SXSW Announces President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as Keynote Speakers

For the first time in its 30-year history, a sitting President will be gracing the stages of SXSW. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama has confirmed that they will be keynote speakers for the event next week. Both will be pushing different agendas while supporting the creative and innovative platform SXSW offers. Learn more about the event here and read on to see what the POTUS and FLOTUS will be discussing.

President Obama will sit down with Editor in Chief of The Texas Tribune Evan Smith for a conversation about civic engagement in the 21st Century before an audience of creators, early adopters and entrepreneurs who are defining the future of our connected lives. The President will call on the audience to apply their ideas and talents to make technology work for us – especially when it comes to tackling big challenges like increasing participation in the political process and fighting climate change. In the lead-up to the event, The Texas Tribune will also source questions for the discussion from its online audience.

First Lady Michelle Obama comes to SXSW Music to discuss the Let Girls Learn initiative, which aims to break barriers for the 62 million girls around the world who are not in school today, more than half of whom are adolescent. The SXSW Music Conference brings the global music industry together and offers the perfect platform to celebrate Women’s History Month, as the First Lady provides her call to action to support girls’ education.