Remarks by the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock, at the Girls Speak Out event 2O25.

 

Good morning, everybody.



And I must say, Wow. What a room.
I mean from this side, I can see all your faces, your beautiful dressings here. This is all so special.
If you’re in a room full of women or girls, it’s so powerful and colorful.
So what Andrea just said–this is your space. This is your room.
So be like a girl.
You don’t have to be sitting like this, like adult, 50-year-old ones, but really take your power and take your pride.
And I have to confess something at the beginning, because I really hesitated to take part in this event today, not because I am not an advocate for women and girls’ rights; I am, fiercely so.
But because this event is called “Girls Speak Out,” and I’m certainly not a girl anymore. I’m 44 years old. I have two teenagers, daughters.
They could sit here, and sometimes they feel embarrassed about their mother.
And as I heard from the beginning, moderator, I should sit up there in the red chairs.
But anyway, I’m thankful that I’m being invited to your girl’s event.
And though I’m obviously not a girl anymore, I was once a girl, a little girl with dreams just like you.
And when I was little, like very little, I was dreaming of becoming a gardener, because I really loved the environment and nature around me.
When I was a teenager, I wanted to become a journalist, and I even started to work as one.
Then I dreamed of becoming a war reporter.
Obviously, I’ve done at the end something differently.
I’m not reporting on wars, but I’m trying now to help to prevent them.
So I guess what I’m trying to say today here with you in this room is that it doesn’t matter if you dream of becoming a gardener, a teacher, winning an Olympic medal or a Nobel Peace Prize.
The thing which really matters is that you follow your interests with passion and that you put your whole heart in every opportunity, even when there are detours, even when you have doubts.
So my dream for you is that each day you do exactly that what you love, your passion, and you do what you love with every ounce of your being.
And that nobody and nothing will stop you.
No man, no religion, no legislation.
No system that tries to silence you.
No criticism or bullying from others at school or these times online.
Not even what can feel often like the loudest voice of all — your own self-doubt.
And frankly, I know that voice.
As first female and especially youngest Foreign Minister of my own country.
There were days when I was the only woman at the table.
There were days when others questioned whether I should be there at the table with only 30 years old and little daughters.
There were days when the firestorm on social media was so heavy that it made me waver, and I was not sure if I could stand that any longer.
But what helped me was always remembering and thinking of all the other women who have been there before and who have been also little girls with dreams, who also struggled and wavered, but always stood up again, joined forces with other women and girls who struggled.
And two weeks ago, like Andrea said in her introduction, we celebrated here at the United Nations, in the big hall, Beijing +30, the first female big event for women rights and representation.
And you cannot imagine how these women did not only struggle, but people even questioned if they could meet.
So we celebrated all these women who, with no doubt, faced not only challenges, but women like Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, who faced the most horrible atrocities you could imagine as a woman, but stood up for her own rights against ISIS, a terrorist organization, and spoke here in the General Assembly Hall.
Women who became the first female president of their country.
And when they dreamt about even going to Parliament, people laughed about them.
We celebrated women who became the first head and President of the International Olympic Committee.
So next time when you as a girl, hear that voice again, maybe at your school yard, “well, you just run like a girl”.
Or you hear it in office, or even in Parliament, “you act like a girl”, or “you speak like a girl”, then do exactly that.
Run like a girl, meaning running fast as hell.
Act like a girl, meaning leading with empathy, with laughter, with compassion and sometimes with tears of joy or even grief,
And speak like a girl, meaning speaking bold, loud, and clear for yourself and for all the girls who cannot speak up in that moment.
And always remember when the headwinds are the strongest, you’re exactly on the right pathway and you are unstoppable.
So use this power, speak up today and all the other 364 days, because you are unstoppable.



I thank you.