 Good afternoon. I don't want to interrupt your lunch, so feel free to keep keep eating, but as promised we're gonna have a I think a really good important discussion that will help to draw on what we heard this morning and build by thinking a little bit about How do we set a strategic frame to support good governance? Think about all the things we heard this morning About some of the problems some of the challenges that need to be addressed in fragile states Governing institutions Need to become more accountable We have to work on ways to build inclusiveness Tackle the problem of marginalization and exclusion figure out how to empower youth To take leadership roles The importance of enabling civil society to be an important part of cementing a stronger state society relationship these are all Dimensions of governance in one way or another and this is one of the central Challenges of transforming fragile states to be more resilient So how do we do that from the perspective of the United States? How do we set a strategic frame that helps to put into motion better support for Transforming governance to be good governance We are very fortunate to have Three superb leaders From the peace building world and the governance world with us Two of them are members of the task force on extremism in fragile states that developed a set of recommendations on tackling the problems of fertility the challenges of fragility to be a long-term solution for violent extremism So we couldn't be more fortunate and to help us With the discussion to moderate the discussion. I'm really delighted to introduce to you Mr. Nick Schifrin He is the foreign affairs and defense correspondent for the PBS news hour, and I couldn't be happier to Hand it over to Nick to start the conversation. Thank you very much I appreciate that and let me introduce the people who you're actually here to listen to you're certainly not here to listen to me Needs no introduction But I will just briefly Welcome secretary Madeleine Albright the 64th secretary of state Chair of the board of directors NDI of course chair of Albright stone bridge group and Albright capital management Nancy Lindborg at the end president CEO of USIP and Derek Mitchell president of NDI It seems to me that just to give a frame for this in 18 years We have spent a lot of time defeating terrorists, but terrorism has increased We've targeted extremists, but extremism has grown. We've overthrown governments, but governance has not been improved We've won battles, but certainly not won the peace. And so how do we create a way to do that? How do we reduce? Personal and financial costs. It's been six trillion dollars five thousand Sorry, ten thousand Americans dead fifty thousand Americans wounded hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghans Who have been killed? How do we protect the country? How do we create a more sustainable and successful strategy? How do we prevent extremism from taking root? How do we defeat not only today's terrorists, but tomorrow's terrorists? So Nancy Lindborg, could you give us a sense of how? We think we can do that Well, thank you Thank you everyone for joining us here today for this conversation and Nick You just did a great laydown of the problem set and to take a hard look at the solutions Congress asked US IP to convene a host a task force bipartisan high-level task force in 2018 To create a comprehensive plan for how should we address Extremism in fragile states and it was based on More than a decade of thinking and lessons that had identified the fact that it's the conditions in Fragile states where you have a weak or non responsive or illegitimate or all of the above Governments and a broken social bond between people and their government that gives rise to a host of conditions that can Enable extremism to take root violent extremism and so how do we tackle that more effectively the task force was co-chaired? by the original co-chairs of the 9-11 report Congressman Lee Hamilton And Governor Tom Cain and they considered this to be unfinished business Because one of the three recommendations of the 9-11 report was to adopt a policy of prevention That recommendation was never taken forward So that became the the touchstone of the task force recommendations that we need a policy of prevention and they thought about it in terms of Really focusing in on addressing the conditions that give rise to fragility and therefore Extremism and by the way civil war extreme poverty Forced migration a host of ills that address us that that we face globally but to do so in a more coordinated comprehensive strategy across our US government and you know to just quote senator coons who was one of the many Bipartisan co-sponsors of the Global Fragility Act who said the problem is we're trying to deal with really complicated problems and DoD is playing football the state the State Department is playing soccer and the USAID folks are playing lacrosse and Nobody is the coach or the quarterback and so of course We're not going to make the progress that we that we must make to tackle this more effectively three main recommendations a more coordinated strategy Longer-term or iterative approaches that require a different kind of mechanisms Legislatively and coordinate more effectively with international partners and to do so as you heard from Joe Against principles for longer-term locally led iterative programming So coordinated strategy To create that strategy is always the challenge but coordinated strategy also think of it long-term think of long-term coordination From the US with partners in in local countries and and make it international You know create even create a fund and we talked about private sector as well So let's let's examine those over the next few minutes Secretary Albright. There's no one that I would rather ask this question to is this about democracy is this about Enabling democracy to be more resilient in fragile states and if so, how do we do that? Well, I do think it is about the fact that people Everywhere want to be able to make decisions about their own lives And one of the things that I resented that when I was in office was people saying that Asians aren't