Actress Julia Roberts will join former first lady Michelle Obama at Obama Foundation’s inaugural Leaders: Asia-Pacific conference in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 12.

Julia Roberts, Michelle Obama to visit KL in girl power push
FMT Reporters
-December 4, 2019 9:45 AM



PETALING JAYA: US actress Julia Roberts will join former first lady Michelle Obama for a dialogue on girl empowerment at the Obama Foundation’s inaugural Leaders: Asia-Pacific conference in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 12.

According to the Obama Foundation website, the duo will travel to Vietnam on Dec 9 on behalf of the foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance to meet with local education organisations and beneficiaries of programmes that help girls reach their full potential.

The Girls Opportunity Alliance aims to empower girls around the world through education. Other celebrities who have teamed up with Obama to promote the alliance include David Beckham, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman and John Legend.

“In Malaysia, Obama and Roberts will share reflections about their trip to Vietnam, as well as lessons from their own leadership journeys and their path-breaking careers,” the website said.

Former Miss Malaysia and TV host Deborah Henry – who founded Fugee.org, a NGO that runs a school and livelihood programmes for refugees in Malaysia – will moderate the dialogue with questions sourced from the attendants.

Former US president Barack Obama will also take part in a talk titled “How The Asian-Pacific Shaped Us” on Dec 13.

The Leaders: Asia-Pacific programme in Kuala Lumpur will bring together 200 leaders from 33 countries and territories in the Asia Pacific from Dec 10-14 for plenary sessions, skill-building workshops and leadership training.

The 200 leaders come from the public, private and non-profit sectors, and will join the foundation’s growing global network of changemakers.

The event is closed to the public but certain sessions will be made available via livestream at obama.org, including the conversation between Obama and Roberts.