were or where they come from. we soon realized the more we lived by those values the more we would see them from other people in return. we saw that when we reached out and listen to somebody else's perspective. that person was more likely to listen to us. if we treated a class mate with respect they would treat us well in return. that's sort of how we began who we are today. that's how we learned what leadership really means. it's about stepping outside of your comfort zone, to explore new ideas. it's about rising above old divisions. it's about treating people the way you want to be treated in return. and as young people, you all in a very powerful position to make some of those same choices yourselves. you have the freedom of an open

mind. you have a fresh perspective that can help you find solutions to age-old problems. and with today's technology, you connect with other young people from all over northern ireland and all over the world. so, right now, you've got a choice to make -- you've got to decide how you're going to use those advantages and opportunities to build the lives you dream of, because that decision will determine not only the kinds of people you'll become, but also the kinds of communities you'll live in, the kind of world we'll all share together and standing here with all of you today i have never felt more optimistic. let me tell you, time and again, i have seen young people like all of you, choosing to work together, choosing to lift each other up, choosing to leave

behind the conflicts and prejudices of the past and create a bright future for us all and that's what's so powerful about your generation and that's why we're here today. because we want you to know that we believe in each and every one of you, that is exactly why we're here. we believe that you all have the ability to make a mark on this world that will last for generations to come. so, we are so proud of you. we expect great things. so, with that, i think it would be a good opportunity for me to introduce someone who companied me here today. [ laughter ] as i let him travel with me every now and then. but he is someone who's just as excited and deliver a message of encouragement and support to all of you, my husband, the

president of the united states, barack obama! [ applause ] thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. please beseated. please. well, hello, belfast! hello, northern ireland. you know now when it's so difficult to speak after michelle, she's better than me. but on behalf of both of us, thank you so much for this

extraordinarily warm welcome. and i want to thank hannah for introducing my wife. we had a chance to speak with her backstage and she's an extraordinary young woman who i know is going to do even greater things in the years to come. i want to thank two men that i have hosted at the white house on many a-st. patrick's day for their warm welcome. peter robertson and -- [ applause ] -- and deputy first minister martin mcginnis. i spend the whole year trying to unite washington on things and they come and visit they do it in a single afternoon. i want to thank the secretary of state for northern ireland.

to all of the ministers in the audience, to lord mayor -- [ applause ] i want to thank the citizens of belfast and northern ireland for your hospitality. as our daughters pointed out as we were driving in, i cause a big fuzz wherever i go. so, traffic, and barricades and police officers and it's all a big production, a lot of people are involved and i'm very, very grateful for accommodating us. the first time michelle and i visited this island was about two years ago, we were honored to join tens of thousands in

college green dublin. we traveled to a little village where as it turned out, my great-great-great grandfather was born and i actually identified this individual in this place only a few years ago when i was first running for office in chicago, i didn't know this but i wish i had -- when i was in chicago, as i was campaigning, they looked at my last name and they would say, oh, there's baim from the home land running on the south side. he must be irish, but i never heard the gaelic name barack. but it pays to be irish in chicago. so, while we were there, i had a chance to meet my eighth cousin, henry, who's also known as hen

ry viii. i leafed through the parish logs where the names of my ancestors recorded. so, it was a magical visit. but the only problem was, it was too short. a volcano in iceland forced us to leave before we could spend a night. this time, we brought our daughters, too. in particular we wanted to come here to northern ireland. a place of remarkable beauty and extraordinary history, part of an island with which tens of millions of americans share an eternal e relationship.

america's story in part began right outside the doors of this gleaming hall, 325 years ago, a ship set sail from the river, for the chesapeake bay. filled with men and women who dreamed of building a new life in a new land. they followed by hundreds of thousands more, helped america write those early chapters. they helped us win our independence. they helped us draft our constitution. and soon after, america returned to belfast, opening one of our very first consulates here in 1796. when george washington was still president. so, today, names familiar to many of you are evened on schools, courthouse and solemn memorial of wars across the

united states. names like wilson, kelly, campbell and o'neil. so many of the qualities that we americans hold dear we imported from this land. perseverance. faith. an unending belief that we make our own destiny and unshakable dream that if we work hard, something unbelievable lies around the bend. our histories are bond by belief, culture and commerce. our futures are equally linked. and that's why i have come to belfast today. to talk about the future we can build together. your generation. the young generation.