interested in democracy or Whatever so I on purpose made my assistant secretary for democracy Harold Koh a Korean American So but I really do think we are all the same and we do want to be able to make decisions And the question is how is it done and it is more difficult. We are proving it ourselves right here And so I think that the question is how to have that perseverance and in just listening to Nancy and to you initially is I have been at this at a very long time I was trying to do it when I was in office and then when we came out What happened was for instance a bill Cohen the former secretary defense and I did a Task force on the prevention of genocide It was actually the only task force except for this now that you were talking about Nancy that had an effect in that President Obama named something Created it was there was a presidential decision on having an atrocities prevention board in order to Be able to get a group of people in the US government looking ahead trying to figure out what might be happening to prevent it We also I then did some work in order to try to get the international community Involved in it through this concept of responsibility to protect any number of different ways And I was very happy to be asked to be on this task force Because I do think it Addresses the major problem, which is that we have to spend a long time on it I have said by the way, I'm no longer a diplomat, but I have said that You don't have to be diplomatic exactly So I've said Americans are the most generous people in the world with the shortest attention span And I think that part of the issue here is how to give it that strength Both institutionally and morally that it's is going to take a while and that it does take this new statement whole of government Which is very hard frankly it always is hard But seems to be particularly hard at this time and the other part is to fully understand What are the conditions that create fragility or what are the negative aspects that make sure that? Fragility continues and what are the positive aspects that have to be taken care of in order to be able to be supportive of it and Understand that democracy is not a spectator sport Not in the United States and not anywhere else and it has to we have to find the partners in these various countries That want to be a part of this and not have us be Patronizing about it or say it has to be only American democracy We have to recognize that there are other Aspects of the way that people are able to make their voices heard in societies. So that would be the larger So let's zoom in Derek Mitchell there's a lot that secretary gave us but just zoom in as You experienced in Burma so talk a little bit about the conditions on the ground there and specifically what secretary Albright was saying the conditions that you saw that create fragility some of the solutions to try and Take away that fragility and and were their partners are their partners to work with as as you saw So you're asking how we solved Burma while I was there. Oh well Clearly there's a long way to go in Burma So I have lessons learned but I can tell you at least how we went about it and the lessons I mean get to what we heard in the previous panel. I think to some degree first of all the really important idea of context of Understanding intimately doing your homework and understanding every context is very different And if anyone knows I mean Burma to folks in the West is very easy It's always been a black-and-white issue or you know the lady in the Hunter whatever it was in the old days You get now into the nitty-gritty of that country. You realize just how incredibly complex That they're I mean by their own count 135 different ethnic groups at least, you know 20 or so who are involved in peace So context is absolutely essential in doing your homework and that way you do no harm I mean I think the most important thing when you get involved is do no harm if you're working from the outside Because you can step on a landmine figuratively on every step you can take That's number one number true number two The importance of building trust if we're gonna be in there working on this stuff They want to know that you get it and the only so you have to prove that But then you have to build the relationships and that's where the time Really takes in I mean the effort of peace takes time but building the relationships painstakingly Demonstrating you get it That is a long-term effort, which means you have to work at this and they need to know that you're at this There's someone you can count on But third and I say this maybe self-reverentially as ambassador the ambassadors are very important in This because that is one focal point on the ground when we say the point of the spear in the country That brings it all together. You have a mission where you have different components. You have defense You have a ID you have others there It is up to the ambassador as the operational person on the ground to bring this all together now I was very lucky because I had a president Obama who really cared about Burma and people in the White House at State Department Hillary Clinton and John Kerry That's also extremely important back in Washington to get the importance and to put the resources and the time into it But absent that you still have need ambassadors and people on the ground who work on this issue understand the importance of coordinating all those instruments and Thinking in terms not as we heard in the last session We do an explicit formal program on inclusion or on Whatever it is on peace but integrating into everything you do So that I would get asked tell us about your democracy program or your peace program And I would look and I'd say everything we're doing is a democracy program Everything we're doing is a peace program because it's the how we do it not just what we do But if we do a health program or an agricultural program We're bringing people together across ethnicities and building the trust and that interaction that creates peace bottom up So it you know is it working or you know also on the Buddhist Muslim side, too We did a lot of work on that friend. Is it working? It's painstaking