President Obama and Michelle Obama Will Speak at South by Southwest

March 2, 2016, 8:39 PM UTC
US-POLITICS-OBAMA
US President Barack Obama and US first lady Michelle Obama wave before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 2, 2016. Obama and the First Family are in Hawaii for vacation. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Photograph by Brendan Smialowski — AFP/Getty Images

The Obamas are headed to the Lone Star State.

On Wednesday the conference announced that the first lady will deliver the opening keynote address for the conference’s music-focused leg on March 16. She will discuss Let Girls Learn, the initiative she’s been spearheading that aims to help the more than 62 million young girls around the world who are not currently receiving an education. In October, Michelle Obama joined Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. where she also talked about the initiative and the challenges girls around the world face in getting an education.

President Obama will take the stage on March 11 at the opening of the tech-focused leg, in a conversation with The Texas Tribune‘s CEO and editor-in-chief Evan Smith about civic engagement in today’s high-tech times. The President will also “call on the audience to apply their ideas and talents to make technology work for us – especially when it comes to tackling big challenges like increasing participation in the political process and fighting climate change,” according to the event’s website.

“As each new generation comes up at SxSW they look for ways they can be of service, and it’s important to reflect and support that message. President and Mrs. Obama’s visit here will inspire attendees to that purpose,” said SxSW co-founder said Roland Swenson in a statement.

The President will also attend the Democratic National Committee’s fundraiser on March 11 in Austin.

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