00:00Good afternoon. I would like to start in Spanish.
00:10Because we are in your country, my husband and I,
00:15and I can feel this hug from Colombia.
00:20It's incredible.
00:23So thank you, thank you very much,
00:26the culture, the history, everything was like a dream, this trip.
00:34And sorry if my Spanish is not perfect,
00:38because I learned 20 years ago in Argentina.
00:42But I'm trying, because here I can feel this community.
00:49And this is the feeling that is the best in the world now.
00:56So thank you, Vice President, my friend, thank you very much.
01:09And well, now in English.
01:19I was very fortunate at a young age to feel as though my voice was being heard.
01:27And I think that is a luxury that a lot of young girls and women aren't often afforded.
01:33I was 11 years old, and you may know this story.
01:35I had seen a commercial that I felt was sexist,
01:37and I wrote a letter, several letters about it.
01:40And the commercial was changed.
01:42When you're 11 years old, and you realize very quickly
01:45that your small voice can have a very large impact,
01:48I think it creates the framework to feel empowered to use your voice
01:53because you know you're being listened to.
01:55Does it ever feel good to use your voice and no one hears you?
02:00That's not ideal.
02:02So for us, and the work that we do with the R12 Foundation,
02:05certainly the work that we do as parents, as I do as a mother,
02:09is ensuring that young girls feel as though their voices are being heard,
02:14and also that young boys are being raised to listen and to hear those young women as well.
02:20And the same goes for adult women and men.
02:23This isn't something that can be solely responsible and in the hands of just women.
02:28Yes, we work incredibly well together as a team,
02:32but as my husband is great testament to,
02:34the role of men in this, of empowering women,
02:38of allowing them to know that their voices are heard,
02:41starting at a young age all the way through adulthood is key.
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