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