It takes a lot of time and there are lots of spoilers who will be there trying to make it not succeed But I think it it's worth the effort and I do think it's what is required for Sustained Stability in fragile environments Nancy you've worked in so many Fragile places. We just heard Derek go through how important it is to know if we're from the US perspective know the country avoid landmines Create trust and relationships and have an ambassador diplomats who are both wise and also backed from from Washington What's your experience been in these places and what are these places looking for? To best make them a little more resilient a little less fragile First of all, I think every country will be different But some of the core principles Were embedded in the task force recommendations which have now been enshrined in the global fragility act And as you heard from Raj Kumar at the last panel, we have this unbelievable moment right now We're a decade of lessons hardware or learned lessons data research The task force Putting that into recommendations a lot of organizations and many of you in this room working on it has translated into the global fragility act Which requires the government to have a coordinated 10-year strategy For working along some of those core principle approaches and so in answer to your question What do we need and you said it already Nick? We need to have a Longer-term commitment less focus on pushing enormous amounts of resources in right away and Rather sustaining over time and doing so in partnership with local actors with local civil society And where you can local governments, so they are in the lead We heard a beautiful summary from Samson at the end of the last panel who talked about you know If you're looking at what are the core? Issues that represent the breakdown between governments and their people you need to hone in on those How do you enable more engaged citizenry to hold their own government accountable? How do you enable a different kind of leadership to emerge as all of the previous panelists discussed? And along the way what are maybe some quick wins that you can help in foster To keep the confidence of people as you go through what is necessarily a very very long term We don't often have the political patients at this end There often isn't the patience for people who are very hungry and very Much in danger, so sometimes you need to work on You know getting an emergency food in and getting security Greater security in but do it in a way that doesn't smother the other elements to emerge So that you don't not pursue education or that you don't prioritize short-term security That is repressive and that is often a mistake that we make so it's having all of those elements Thought through together in a coordinated strategy How often have have people like me accused the US government or pursuing short-term counterterrorism Gains at the expense of long-term stability secretary Albright one of the fun things about being a journalist I don't have to have solutions. I can only point out criticisms here And and and it seems to me what Nancy just called political patience what I would call long-term Patience or a long-term strategy or long-term notion that things like Right-development education in places like Pakistan Afghanistan Sudan take not only one presidential cycle to presidential cycles, but decades is it really possible For the US government to have a strategy that looks out beyond one presidential cycle. I Think Difficult frankly because an awful lot of the campaigning and the carrying out of policy is in opposition to what the previous people did It seems to be a regular act And so I think that what has to happen is since we are a democracy and democracy is based on as I said Not a spectator sport of people participating and they are open to pressure from the public that I think it is worth Very much thinking about what our role is for the for the people that are not in the government and I think also In a strange way Congress Senators are there longer than a cycle And I think that I have been saying at the moment for any number of reasons that this is article one time Which is the first article of the Constitution is about the power of Congress I might not have said that when I was in the executive branch But but I do think that part of the thing that has to happen. It has to be part of our DNA that we understand that this is going to take time and that it really requires a group of people from a variety of different Parts of our society to keep saying this is going to take time and also I think for a little humility to say it's taken us time And so it is difficult. I am very worried generally about the kind of four-year cycle of foreign policy Even when it's by the same party because I do think that there is kind of a sense We have to do something totally different Whereas I think picking up a project is a good idea the other part that I have to say and I certainly was true when we were in office is when you do something People want to just check it off and say, okay. We've now done Bosnia Or whatever and it all takes much more time and we are not a patient people and so I think there has to be and Nancy I think this is something we have to work on with the Fragility Act is to actually report on certain Deadlines that have been met or certain Accomplishments so that it doesn't just seem that it's sunk into the bureaucracy and that we're not keeping track and that and set up Some kind of a reporting system to the American people on this, but patience is not our best suit And I do think that is something that we we have to work on and Nick Can I just add from what Madeline just said that the task force on extremism in fragile states sunset it? but everyone but one of the task force members asked to Continue on and so the task force is continuing and specifically we'll be looking at those kinds of reporting Derek it seems like we have a problem We being the United States and people who care about strategy have a problem thinking long-term, but also thinking even short-term and coordinating but between agencies and departments and people so talk about that how can how can the US