(bold text in Spanish)
Meghan Markle said about the lessons in her life: ‘I would like to start in Spanish, because we are in your country, my husband and I, and because I feel the embrace in Colombia. It is incredible.
‘Thank you, thank you very much, because the culture, the history, everything was a dream during this trip.
And I’m sorry my Spanish isn’t perfect, because I learned it 20 years ago in Argentina, but i try [it] I am here because I can feel this community and this feeling is the best in the world.
So thank you very much to the vice president, my friend, thank you very much. Well, now in English.
‘I would say, from my perspective, I’ve been very fortunate that from a very young age I felt like my voice was being heard. And I think that’s a luxury that a lot of young girls and women often don’t get.
‘I was 11 years old and you may know this story. I saw an ad that I thought was sexist and I wrote a letter about it, several letters, and the ad was changed. When you’re 11 years old, you quickly realize that your little voice can have a very big impact.
“I think it creates the framework to feel empowered to use your voice because you know you’re being heard. It never feels good to use your voice and no one hears you. That’s not ideal.
“For us and the work that we do with our Archewell Foundation, and certainly the work that we do as parents, and I do as a mother as well, it’s making sure that young girls feel like their voices are being heard, and that young boys are being raised to listen and be heard by those young women as well.
‘And the same goes for adult women and men. This is not something that is the sole responsibility and in the hands of women alone.
“Yes, we work incredibly well together as a team, but my husband tells us that men play a key role in this: they need to empower women and let them know that their voices are heard, from a young age all the way into adulthood.”
“At Archewell Foundation, we are deeply committed to creating a sense of community where women are also listened to and their ideas are truly felt and implemented in the programming we create.
“That’s why we recently started a program called The Parents Network. It’s for parents who have lost a child or who have faced the deepest challenges and the deepest grief as a result of online abuse. It’s so important to the work that we do that these mothers, these parents, are heard.
“We also have something we call The Welcome Project, where we work specifically with women who have been displaced.
‘And really give them projects and work that are similar to the work I’ve done in the UK with something called the Hub Community Kitchen, where women and the community listen to each other and support each other.
‘You know, you can cook together, you can craft together, but what do you do at the same time? [is that] You’re working on your mental health, you’re working on your emotional healing, you’re working on supporting each other through microfinance, building businesses, and building partnerships.
“These are all ways that I see community spirit and how we support each other as women play a role in so many different areas of their lives.”
When asked what inspires her, the Duchess said:: ‘I think I find inspiration in so many strong women around me, my mother being one of them.
“I think life is full of surprises and can be quite complex. And we’ve talked (when Meghan turned to the Colombian vice president) over the last few days about how you find your inspiration and your fighting spirit and for me we’ve also talked about the power of words.
‘I approach things largely from the perspective of [it’s] less about the struggle, that doesn’t interest me, but more about how we can show up in this space and do things over with love, kindness and generosity.
“And we were talking about that the other day and that’s part of that same spirit that you have in you. That you see something wrong and you’re going to fix it. Maybe that’s just a very feminine thing. Whether it’s a fan or something else.
“That’s what we do. As women, we’re multitaskers and fixers. And so when I try to look at the conditions where we make women most comfortable in space, it’s multifaceted.
‘And that also means that we have to find ways to create political space where women’s voices can be heard.
‘In the corporate world, where women can have a seat at the table and be in leadership positions and be role models, like you have with your vice president.
‘We all know how important representation is. We all know that when you see someone who looks like you, who talks like you, who comes from a community like yours, that you can believe that it is possible to be in a similar position of power, so that you don’t underestimate yourself, you don’t underestimate your value, you don’t underestimate your future.
‘Instead, you trust that anything is possible, because the circumstances around you and the examples you have show that you too can contribute to changing the world.
“And I think the little things that women do every day and the bigger ways that we do it as a community are the elements that continue to inspire me to use my voice.
‘Because I also know how small it feels when you don’t. It doesn’t feel good to suffer in silence or even to sit in silence when you want to be heard in those moments or when you have something to say.
“I think part of the role model that I try to be as a mother is to encourage our daughter. At three years old, she has found her own voice and we are so proud of that. And so, like I said, we create the conditions where young girls and women know that if someone else encourages them to use their voice and be heard, they will.
“They’re going to create a very different environment than many of us grew up in. An environment where we normally would have to speak less loudly. By making our voices heard, we change the circumstances and the environment where everyone has the space to be the best version of themselves.”
Meghan Markle delivered her final speech to the panel, as Prince Harry listened from the audience: “I think if we’re really looking at how we can continue to inspire and create change, all of the examples I mentioned earlier from our perspective, certainly through the Archwell Foundation, are important elements of doing that.
‘And I can start at the grassroots level. I believe that starts at home too, by modeling that behavior at a young age and seeing how it develops.
“From my standpoint, the way that I’m going to continue to express this, both through our foundation and through the ability to move through the world, I think I just see this as my chapter of joy.
‘And the more you are able to look at your life and really, truly recognize that if you want to be grateful for your life, you have to be grateful for all aspects of it.
“The parts that were opportunities for growth and that may have felt really difficult, but also the parts that felt inspiring and joyful and full.
‘I think a role model doesn’t necessarily have to be a grand plan, it just has to be an intention. My intention is to enjoy this chapter and to get through every bit of it as best I can. I want to show that if we live in a spirit of gratitude and generosity, we as women can connect with each other and move through the world in a much freer way. I think that’s part of how we can continue to create the conditions that I was talking about earlier.
“And you may have noticed, my husband and I were talking about it this morning, I’m just really relaxed on this trip. It’s probably because we’re in Colombia and you all know how to have fun.
‘There is something very liberating about being yourself, feeling good about yourself and being surrounded by a space that loves you for who you are.
“I think that’s part of the joy chapter for me. Hopefully it will continue to inspire me and allow me to continue to do the work that I love to do, which is just being of service and seeing other people live their lives with that same joyful spirit.”