. we are also moving ahead with making our economies more inclusive. focus isicular area of making sure that women have fair access to economic growth, expanding education, expanding access to careers in science, technology, engineering, math. entrepreneursomen to access finance and integrate their businesses into the global

supply chain. according to one study, if women around the world participated in the labor force, it could add up additionallion of output for the global economy. are more prosperous, the families, communities, and countries are all more prosperous as well. my meeting yesterday with my fellow leaders at the transpacific partnership was a chance to reaffirm our itsitment to the tpp with high standards, strong protections for workers, the environment, intellectual property, and human rights. our partners made clear during the meeting that they want to move forward with tpp. preferably they like to move forward with the united states. a number of countries are starting to read i tpp. forre already hearing calls a less ambitious trade agreement in the region with lower lower protections for

workers, lower protections for the environment. that kind of agreement would exclude u.s. workers and lower protections for businesses and access to those markets. for all those reasons, i believe plus for america's economy, america's workers, american jobs. whenoving forward undermine our position across the region and our ability to shake the rules of global trade in a way that reflects our interest and values. finally, our cooperation with apec has been critical to our historic progress in fighting climate change. agreementhe paris into force, agreeing to limit aviation emissions, phasing out dangerous hfc's. our work toontinue phase out fossil fuel subsidies and new countries make commitments towards their goal of doubling a renewable energy over the next few decades. as i wrap up my last