develop coherence across development diplomacy Defense is it even possible to do that? It is very very difficult and in Madeline was just talking earlier. I think Over lunch about how trying to do this across the different agencies. It's just very very difficult I Think it is key. I think a couple things on that one. I do think it does if you have a particular Challenge you can work at working levels. There are working groups. There are people at operational levels at assistant secretary levels Even under secretary who can come together and think this through if there is a commitment. I think what is critical? We talk about the 3ds. I'm not sure we act on the 3ds. We educate people in the 3ds We we bring people along train them through the Foreign Service Institute or through whatever mechanisms to operate according to the 3ds And if I may add to that, I think there should be a fourth D, which we've been talking about Which is democracy which should run through all of this It was interesting. I had coffee just might say coffee late yesterday with a former colleague of mine senior strategist in the Pentagon who worked in the counterterrorism Center and He said that he did a study of all the counterterrorism work The problems of terrorism around the world of extremism and he came to one conclusion the one biggest weakness in all this The biggest challenge we face is governance So the Pentagon at least there are some in the Pentagon he said there's not many people who get this And I bet you there's not many people even in state who completely get it It was great that Mark Green got it So maybe development they get it but running across these different divisions has got to be a recognition that governance the how we do This is absolutely important to the success in fragile environments or any transitional environment And I think what's good is that I think the development world traditional development world is starting to get This so as they start to get this it starts to get easier to talk about these things. So they're the government side but I think more needs to be done through think tanks through the Institutes through training and through the operational levels To get that to the bloodstream of the foreign policy community so that we're operating day-to-day like this And hopefully that also transcends into Congress etc. So the resources are coming behind it on on that Sorry secretary. Did you want to? Nancy I just want you to take that ball and run with it a little slightly different way So part of good governance, of course is governments responding to their people and part of that, of course, is the democracy movements Protests that we've seen around the world and civil society in in general. So talk about the importance of that How can we how can in the context of creating this long-term strategy support civil society? And and support these people who are trying to make their governments more accountable and and improve governance Yeah One quick footnote, you know USAID was a global leader in establishing Democracy as a part of a development agenda almost 30 years ago. The problem has been a it has never had rich amounts of funding and to is Aid sometimes gets leery of jumping into situations that seem political and a lot of times It's the politics that need to be understood in order to get the democracy and governance, right? The civil society Movements of people these are some of the ways that you that the politics gets addressed particularly in more repressive societies and the ability to support that I mean I I Have gone in and out of Iraq for Decade-and-a-half and one of the best investments we've made there has been the development of civil society So such that earlier this year you saw people in the streets at Demonstrating for not for their sectarian or religious issues, but for more accountable non-sectarian government as as well as less Iranian influence and so I mean that wouldn't have happened Under Saddam and that was an extraordinary development that came about through support and investment of the international community And there are a number of countries where one could talk about that so we can support civil society We can support governmental institutions. We can support elections. There's a long list We need to do so in concert with an overall strategy as Derek said and we Can do this we often do it in fits and spurts And we often do it in ways that don't listen enough to the local leadership and we can smother Those very important efforts with too much donor love and attention at the same time I Think on that part what I Think there's an awful lot of goodwill on what you were talking about smother I think that that we don't really we need to coordinate more among ourselves not so much the government But the non-governmental sector and try to figure out where we should be working together And NDI for instance spends a lot of time on and I'm not sure people actually know what the word civil society means I think it's being nice to each other You know who who are the what are we talking about when we're talking about getting people involved in in the Project and then understanding what you were saying Derek governance some kind of rules And what is the relationship between the people and the government? The social contract has been broken. I think this is something generally where all of a sudden the government Feels that it doesn't have the responsibility for helping the people and the people say to hell with this I don't want anything to do with the government And I think we need to kind of think about a little bit more on where the social contract has Broken down some of it due to technology and a number of different aspects I think we also and I I feel that more and more strongly about this is we need to get the private sector involved I believe the democracy has to deliver I think that We need to understand I think many of us when we were in College or graduate school would have discussions about what comes first political or economic development They go together at the same time because people want to vote and eat And so I think that what we need to do is get the private sector involved more