when journalists are put behind bars for doing their jobs or activists or threats as government crackdown on civil society then you may have democracy in name but not in  when journalists are put beyond bars for doing their jobs or activists are threatened as government crackdown on civil society then you may have democracy in name but not in substance and i'm convinced that nations cannot realize the full promise of independence until they fully protect the rights of their people and i and this is true even for countries that have made important democratic progress as i indicated during my visit to kenya the remarkable gains that country has made with the new constitution with its election cannot be jeopardized by restrictions on civil society likewise our host ethiopians have much to be proud of i've been amazed at all the wonderful work that's being done here and it's true that the elections that took place here occurred without violence but as i discussed with prime minister helen mary and that's just the start of democracy i'm i believe if you will be a will not fully unleash the potential of its people if journalists are restricted or legitimate opposition groups can't soul and this is often just the first step down a perilous path and sometimes you'll hear a leader say well we're i'm the only person who can hold this nation together if that's true then that leader has failed to truly build their nation you look at nelson mandela my diva like george washington forged a lasting legacy not only because of what they did office but because they were willing to leave office and transfer power peacefully progress will also depend on security and peace because an essential part of human dignity is being safe and free from fear in angola mozambique and in the end abusers lose their own humanity as well mandela taught us to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others every one of us is equal every one of us has worth every one of us matters and when we respect the freedom of others no matter the color of their skin or how they pray or who they are or who they love we are no more free your dignity depends your dignity depends on my dignity and my dignity depends on yourself imagine if everyone had that spirit in their hearts imagine of governments operated that way just imagine what the world could look like the future that we could bequeath these young people yes in our world all thinking can be a stubborn thing that's one of the reasons why we need term limits or people think old ways and i'm you can see my gray here i'm getting old the old ways can be stubborn but i believe the human heart is stronger i believe hearts can change i believe minds can open that's how change happens that's how societies move forward it's not always a straight line halting steps sometimes you go forward you move back a little bit but i believe we are marching we are pointing towards ideals of justice and equality that's how your nations won independence not just with rifles but with principles and ideals that's how african americans won our civil rights that's how south africans black and white tore down apartheid that's why i can stand before you today as the first african american president united states once again thank you for your wonderful hospitality and for hosting this pan african institution the members of the african union distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen thank you for welcoming me here today it is a great honor to be the first president the united states address the i'm grateful for this opportunity to speak to the representatives of more than one billion people of the great african continent we're joined today by citizens by leaders of civil society by faith communities and i'm especially pleased to see so many young people who embody the energy and optimism of today's africa hello i stand before you as a proud american i also stand before you as the son of an africa africa and its people helped to shape america and allowed it to become the great nation that it is and africa and its people have helped shape who i am and how i see the world in the villages in kenya where my father was born i learned of my ancestors in the life of my grandfather the dreams of my father the bonds of family that connect us as africans and americans as parents michelle and i want to make sure that our two daughters know their heritage european and africa in all of its strengths and all of that struggle so we've taken our daughters and stood with them on the shores of west africa in those doors of no return mindful that their ancestors were both slaves and slave owners we stood with them in that small cell on robben island where my dba show the world that no matter the nature of his physical confinement he alone was the master of his  for us for our children africa and its people teach us a powerful lesson that we must uphold the inherent dignity of every human being dignity that basic idea that by virtue of our common humanity no matter where we come from or what we look like we are all born equal touched by the grace of god every person has worked every person matters every person deserves to be treated with decency and respect much of history mankind did not see this dignity was seen as a virtue reserved to those of rank and privilege kings and it took a revolution of the spirit over many centuries to open our eyes to the dignity of every person and around the world generations of struggle to put this idea into practice in laws and so to here in africa this is the cradle of humanity and ancient african kingdoms were home to great libraries and universities but the evil of slavery root not only abroad but here on the continent colonialism skewed africa's economy and rob people of their capacity to shape their own destiny eventually liberation movements