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Thank you to Secretary Blinken for being such a powerful partner in the work to affirm democratic values through technology. And thank you to our panelists, who, in the face of rising digital repression, are showing us how technologies can build more democratic societies still.

So, it’s no secret that this is a crucial moment for democracies around the world to come together, to unite, because the truth is, we hear a lot about democracy being in decline – we actually hear less about the core fact behind that, which is that democracy is under attack. It’s under attack from within, and we know that, everywhere, from forces that want to divide our citizens and turn elements of society against one another.

We issue Challenges like these for particularly daunting, complex, and evolving, cutting edge problems – where we are urgently trying to tap new sources of expertise and creativity to find solutions. And, of course, right now we know – and as the panelists just spoke to – corrupt actors are robbing nations of the prosperity that green minerals could be generating, and that is one of these types of cutting edge problems that we need really creative solutions to.

Administrator Samantha Power met with Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and co-founder of the Malala Fund. They discussed USAID’s efforts to expand access to international education, particularly for women and girls affected by conflict and crisis, and support education for women and girls in Afghanistan. The meeting took place at USAID offices in Washington, D.C., USA on March 17, 2023.