in Helping and in some kind of a coordinated way so that people are seeing the results So that you have a rule of law that allows there to be a commercial code That people will come in and invest in X and then hire local people. We were talking about the youth So this is a very large agenda and it needs some kind of coordinating not necessarily just by the US government But by some kind of organizational aspect Sorry, can I just add a ps because I meant to mention that on the issue of people power we have Here at US IP under the leadership of Maria Stefan a whole practice area That's looked at what are the tactics and strategies of these movements and in a year where we've seen movements across the globe Really make an effective difference there is there there are specific strategies and Disciplines that adhered and non-violence and that enable these these movements to be more effective and we can Continue to support that Derek. Can you talk about some of the examples of where you've seen that work? Increasing private sector development and nurturing that civil society that is so important Just to build on that the notion of the movements in the past year Which is I think the theme of the past the last year was all these movements all these street demonstrations you can go with a list of a dozen of You know of these activities with Hong Kong or in Columbia wherever and that is that Frustration that people's voice are not being heard. They have no place in and politics or in governance And the challenge is what NDI does is these are incoate movements of anger and frustration But that's not democracy. I mean I got very frustrated when Mark Zuckerberg if his speech I was there at Georgetown and he tried to wrap himself in the cloak of human rights and democracy and saying free speeches Democracy and what we do is democracy No, I mean yes, Facebook does allow people to have a voice and people in the streets is a voice But that's not the be on and off democracy. That's just an incoate voicing of people saying listen to me or listen to us, but democracy and governance is about that prosaic Building of institutions and harnessing of that in a constructive political direction, you know building political parties Channeling and becoming civil society Ensuring that elections are are managed fairly and effectively and on time All of this is what NDI does so it's in as for examples It's the challenge we face now in the aftermath of these movements around the world is how do we then channel that in? Coarrage and anger in constructive directions So I mean we had a panelist in the earlier section on Tunisia and she talked about the transition that was going on there And we've been very active and this is a critical moment there in transition Because they've had a few cuts at this and they've had the latest election And I think if this doesn't go well this latest round of elections and party activity and Then people will get very frustrated then they will see the democracy deliver Are we getting economic benefit? Do we have jobs? Do we have a voice? Do we have a place? Same in Nigeria. There was a step back in the recent elections there. So we have a plan We're looking at strategy. We call it Nigeria 2023. That's the next elections What are we gonna do now from now to then working with as many folks as we can? AID Partners on the ground partners and development partners. How do we get from here to there? So the next elections go better And people feel that the process is working in responding to the need because that was a step back if we don't Then it starts to unravel even with the tremendous work of Samson a to do among others And it is a decade that we are ending or have ended depending on how you count it that started with Arab Spring and that is ending Or ending next year just ended with a real level of global unrest. I think we can call it Secretary Albright of course as we talk about what we try and do as we talk about what the West tries to facilitate There are actors out there who are trying to thwart some of those efforts The Trump administration has mostly gotten credit for this part of their national security strategy, which is calling China a Rival that you threat some of them some of the officials here have used but certainly the return of the idea that There is great power competition Particularly China is a long-term threat to the United States when you look out at the promotion of democracy What we need to be doing how much are China and Russia doing to try and thwart that and how do we answer them? Well, I do think that they both in their own way are trying to have their influence which undercuts us but it also in terms of The belief that is behind it. I think that the Chinese maybe we have not paid enough attention to the economic part of Building new societies they have only paid attention to that and through their Belt and Road Projects they are really in many ways trying to buy up or Get I've been saying the Chinese must be getting very fat because the belt is getting larger and larger And they are everywhere and what they do is go in and say that they will provide some project That theoretically is good for the country and for instance one I remember being in Kenya where there was some discussion about building a road And was it going to harm the Serengeti? And the American contractors were very conscious of that the Chinese said where do you want it? And so they've done it in a variety of different places and they they don't they actually are not very patient either But their initial Aspect their entry point is something that is very attractive and they don't care what the government is The the Russians have a different goal. They're trying to undermine anything that we do and are trying to separate us from our allies and our Various ways and they don't have any money internally. So they're not going to be doing that but they are trying to research as a major power and so they are Saying that what the Americans are doing is is something that is contrary to what the country wants It's very interesting to see them kind of research in the Middle East And in Egypt specifically with when you were talking about the