The White House on Wednesday outlined the schedule for First Lady Michelle Obama’s upcoming trip to Africa, which will be “focused on youth leadership, education, health and wellness,” Agence France-Presse reports(6/15). “The weeklong trip begins Monday in Johannesburg. She’ll also visit Pretoria and Cape Town in South Africa, before moving on to Gaborone, Botswana. The trip ends with a private safari in South Africa,” the Associated Press reports (6/15).

According to Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes, the first lady’s visit is “directly connected to President Obama’s policy to advance democracy in Africa,” VOA News reports. “The president spoke at length about his approach to Africa when he was in Accra, Ghana, in 2009. I think he laid out a vision in which he saw Africa, not as separate from the world, but fundamentally connected to the wider world,” he said. “Rhodes says the Obama administration pursued a range of development priorities such as food security and The Global Health Initiative” (Butty, 6/16).