Michelle Obama to visit Cambodia and Japan to promote girls’ education

First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama will travel to Japan and Cambodia as part a global effort to support education for girls.

She will visit Tokyo and Kyoto from March 18 to 20 and then go to Siem Reap on March 21 and 22. Her trip follows the launch of the Let Girls Learn initiative, which is a collaboration between Mrs Obama and the Peace Corps to expand access to education for adolescent girls around the world. It will start in 11 countries and will build on the investments and progress that the US government has made in global primary school education.

Announcing the programme at the White House on March 3, Mrs Obama聽said more than 60 million girls and adolescent females are not in school around the world. She told education activists: 国产视频淵ou have told me that whatever obstacles these girls face 国产视频� whether it国产视频檚 school fees or violence or cultural beliefs that girls simply aren国产视频檛 worthy of an education 国产视频� you国产视频檝e said that these problems will not be fixed from on high. That these are community challenges that call for community solutions.国产视频�

President Barack Obama, who was also at the launch, said: 国产视频淚国产视频檓 proud to say that the US already does a great deal to support girls国产视频� education around the world. But what we do, we tend to do quietly. It doesn国产视频檛 get a lot of publicity. And what we all determined is that we国产视频檝e got to take this work to the next level.国产视频�

Cambodia is one of the 11 countries featured in the Let Girls Learn initiative. The others are Albania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Togo and Uganda.

In Siem Reap, Mrs Obama will visit a school to see up how community-driven solutions are changing girls国产视频� lives and will also meet Peace Corps volunteers.

During the Japanese leg of the trip, the First Lady will聽meet Akie Abe, the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. At the Let Girls Learn announcement, Mrs Obama said Mrs Abe 国产视频渟hares her passions and is eager to partner国产视频� in the initiative.