Arab Spring So they are out there and it would be better if we all work together But that is not how it works But the Chinese are the ones I think that are the the strongest in terms of trying to separate us From trying to develop the kinds of issues that we're talking about because they do take longer It's easier to build a road than create The various institutions that we're talking about We've got about five more minutes before I want to turn it open to the the audience So one of one of Derek and Nancy you both kind of engage with that question So Derek first you serving in Southeast Asia obviously the part of the world that China believes it Needs to have primacy and reduce us influence. What was your interaction with China and how can we? Respond to some of their challenges. Well secretary Albright talked about public-private partnership And I grabbed on to that very early as ambassador certainly in part because As people may remember we had comprehensive sanctions So companies could not invest and couldn't trade for many years and my first day as ambassador was basically Right after the lifting easing of investment sanctions So I had in my residence all the companies who were interested and I challenged them. I said look We are now counting on you now to bring those values with you in what you do Be understanding the Chinese do it differently the Chinese bring their values or lack of values whatever their values are But the the values that we bring of openness of transparency. I challenge them you must demonstrate that you are Operating on it in a different way and if you do you will get the full support of the US Embassy and the US government in that effort Because you know I used to say in Burma that look when we come and I challenged my companies to do this And they would we really invest we're there to invest in every sense of the term We'll invest in local communities will train people will will give back and we're investing in the people We really care about the success of that country because the success of that country is in our is in our interest Other countries extract others are there because they think we want something want the resources We want to maybe export our workers. We want we have excess capacity. Whatever it is. There's a different mindset So there is certainly an advantage to our work if we're smart about This century I would say being really that the fundamentals not about China per se It's about what are the values? What are the norms? What are the rules that will govern the international system in the 21st century? We had a certain rule base in norm base that Followed the World War two and that we were the head of the free world and we were the hyperpower for a while But that's now in challenge and what who is going to shape that how will it be shaved? We need every resource we can and the private sector is a very strong resource very powerful internationally there could be an ally in this we should challenge them to be an ally in this And I think we should engage them more actively and that includes the tech sector, which is a whole other And Nancy this is not only about values, but as the secretary said results, right? I mean democracy needs to actually produce results So how do you see that balance and how do you see? US answering those perhaps dual challenges of spreading our values continuing that spread of values Confronting the Chinese spread of values, but also just delivering some results on the ground so people can actually think that the US version works Yeah, so a couple of points that I would add the first is we see that the more fragile a state is the more vulnerable it is to the influence or the predations of Regional or great powers who want to interfere and particularly we're seeing that with China and in select cases Russia So fragility matters as we look at creating a world that is more committed to prosperous democracies Secondly, I worry a lot that even as our national security strategies focus more and more on great power competition And there's good reason for doing that, but these issues of fragility are not gone and At some peril do we risk shifting all of the attention away from addressing the kind of state fragility issues that lead to violent conflict violent extremism extreme poverty and significant migration and thirdly That to do all of this will require the kind of resources and longevity that we are seeing Intriined in the global fragility act So I take great heart that we now have the past thanks to the effort of a lot of people in this room The global fragility act that is a binding commitment to create these long-term strategies with with ten pilots out of the box That we need to look at Because we really risk losing focus right at the time that we've got these lessons and these ideas Recommendations some high-level validation that this is important. We could easily wander off off field because we're distracted So, you know, I hope that we can really take the global fragility act and use that as a as a momentum For putting these ideas into action and it will be hard because bureaucracy is a hard thing to move And that's what we've got to got to deal with I just had very quickly as well that the danger as I say of making this Anti-China or anti something is very deep. We can't what we don't want to be is Instrumentalized I think what what we all about I would say in this room and those who care about this We actually care about these countries. We really care about their success. I mean, it's it's heartfelt And I think if we start to get distracted as one way or Instrumentalize this only in certain cases because it's a foreign policy strategic. Oh geopolitical. I should say strategic value Then we actually diminish it and we diminish it I think strategically because countries start to see us this as a US China thing or geopolitical You really don't care about us. You just are trying to you know challenge China Fact is this is not about China. It is about in some way what China is bringing to the world or what it represents Well, that's why I say that the notion should be Affirmative of what we're trying to affirm and what we're trying to promote because