Washington, DC - On October 8, 44 girls and young women between the ages of 13 and 26 from Morocco and Liberia will arrive in the United States for the 2016 Let Girls Learn: U.S. Exchange Program. Launched by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in March 2015, Let Girls Learn enables access to quality education for girls around the world. The First Lady met with the group during her trip to Liberia and Morocco in June 2016, and has invited them to celebrate the International Day of the Girl with a dialogue and a screening of the CNN documentary, We Will Rise.

The six-day exchange program, supported by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through a grant to Meridian International Center, represents one part of the multi-faceted Let Girls Learn initiative. In addition to the White House events, the group will also participate in a Let Girls Learn “Chat and Chai” event for intercultural exchange with American girls, attend meetings at the U.S. Department of State, participate in a Learning Lab and tour the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, and visit Washington area universities to meet with international students from around the world.

The girls and young women are beneficiaries of U.S. programs in Liberia and Morocco designed to empower and uplift adolescent girls.