has come of age in a world with fewer walls. you have been educated in an era of instant information. you've been tempered by some very difficult times. around the globe. and as i travel what i have seen of young people like you, around the world, show me these curr t currents inspire to me a realism but also an opportunistic idealism. a generation keenly aware of the world as it is, but eager to forge the world as it should be. and when it comes to the future we share that feels me with hope. young people fill me with hope. here in northern ireland, this

generation has known even more rapid change than many young people have seen around the world. and while you have unique challenges of your own, you also have unique reasons to be hopeful, for you are the first generation on this land to inherit more than just the hardened attitudes and the bitter prejudices of the past, you're an inheritor of a just hard-earned peace. you live in a modern northern ireland. of course the recessions that spread through every country in recent years, has inflicted hardships here. but day-to-day, life is changing throughout the north. there was a time people couldn't have imagined northern ireland hosting a gathering of world leaders as you are today.

and i want to thank the chief constable for working to keep everyone safe this week. northern ireland is hosting the world police and fire games later this year. which she's hoping to organize. golf fans like me had to wait a long six decades for the irish open to return to the north last year. [ applause ] i'm unhappy that we won't get a few rounds in while i'm here.

i did meet rory mcilroy last year. and rory offered to get my swing sorted, which was a polite of saying, mr. president, you need help. none of that would have been imaginable a generation ago. and belfast is a different city, once abandoned factories are rebuilt. former industrial sites are reborn. a concert here at waterfront hall. families crowd into pubs. students lounge at cafes. asking each other, what's the crack? [ applause ]

so, to para phrase, it's the manifestation of sheer bloody genius, this island is now chic and these daily moments of life in a bustling city, a changing country, it may seem ordinary to you but that's why it's so extraordinary. for that's what your family has dreamt for all of you. to enjoy a sunny day free from the ever-present awareness that violence could blacken it at any moment. to befriend or fall in love with whomever you want. they hope for a day when the

world would think something different when they heard the word "belfast." and because of their effort, because of their courage, that day has come. because of their work, those dreams they had for you, became the most incredible thing of all, it became reality. it's been 15 years since the good friday agreement. the people of this island voted in overwhelming numbers to see beyond the scars of violence and mistrust and to choose to wage peace. over the years, other breakthroughs and agreements to follow. that's extraordinary. because for years, few conflicts in the world seemed intractable than the one here in northern

ireland. so, when people was achieved here, it gave the entire world hope. the world rejoiced in your achievement especially in america. pubs from chicago to boston, were scenes of revelry. in america, you helped us transcend our differences, because if there's one thing on which democrats and republicans in america wholeheartedly agree is that we strongly support a peaceful and prosperous northern ireland. but, as all of you know all too well, for all of the strides that you have made, there is still much work to do. there are still people who haven't reaped the rewards of peace. there are those who aren't convinced that the effort is worth it.

there are still wounds that haven't healed and communities where tensions and mistrust hang in the air. there are walls that still stand. there are still many miles to go. from the start, no one was naive to believe that peace would be anything but a long journey. yates once wrote, peace comes dropping slow. but that doesn't mean our efforts to forge a real and lasting peace should come dropping slow. this work is as urgent now as it has ever been, because there is more to lose now than there's ever been. in today's hyper connected world, what happens here has an impact on lives far from these green shores. if you continue your path toward

a permanent peace and all of the social and economic benefits that come with it, not only will that be good for you, it will be good for this entire island, the united kingdom and europe, but the entire world. we need you to get this right. and once more you set an example for those who set peace for themselves. in scattered corners of this world, there are people living in the grip of conflict, ethnic conflict, religious conflict, tribal conflict and they know something better is out there and they're hoping to find a way to discover how to move beyond the heavy hand of history. to put aside the violence. they're studying what you're doing. and they're wondering, perhaps,

if northern ireland can achieve peace, we can, too. so, you're their blueprint to follow. you're the proof of what is possible. because hope is contagious. they're watching to see what you do next. now, some of that is up to your leaders. as someone who knows firsthand how politics can discourage cooperation, i admire the northern executive and the assembly all the more for making power-sharing to work. that's not easy to do. it involves compromise and requires absorbing some pain from your own side. so, i applaud them for taking responsibility for law enforcement and for justice and i commend their effort to building a united community,

important next steps along your transformational journey. because issues like segregated schools and housing, lack of jobs and opportunity, symbols of history that are a source of pride for some and pain to others, they're essential peace. if towns remain divided. if catholics have their schools and buildings and protestants have their schools and buildi buildings, if fear or resentment are allowed to harden, that encourages division, it discourages cooperation. ultimately, peace is not just about politics, it's about attitudes. it's about a sense of empathy. it's about breaking done the