it's important for a stable world A secure world and a secure United States But also because we truly do care I Will turn it over to the audience at this point. I think we've got about a little less than 20 minutes So let me just kind of go around the room and first hand. I saw was on this first table here. So I believe there's a Microphone coming around. Yeah, this front table woman in purple, please. Thanks and please I want to get through quite a few people here. So identify yourself and just as simple and direct a single question as you can Hi, no speech. I'm Mindy riser. I'm vice president of global peace services USA for secretary Albright the word United Nations hasn't been mentioned much today and I'd like the secretary to say a word about where she sees our international organizational infrastructure It seems to me the Impact of the UN has diminished. I think attention by various governments is not where it once was the WHO the ILO Where can we strengthen those organizations? What future do you see for them given the Subversion if I could use that word that certain other countries might be inflicting on this international structure I have been very concerned about the fact that the international structure is Weakening and the truth of the matter is that people and organizations at age 70 need a little refurbishing And so I think we need to see where the weaknesses are And whether one strengthens WHO or ecosoc or various parts of it I think is very important and that a cliche frankly if it didn't exist we would invent the UN now But I also do think that what we need to do is to look at what has happened positively in terms of ad hoc operations like the G20 or various other smaller groupings and see what can be done through them and use them because I do think that there needs to be some kind of structure and In order to do some of the things we're talking about to have some organizational part So one I wouldn't totally discard the organizations that are coming in where the UN is weak But I also think we need to be more supportive of the UN So a few hands in the back table there. Yeah, the gentleman with the hat, please. Thank you Thank you. I'm harmony Bob Gambuton from British Southern Cameroon and it's I really thank The last speaker for raising the issue of diminished status of the United Nations and its Agencies as the way to function and my question is Going to be directed to Secretary Albright. I heard a top US diplomat say that I mean in a conversation that United States policy has shifted from considering Sub-Saharan Africa as the backyard of Europe. I mean they are taking direct presence there I was very excited But I want to find out from you based on your own experience What do you how do you feel? About what comes out of that statement with respect to the disruptive presence of France in West Africa and in Central Africa Which has permitted even Russia to get implanted in Central African subregion and Most of the fragile fragility we are talking about. It's not on connected with the French sponsored international political economy in this Sub-Saharan Africa. I Think that there has been more attention. I do think the following thing It would be very useful if more Americans understood that Africa wasn't one country And that there really are differences among the 54 and that there are some good stories and some very difficult ones But I think that there has been more interest some of it that has not been useful frankly, but I do think that on the whole there is beginning to understand the the Diversity and the power of Africa and the potential of Africa and the positive aspects and not just some of the negative things And what is the role again of the UN and peacekeeping operations and a variety of? how the WHO is dealing with Ebola or any number of different things so there needs to be some understanding of where a Multilateral approach works and other times where we need to pay specific attention To the good stories of Africa and then hope that it spreads to the other countries But they're really I hate to say this, but there are political Political figures who just say Africa and they think it's one place And I think that we need to understand more about the history some of the colonial history But also some of the history since that period has been over Sorry. Yes, sir. The gentleman in the suit right in the middle there. Thanks. Thank you very much for your presentations Mike McCabe from USAID in The year of so many protests and social movements as you mentioned Young people are often on the front line and as we heard from Samson and others this morning it's not only that sense of exclusion, but how do we build a Set of capacities and build upon that that interest of emerging young leaders at a time Where we see a lot of our investments in emerging young leader programs Either flatlining or going down and for example the Chinese just launched a major new scholarship initiative for youth Peace and security bringing thousands of young people to China to study this. What should we be doing better around? Supporting emerging young leaders Nancy Derek you guys want to take that Well first of all we should look at all the ways that we can increase the funding for that As we heard I think the panel that we heard from our four young leaders was very encouraging about The kind of leadership that can make a real difference in some of these more fragile environments They have ideas. They know the context. They are the next generation that will make the difference This this I think this really goes Sorry to keep harping on this but this goes to the heart of the global fragility act Which is saying and and the heart of the task force recommendations that says we are not going to solve these critical issues Through military military or kinetic means that we need these longer term Solutions that are working in concert and certainly developing youth leadership in all the ways that it enables Youth to play a more active positive role is key So keep continuing to bring that forward and with the hopefully less You know directed funding that is available through these ten pilots that needs to be a priority And it's