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Thank you, Arina , for such generous introduction.
And on behalf of the entire HeForShe Team, I also want to thank UNESCO for all of its support.
It meant a lot to us.
Thank you all for being here for this important moment.
These men from all over the world decided to make gender equality a priority in their lives and in our universities.
Thank you for making this commitment.
I graduated from university four years ago.
I had always dreamed of going, and I know how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to do so.
Brown became my home, my community.
And I took the ideas and the experiences I had that
into my social interactions, into my work place, into my politics, into all aspects of my life.
I know my university experiences shaped who I am.
And of course it does for many people.
But what if our experience of university shows us that women don't belong in leadership.
What if it shows us that, yes, women can study, but they shouldn't lead a seminar.
What if, as still in many places around the world,
it tells us that women don't belong there at all.
What if as the case in far too many universities, we are given the message,
the sexual violence isn't actually a form of violence.
But, we know that if you change students' experiences, so they have different expectations of the world around them.
Expectations of equality, society would change.
As we leave home for the first time to study at the places that we have worked so hard to get,
we must not see or experience double standards.
We need to see equal respect, leadership, and pay.
The university experience must tell women that brain power is valued
And not just that, but they belong within the leadership of the university itself.
and so importantly right now, the experience must make it clear that
the safety of women, minorities, and anyone who may be vulnerable,
it's a right, not a privilege.
A right that will be respected by a community that believes and supports survivors and recognizes that
when one person's safety is violated, every one feels their own safety is violated.
A university should be a place of refuge that takes action against all forms of violence.
That's why we believe that students should leave universities believing in striving for un-expecting societies of true equality,
Societies of true equality in every sense. And universities have the power to be a vital catalyst for that change.
Our ten impact champions have made this commitment,
and with their work, we know they will inspire students and other universities and schools across the world to do better.
I am delighted to introduce this report of their progress and I'm eager to hear what's next. Thank you so much!