divisions we create in our own minds and own hearts that don't exist in any objective reality but that we carry with us generation after generation. and i know, because america, we, too, have had to work hard over the decades, slowly, gradually, sometimes painfully in fits and starts to keep perfecting our union. 150 years ago we were torn open by a terrible conflict. our civil war was far shorter than the troubles but it killed hundreds of thousands of our people. and of course the legacy of slavery endured for generations. everyone a century after we achieved our own peace, we were not fully united. when i was a boy, many cities, still had separate drinking fun

to tans and lunch counters and washrooms for blacks and whites. my own parents' marriage would have been illegal in certain states. someone who looked like me, often had a hard time casting a ballot much less being on a ballot. but over time, laws changed. and hearts and minds changed. sometimes driven by courageous lawmakers, but more often, driven by committed citizens. politicians often times follow rather than lead. and so, especially young people helped to push and to prod and to protest. and to make common cause with those who did not look like them.

and that transformed america, so that malia and sasha's generation, they have different attitudes. about differences and race. than mine and certainly different from the generation before that. and each successive generation, creates a new space for peace. and tolerance. and justice. and fairness. and while we have work to do in many ways we have surely become more tolerant and more just. and more accepting. more willing to see our diversity in america not as something to fear but something to welcome because it's a source of our national strength. so, as your leaders step forward to address your challenges,

through talks by all parties, they'll need you, young people, to keep pushing them. to create a space for them. to change attitudes. because, ultimately, whether your communities deal with the past and face the future united, together, isn't something that you have to wait for somebody else to do, that's a choice you have to make right now. it's within your power to bring about change. whether you are a good neighbor to someone from the other side of past battles, that's up to you. but, whether you treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve, that's up to you. whether you let your kids play with kids who attend a different church, that's your decision.

whether you take a stand against violence and hatred and tell extremists on both sides that no matter how many times that attack the peace, they will not succeed, that is in your hands. and whether you reach your own outstretched hand across dividing lines, across peace walls, to build trust, that's up to you. the terms of peace may be negotiated by political leaders. but the fate of peace is up to each of us. this peace, in northern ireland has been tested over the past 150 years. it's been tested over the past year. it will be tested again. but, remember something that president clinton said when he spoke here in belfast, just a

few weeks after the horrors, that bomb he said wasn't the last bomb of the troubles but the opening shot of the vicious attack on the peace. and wherever your peace is attacked, you will have to choose, whether to respond with the same bravery that you have summoned so far or whether you succumb to the worst instincts. those impulses that kept this great land divided for too long. you'll have to choose whether to keep going -- forward, not backward and you should know that so long as you are moving forward america will always stand by you as you do. we will keep working closely with leaders, in dublin,

westminster, to support your political process. we'll keep working to strengthen our economies. including through efforts, the broad economic initiative announced on friday to unlock new opportunities between our two countries. because jobs and opportunities are essential to peace. our scientists will keep collaborating with yours in fields like nanotechnology, energy. on both sides of the atlantic. because progress is essential to peace. and because knowledge and understanding is essential to peace we'll keep investing in programs that enrich both of us. including exchanges programs that have given people to travel to each other's country and

learn from each other. one of those young people is here today, sill vie gordon, is the director of ground worked northern ireland, aims to bring about change from the ground up. where is sylvia? where is she? she's here somewhere. you're here, too, yeah. some kind waved i'm here. which is good, i appreciate you being here. as someone who got my start as a community organizer i was so impressed with what sylvia has done. a few years ago, sylvia visited the united states to learn more about how americans organize to improve their communities. after she came home, she rolled

up her sleeves here in belfast and decided to do something about alexandra park, some of you may know this park, for years it was thought to be the only park in europe still divided by a wall. think about that. in all of europe, you got one park that's got a wall in the middle of it. so, sylvia and her colleague knew how hard it would be to do something. they knew it was going to be hard but they tried anyway. they decided to build a gate to open that wall. and now people can walk freely. through the park. and enjoy the sun when it comes out. just like people do every day in parks all around the world.

that's a small bit of progress. the fact that so far we've only got a gate open, and the wall is still up, means there's more work to do and that's the work of your generation. so as long as more walls still stand we'll need more people like sylvia. we'll need more of you. young people. who imagine the world as it should be. who knock down walls. who knock down bar yers. -- barriers. who imagine something different and have the courage to make it happen. the courage to bring communities together. who make even the small impossibilities a shining example of what is possible.