Interesting.  The President says, "The capacity of -- the simple act of teaching a child to read, or an adult to read has the capacity to transform nations and yield the peace we all want."  If literacy yields peace, then maybe someone ought to teach him to read.  
Elsa Auerbach

 

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: womenliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Daphne Greenberg 
	Sent: Mon 9/18/2006 3:25 PM 
	To: womenliteracy at nifl.gov 
	Cc: 
	Subject: [WomenLiteracy 564] Remarks by the President and Mrs. Bush at WhiteHouse Conference on Global
	
	

	The following was sent by Tom Sticht. I am wondering if anyone has any
	reactions to it:
	
	Remarks by the President and Mrs. Bush at White House Conference on
	Global
	Literacy
	Sep 18 9:25 AM US/Eastern
	
	
	
	
	To: National Desk
	
	Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2580
	
	WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a transcript of
	remarks
	by President Bush and Laura Bush at the White House conference on
	global
	literacy (Part 1 of 2):
	
	New York Public Library, New York, New York
	
	12:10 P.M. EDT
	
	MRS. BUSH: Thank you all so much. Thank you very much. Thanks a lot.
	(Applause.) Have a seat, everyone. Thank you all very much. Thanks,
	everybody. You all can have a seat. I want to thank all the terrific
	panelists today for sharing your experiences and your expertise. I want
	to
	thank everyone in this room for your commitment to literacy.
	
	Today, we heard about the three most important benefits of reading:
	Literacy
	instruction for women improves educational opportunities for their
	children
	-- women who can read are advocates for their children's education;
	literacy helps adults make informed decisions to protect their health
	and
	the health of their children; and literacy helps adults -- women and
	men --
	learn the basic financial skills that generate income, that foster
	independence, and that boost local economies. If more countries invest
	in
	literacy programs like the ones we've heard about today, the benefits
	of
	reading can be enjoyed by every country. The leaders of every
	government
	must commit themselves to this cause.
	
	Now I'd like to introduce a leader I know is dedicated to improving
	literacy
	and education: Ladies and gentleman, my husband, President George
	Bush.
	(Applause.)
	
	THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you for attending this important
	conference. I look around the room and see some familiar faces -- my
	mother. (Laughter.) How are you doing? It's good to see you. My
	mother-in-law. (Laughter.) Both of these ladies have instilled a great
	passion for literacy not only in Laura and me, but for others around
	our
	country. Thank you all for coming. Laura, thank you for your
	leadership.
	
	Laura believes strongly in the power of literacy to change societies.
	And
	that's really what we're here to talk about. The capacity of -- the
	simple
	act of teaching a child to read, or an adult to read has the capacity
	to
	transform nations and yield the peace we all want.
	
	So I want to thank you for being here. I particularly want to thank
	the
	First Ladies who are here, and the ministers from different
	governments
	around the world. We're really proud you've taken time to join us here
	today.
	
	As you probably can tell, our government takes this initiative
	seriously.
	After all, we've got the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and the
	Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, both here. It should say
	to
	people loud and clear that, when you combine the resources of the
	Department of Education and the State Department, that we're serious
	about
	helping global literacy. And then we've added Randy Tobias, who's the
	head
	of USAID. He's the fellow who's got the responsibility of handing out
	some
	money -- (laughter) -- which is what we're doing, because we believe
	strongly in this initiative. So I want to thank you all for taking time
	out
	of your busy schedules to send a clear message to folks.
	
	I want to thank Mr. Matsuura of UNESCO. Thank you, very much, for
	serving.
	Thanks for leading this vital organization. We want to work with you.
	And I
	see you're sitting next to one of my great friends -- the Ambassador,
	Karen
	Hughes, is here, as well.
	
	I want to thank Paul LeClerc of the -- of this fantastic library. Isn't
	this
	a wonderful place to meet? Obviously, it makes sense to meet in a
	library if
	you're going to talk about literacy. It's really one of the most
	special
	spots here in New York. And I also want to thank Catie Marron for
	allowing
	us to use this facility. She's the chairman of the board, and Paul, of
	course, is the president and CEO of the New York Public Library.
	
	I want to thank those who have participated in panels. I had the honor
	of
	meeting some of the panelists and the panel leaders. I met Gerri
	Elliot,
	who is a corporate vice president of Microsoft. The reason I bring up
	Gerri
	Elliot is because, in America we believe that there is a combined
	responsibility to help. We believe government has got a vital role, but
	we
	also believe corporate America and our citizens have got a vital role
	to
	play in helping others benefit from learning how to read. And so I want
	to
	thank Gerri for setting such a good example.
	
	I call upon others in our country to understand the importance of this
	initiative and to step forth. After all, a literacy initiative will
	help
	spread prosperity and peace. And that's really why we're here at the
	UNGA.
	I've been looking forward to coming here. As you know, it's an annual
	event. Every year I get to come. It gives me a chance to meet with
	fellow
	leaders, and it gives me a chance to clearly explain, the goals of
	this
	country are to help those who feel hopeless; the goals of this country
	are
	to spread liberty; the goals of this country is to enhance prosperity
	and
	peace.
	
	You can't have prosperity unless people can read. It's just as simple
	as
	that. You know, one of things that we have committed ourselves to in
	America is to help eradicate persistent poverty. But there is a direct
	link
	between illiteracy and persistent poverty. Oftentimes when we're
	talking
	about prosperity and helping this world become a more prosperous place,
	we
	tend to focus only on trade. And no question, good trade agreements
	and
	tearing down the barriers that prevent the free flow of goods will
	help
	enhance prosperity. But you can't be a prosperous nation if you don't
	have
	people who can read.
	
	I mean, think about it, it's pretty clear; in order to be an informed
	consumer you have to read. In order to be able to take advantages of
	jobs
	that may come to your country as a result of expanding economic
	opportunity, you've got to read. In order to be a productive worker,
	you
	have to be able to read the manual. And so part of this initiative,
	part of
	the practical application of this initiative is to encourage prosperity
	by
	enhancing people's capacity to read. And I want to thank you for your
	focus
	on that important issue.
	
	I also strongly believe that those of us who have the benefits of
	living in
	free society must help others realize the benefits of liberty. I
	believe
	that. I believe that's part of America's responsibility in the world.
	I
	realize we can't impose our vision of government, nor should we try.
	But we
	believe here in America in the universality of freedom. We don't
	believe
	freedom belongs only to the United States of America; we believe that
	liberty is universal in its applications. We also believe strongly that
	as
	the world becomes more free, we'll see peace. That's what we believe.
	And
	we're going to act on those beliefs.
	
	But one thing that's for certain: It is very hard to have free
	societies if
	the citizens cannot read. Think about that. It's much harder for a
	society
	to realize the universal blessings of liberty if your citizens can't
	read
	the newspaper in order to be able to make informed choices and
	decisions
	about what may be taking place in a country. You can't realize the
	blessings of liberty if you can't read a ballot, or if you can't read
	what
	others are saying about the future of your country.
	
	I am deeply concerned about the spread of radicalism, and I know you
	are, as
	well. We long for the days when people don't feel comfortable or
	empowered
	to take innocent life to achieve an objective. One reason radicals are
	able
	to recruit young men, for example, to become suicide bombers, is
	because of
	hopelessness. One way to defeat hopelessness is through literacy, is
	to
	giving people the fantastic hope that comes by being able to read and
	realize dreams.
	
	So this literacy initiative is vital as far as the United States of
	America
	is concerned, and we want to help. That's what I'm here to say. I want
	to
	thank you for being here and let you know that we want to lend our
	help.
	
	(More/more)
	
	http://www.usnewswire.com/
	
	
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