As part of the Girl Up 2020 Leadership Summit [1] on 13 July, former First Lady Michelle Obama [2] shared a special message on behalf of the Girls Opportunity Alliance [3]. The organisation is an Obama Foundation program and seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education. In her speech, Michelle touched on the abrupt changes girls around the world are facing in association with their education and praised them for showing "incredible resilience in difficult circumstances."

She then went on to talk about how crises like "violence at home, child marriage and teen pregnancy, economic hardship, [and] caretaking responsibilities within families" only worsen these situations. "We can't let these girls be forgotten during this crisis. The stakes are just too high," she said. "When we give girls the chance to learn, we give them the opportunity to fulfil their potential, build healthier families, and contribute to their countries, economies, for generations to come." You can listen to the full message above before checking out the rest of the Girl Up 2020 Leadership Summit on their Instagram page from July 13-15 [4].