Emma Watson Attends One World Summit, Talks Gender Equality with Justin Trudeau

While in Canada this week to attend One World Summit, Emma Watson met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Parliament of Canada to discuss gender equality, women’s rights, and the Prime Minister’s role as youth ambassador for HeForShe, an initiative founded by Emma in 2014 as part of her position as Women’s Ambassador to the United Nations.

.@EmWatson is a champion for gender equality worldwide. It’s a pleasure welcoming you to Ottawa ahead of the @OneYoungWorld summit #heforshe pic.twitter.com/gIkE05uG7i

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 28, 2016

Emma later spoke at One World Summit and met with youth who have made an impact in the fight for gender equality. During her speech, Emma said of the HeForShe campaign’s creation process:

“It was my scary first step as an activist: a word I never imagined that I would use to describe myself.”

Emma Watson’s speech on fighting for gender equality was ??#OYW #OYWOttawa pic.twitter.com/BFLY83r2Wy — Huffington Post UK (@HuffPostUK) September 30, 2016

Emma’s inspiring speech addressed the abuse that she had opened herself up to as a result of spearheading the HeForShe campaign, but closed with a message of hope and empowerment for the summit’s attendees.

‘When I launched a gender equality movement, it opened up a Pandora’s Box of abuse,’ says Emma Watson https://t.co/810HjplNdc pic.twitter.com/N8QR5jBekG

— Huffington Post UK (@HuffPostUK) September 30, 2016

“I want to offer a few statements of my own that I’ve struggled with, and continue to struggle with on a daily basis, but that I have found inspiring. I want to ask you to take a moment – you can keep your eyes closed, or keep them open – and ask yourself if these have any truth for you in them:

I am willing to be seen

I am willing to speak up

I am willing to keep going

I am willing to listen to what others have to say

I am willing to go forward even when I feel alone

I am willing to go to bed each night, at peace with myself

I am willing to be my biggest, best-est, most powerful self

These seven statements scare the absolute sh*t out of me. But I know that they are at the crux of it all. At the end of the day, and when all is said and done, I know that these are the ways that I want to have lived my life.”

Read more on Emma’s meeting with Justin Trudeau at Ottowa Citizen and CTV News. Watch Emma’s full One World Summit speech at Huffington Post UK.