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President Obama, First Lady to Speak at SXSW

POTUS will be making a debut appearance this year at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

No, that's not some hipster band. It's the 44th president of the United States. President Barack Obama will be the first sitting president to speak at the annual music, film and interactive media gathering, which drew more than 80,000 attendees last year.

President Obama will discuss civic engagement with Evan Smith, editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, during a keynote address on March 11.

"The President will call on the audience to apply their ideas and talents to make technology work for us โ€“ especially when it comes to tackling big challenges like increasing participation in the political process and fighting climate change," SXSW said in a statement.

First lady Michelle Obama will attend as well to discuss the "Let Girls Learn" initiative, which aims to improve education for girls around the world. That will take place on March 16.

โ€œI canโ€™t imagine a better way to celebrate our eventโ€™s 30th year than to welcome both the President and First Lady to SXSW,โ€ said Co-founder Roland Swenson. โ€œAs each new generation comes up at SXSW they look for ways they can be of service, and itโ€™s important to reflect and support that message. President and Mrs. Obamaโ€™s visit here will inspire attendees to that purpose.โ€

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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