it's how you get movements Out there to provide the strategic tactical Training for that all the ways that you train leadership and provide support But I would also go back to what I said earlier and that is we have to be careful that we're not Doing it in a way that it becomes about us. It's got to be in a way that is for you know puts the young leaders out front Yes, ma'am right here in the front table will do to in the front table here. Thank you And well a term is my name from South Sudan and I just wanted to pick up on the aspect of locally led processes as one of the pillars of the act and The the current understanding of locally led is looking more like Programs and projects design in the West and then taken to the global South and dressed in local Faces to look like they are locally led and what that does to the concept is They come pre-packaged With very minimal room for flexibility So in most cases they end up not responding to emerging issues as they have to stick to the objectives that were Pre-designed to be achieved through that process and also most of them happen to be really short-term You have three months six months one year and we're looking at for example a country that has been in conflict for decades And people are looking towards transforming a conflict I never see how a three months project six months one year can transform or create a positive impact that is actually going to be sustainable and the other aspect or challenge around that is also the The the lack of Sustainability that comes with that and because it comes as a support it comes as a funding. It's creating a lot of dependency Syndrome within the communities that people are always looking to receive instead of Utilizing the local resources that they have and that also comes with a lot of Accountability from the civil society to the West as opposed to their own people and the local governance or the local leadership My question is how will this Locally led pillar of the act be any different from what we are already experiencing in our various contexts Derek you want to take that or Nancy you want to try that or You know lol you raise I think the heart of the question that we will need to figure out there will this this goes to The difficulty of change and what you've just articulated I think everybody agrees, but how you do that Will not be the first way that it happens with this new approach, but My hope is that the Global Fragility Act will push us to think differently to try different differently To really understand if we want local leadership, we can't be doing it from Washington it has to happen in full partnership in the field with mutual accountability and There will be a process there will be a process for getting that right it won't but I don't think it will happen right out of the box There was another question right here, and then we'll go back and do two more so quick questions I'm not a very from Tunisia. So my question is about Will be about preventing violent extremism In Tunisia at least in North Africa what we saw is that There are not narratives of violent extremism were sometimes more attractive for young people so my question for you and for especially for Mrs. Albright is When will be will we start working on on counter narratives that can make Democracy more attractive for these young Arab Muslims at least in North Africa I've been since 2011 Suggesting that the old democracy is very important. She brought in my country free election But it's not enough. We should work more on prosperity But also on something very important for me as woman freedom because it's still different difficult Even though we are on a good path. It's still difficult for me For example to say that I'm non-religious. I can my country the democracy the emergent democracy Doesn't protect me from violent acts. So every day we are working, but We are in a way feeling alone. We should work together on making democracy more attractive with other narratives. Thank you I have to say the National Democratic Institute has taken a particular interest in Tunisia we had our board meeting there this last year and Really looked at a lot of things, but this is also applicable to other places. We can't just operate in capitals We have to get out of the capitals and it has to do with what you were talking about local aspects and working with people that are not part of the government, but are the civil society and especially some of the young people and the women and that is one of the things that we've been concentrating on and Asking a lot of questions when we were in Tunisia to how was it going locally? What was going to happen and and I have to say it may not seem that sexy to people to go to some small town somewhere But in many ways it is more important than being though Tunis is beautiful But I think very important to get out of the main cities and deal with people that are not used to Hosting foreigners all the time So there are more questions. Unfortunately. I think we we don't have the time unfortunately I'm very sorry for all of you who still have your hands up, but please join me in thanking Secretary Albright Nancy Lindborg Derek Mitchell. Thank you very much Thank you, that brings us to the close of the program this morning and a little bit this afternoon Let me just begin as we as we close Just again to thank our excellent partners At the George W. Bush Institute the National Endowment for Democracy and at the National Democratic Institute They've been fabulous partners and putting all of this together US IP will continue to work with these partners To continue focusing on these critical issues. We've had a number of sweeping conversations today And many of you may be eager to drill down in more detail We're gonna work with our partners to schedule in the very near future a set of round tables Where we're gonna really focus on trying to be a little bit more concrete about what kinds of solutions we can start to identify So as we say to make things dramatic watch this space In the meantime, let me Wish you all a very happy and peaceful new year And ask you again to please join me in thanking this superb lunchtime panel Have a great afternoon