groups and fifty years ago in a great burst of self determination africans rejoiced as foreign flags came down and your national flags went up  south africa's a south africa's albert the truly said at the time the basis for peace and brotherhood in africa is being restored by the resurrection of national sovereignty and independence of equality and the a half century into this independence there it is long past time to put aside old stereotypes of an africa forever mired in poverty and conflict the world must recognize africa's extraordinary progress today africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world africa's middle class is projected to grow to more than one billion consumers with hundreds of mobile phones hundreds of millions of mobile phones surging access to the internet africans are beginning to leap frog old technologies into new prosperity africa is on the move a new africa has emerged propelled by this progress and in partnership with the world africa is achieved historic gains that help the rate of new hiv aids infections has plummeted african mothers are more likely to survive childbirth and have healthy babies deaths from malaria have been slashed saving the lives of millions of african children millions have been lifted from extreme poverty africa has led the world in sending more children to school in other words more and more african men women and children are living with dignity and with h and one of those institutions can be the african union here you can come together with a shared commitment to human dignity and development here you are fifty four nations pursue a common vision of an integrated prosperous and peaceful africa so many africans have told me we don't want just aid we want trade deals progress we don't want patrons we want partners who help us build our own capacity to grow we don't want the indignity of dependence we want to make our own choices and determine our own future and as president i've worked to transform america's relationship with africa so that we're truly listening to our african friends and working together as equal partners and i'm proud of the progress that we've made we've stood american exports to this region part of trade that supports jobs for africans and americans to sustain our momentum and with the bipartisan support of some of the outstanding members of congress who are here today twenty of them were here today i recently signed the ten year renewal of the african growth and opportunity act and i want to thank them all while they stand very briefly so you can see them because they've done outstanding work launched major initiatives to promote food security and public health and access to electricity and to prepare the next generation of african leaders and entrepreneurs investments that will help fuel africa's rise for decades to last year as the chairwoman noted i welcome nearly fifty african presidents and prime ministers to washington so we could begin a new chapter of cooperation by coming to the african union today i'm looking to build on that  i believe africa's rise is not just important for africa it's important to the entire world we will not be able to meet the challenges of our time from ensuring a strong global economy to facing down violent extremism to combating climate change to ending hunger in extreme poverty without the voices and contributions of one billion africans now even with africa's impressive progress we must acknowledge that many of these gains rest on a fragile foundation alongside new wealth of hundreds of millions of africans still endure extreme poverty alongside high tech hubs of innovation many africans are crowded into shantytowns without power or running water a level of poverty that's an assault on human dignity moreover as the youngest and fastest growing common africa's population in the coming decades will double to some two billion people and many of them will be young under eighteen the one hand this could bring tremendous opportunities as these young africans harness new technologies and ignite new growth and reforms economists will tell you that countries regions continents grow faster with younger populations it's a demographic edge and advantage but only if those young people are being trained we need only to look at the middle east   today and for decades ahead is to create opportunity for this next generation and this will be an enormous undertaking africa will need to generate millions more jobs than it's doing right now and time is of the essence the choices made today will shape the traject africa and therefore the world for decades to come and as your partner and your friend allow me to suggest several ways that we can meet this challenge together africa's progress will depend on unleashing economic growth not just for the few at the top but for the many because an essential element of dignity is being able to live a decent life that be and that requires trade and investment many of your nations have made important reforms to attract investment spark for growth but in many places across africa it's still too hard to start a venture to do still too hard to build a business governments the take additional reforms to make doing business easier will have an eager partner in the united states and that includes reforms to help africa trade more with itself as the chair woman and i've discussed before we came out here today because the biggest markets for your goods are often right next door you don't have to just look overseas for growth you can look internally and our work to help africa modernize customs and border crossings started with the east african community and now we're expanding our efforts across the continent because it shouldn't be harder for african countries to trade with each other than it is for you to trade with europe and america